Just like the title states, I'm currently in the process of creating a distribution based on Ubuntu, and I'm in the planning stage So before I progressed any further I thought I would get a second opinion across several of the forums I regularly visit and Reddit.
So before you can give an opinion here is what I'm planning:
Use of the gnome for the window manager, I like gnome a lot, it's pretty light weight, has great functionality and pairs well with application launchers, an example being unity or docky, and is also easy to get used to for new users
Use of Docky or Cairo for the application launcher/ task manager, I would like to use a dock for this distro, I believe that provide a nice and simple way to keep the key and most used applications organised, as well as a way to keep track of what is open and active at the same time. as well as add a nice looking, interactive touch to the distro.
File manager: I was planning on staying with Nautilus, speaking from personal use I found nautilus to do a good job, also I think it is easy for new users to get to understand a new and different file system.
Shipped browser: I was thinking of shipping with Firefox as a default, but possibly chromium, *NEED A VERDICT PLEASE!*
Default look of the distro: I was thinking of going with a flat style for the distro, seen as when you look at the other major OS's (windows 8/10 and MacOS,) out on the market right now they have adopted a nice crisp, clean and flat look to there GUI's, so I was thinking as a default style going with the numix shell and icon theme, I use it as a daily driver it looks great in my opinion, however I will include a tweak program so users can change it to what ever they like.
Default software: I've already mentioned the window manager and browser, and I have mentioned the chance of including a tweak program pre packaged, however here is the rest of the possible list; Libre office, Conky (with a shell design,) it will provide both system information as well as time and weather most likely (dependant on Conky shell.)
And that is pretty much it for my ideas at this moment in time, please feel free to give opinions and constructive criticism, its why the post is here after all, also name suggestions for the distro are welcome!
Do you like a conky on the Gnome Shell Desktop? I like the minimalism of it, I even hide the folders, and I get system info through Gnome Extensions. I think Gnome Extensions really improve on Gnome for advanced users, and at that point, conky seems so, well, old fashioned lol
I don't like Nautilus at all, way too little functionality imo.
I honestly can't stand a cluttered desktop at all. I don't use icons what so ever. Hell, the Gnome UI was even too cluttered for me. I don't mean to be rude, but I do think that conky is hideous on anything that isn't minimal. Maybe on my Cinnamon desktop which I modded to look like Gnome 2... but just no.
I used conky on XFCE for the aesthetics, but that was it. Like you said, extensions kinda replace conky. I'd imagine though, that you could get more data from conky.
As for Nautilus, never cared for it. I like Nemo, Caja, and Thunar. I honestly haven't had a KDE install for longer than a few hours. It lacks proper magnification, and compiz is excruciating to install anymore. I liked the old versions, when the magnifier actually worked. Now compiz is a slave to unity... eww... unity.
Nautilus is the default file browser in Gnome Shell, KDE uses Dolphin by default. Dolphin is great imo, it has all the functions and gives a really organised overview.
First of all, I too have a disliking of unity, one of the reasons I decided to make a distro, second of all, what are the benefits of using nemo over nautilus?
I hope you dont take this the wrong way, but I think you should work on this as your own spin of Ubuntu (different defaults, rame repos) that you make available, rather than try to pull of a full independent distro with community etc. Theres so much fragmentation with Linux distros and a lot of them aren't needed.
That said I think creating a spin (like how Fedora has different spins) is a good idea and go for it. Id go with Firefox over chromium, it seams like you have a good idea of what you want.
I Would Think Using Chromium Is Better Long Term Cause Adobe Dropped Flash Support And As HTML5 Sorta Becomes The New Standard Chromium's In House Pepper Flash Player Seems Best.