Go Big is a full-screen program launcher for Gnome.
With Go Big any program can be selected quickly with just one movement of the mouse.
Here's what it looks like:
This image has been shrunk: The original image was 2560x1600 pixels.
Go Big can be used instead of a traditional (Windows 95 inspired) start menu. I find Go Big more user friendly.
Below is a screen-shot of a Windows 95 inspired start menu:
Such a menu is quite one-dimensional. With a two-dimensional layout we can recall that something was located, for example, half-way down on the left, or in the bottom-right corner and hence find it again quickly.
The bigger the target the easier it is to hit: Go Big devotes a lot more area for each selection than the traditional start menu which means the user can make a selection with a quick imprecise movement of the mouse.
A user must work a bit to find what they are looking for with a traditional start menu. The user must first select the category that the program they wish to start was classified under, usually wait a moment for the sub-menu to appear (sometimes there's a pointless fade-in effect) and then very carefully move the mouse pointer right (moving slightly up or down may change the category selection - aaargh!) and then move down to the program to start. Go Big makes effective use of a high-resolution display: All the choices are immediately visible and can be selected with just one movement of the mouse.
Go Big was developed on Fedora 10 Linux.
Last update: 8 September 2011