I recently installed debian 7.6 on my laptop and have been trying to get everything configured the way I like. However gnome 3 is looking more like gnome 2, with the Applications and Places menus that you can click and turn into drop down menus.
I would like gnome 3 to look more like gnome 3 than 2. I don't know how to explain this any better, so I hope you can understand what I'm trying to say.
I think you are looking for Gnome Shell extension.
Also, Debian isn't known for caring about good looking desktops. Neither KDE or XFCE have the same interface in Debian than in Ubuntu, Arch...
I think that what you are experiencing is the Gnome fallback mode:
You probably have the gnome-session-fallback package installed, and set as default.
GNOME Session Manager - GNOME fallback session
The GNOME Session Manager is in charge of starting the core components of the GNOME desktop, and applications that should be launched at login time. It also features a way to save and restore currently running applications.
This package contains the required components for the GNOME 3 fallback session, based on the GNOME Panel. It can be started from a display manager such as GDM, and doesn’t have specific hardware requirements.
Next time you start your machine, check what option is set in the GDM welcome screen.
