Poll: Desktop environments

[monkeyboy]

I have voted already. I have my preferences, like everybody else. But IMHO, the Linux Community is putting way too much effort and time in this DE craziness, considering the problems that are still keeping it from reaching to the general public.

I recommend to read some of the comments in http://linux.slashdot.org/story/12/04/3 ... -taken-off

Cheers

This is an old topic hook used to drum up reader heat for a site. Its fairly obvious when the lines following the article title read "Posted by samzenpus on Monday April 30, @01:04PM
from the let-the-flaming-begin dept." Seriously repetitive stuff, but the net is free. Enjoy

[Cro-Magno]

I originally voted for Cinnamon. Having just tried MATE 1.2, though, I can only say that was a wasted vote. Perhaps Cinnamon will get better but I'm going with MATE. I like things simple and somewhat traditional.

[gofer]

1. XFCE
2. KDE

[flebber]

I wuld be using Cinnamon full time as it looks much better. It still is a little "jumpy" and the panel sometimes disappears when changing applications. Probably a gnome shell/cinnamon issue with ati but it doesn't occur in MATE and thats why I am still using that.

[Koji]

1. XFCE
2. KDE

This, though it may simply be that I've just grown far too used to the Windows style, and KDE was my first "it just feels right" implementation when I first starting using Linux at home. Gnome was pretty okay, and I left it as the default when I got ubuntu simply because I didn't like messing with defaults too much... then of course came unity (only about a year after I had started regularly dual booting). That kind of soured me on Gnome and it's derivatives .

Ah but I guess my opinion doesn't matter too much as Linux is still very much a "part time" affair at my house. I tried switching my parents to Kubuntu, and my dad loved it... but my mom wasn't happy at losing her Microsoft supported online games. I do currently have a laptop running Mint with KDE 100% of the time, but it's my "experimental" laptop with the main gaming laptop still on windows (and until Steam really pushes Linux, it'll likely stay that way). Maybe if I gave MATE or Cinnamon a real try I'd find them better, but I'm pleasantly stuck in my mindset for KDE or XFCE (depending on the environment) as a part time thing, till things finally move forward enough to make me switch my main PC full time.

[Creto]

Hi, my vote KDE, in which the root for Linux Mint quesit improve some that were missing in 12 Lisa, as the update manager crashes when you try to upgrade it by, for example my platform is 32-bit only gives to update via terminal konsole.

Greetings Brazilian

[wolverine_tech]

While I personally like KDE, I vote for Cinnamon because of way the it's maturing (amazing). Plus, wide adoption of Cinnamon would be great for the Mint team/devs/users/community.

[strandmaster]

Plus, wide adoption of Cinnamon would be great for the Mint team/devs/users/community.

How so?

[kmb42vt]

Were you guys, aware that MATE desktop (gnome-shell) has a help and support Forum?

MATE Forum > http://forums.mate-desktop.org/index.php

This is probably a really stupid question on my part but you do realize that MATE has nothing to do with gnome-shell or Gnome 3 for that matter? I just asked because you stuck "(gnome-shell)" after MATE in your post. Could be confusing for those new to all this DE changerama.

[Az4x4]

I'll stick with MATE. Cut my Linux teeth on PCLinuxOS back in the day when it was top dog on Distrowatch's page hit list. Thought KDE 3.x was the best DE of it's time. Tried Ubuntu, then Mint. Once Mint was on my machines I knew I'd found the distro I most enjoyed. While I've tried various distros over the years I've stayed with Mint on my main machines, enjoying Gnome 2.x tremendously. Then came Gnome 3, and I opted out staying with Gnome 2 on Mint and trying Pinguy OS as well. Mint's Gnome 3 extensions helped a bit, but not nearly enough to make a believer out of me. Then came Cinnamon, and things looked brighter. But MATE's rebuild of all the goodness of Gnome 2.x on a Gnome 3's base is by far my favorite. May grow to enjoy Cinnamon as well in time as it develops. I know it's showing real progress, but I'm still an old school guy when it comes to my DE of choice - so MATE is it for me.. Running LMDE 201204 with MATE as we speak, and seriously loving it!!

[xpander]

MATE for sure.
while cinnamon is nice, its still not as configurable as gnome2 was yet.

so MATE is the obvious choice to go on for me

[BastianBalthasarBux]

I would prefer Cinnamon, seeing the screenshots and reading all the information for it so far (did not test it until now) (voted for Cinnamon and KDE).

But there are three things, which should be supported (by Cinnamon/gdm/ldm or whatever is involved for those):

1. Dual Graphics with three monitors oob (until now i always had to fiddle my own xorg.conf, and i loose 3d support (compiz can't handle two graphic cards so far), i saw no other possibilty for that)
2. if cinnamon provides fallback for older graphics it would be very great, i could not find out by googling right now, if it is so, so this point is maybe obsolete!
3. most anoying, not only in linuxmint or gnome but in all distributions i tested for this purpose, except opensuse: domaindropdown for login (gdm, ldm) in business environments. opensuse kde has this, afaik opensuse gnome too.

@3.
to say it clear: i can live with fiddling for winbind, pam and samba (all other 'should be easy to use' solutions (e.g. likewise open) are - hrmpf - bad, 'cause often not stable or fiddling is necessary anyway).
but my users can't live with prepending domain for login each time!


last but no least, I am very excited about the upcoming LTS and will give cinnamon give a try anyway - and will continue spreading the word!

[barrieluv]

I'm still using Gnome 2.3x on my Ubuntu 10.04 install. I won't be installing 12.04 as I don't like Unity so I'm waiting for Maya. I tried Cinnamon on Mint 12 and was very taken with it. I'm pretty sure it will mature nicely over the coming year and so I voted for Cinnamon.

[scharkalvin]

I checked KDE, XFCE and LXDE. I use KDE (mint 12) at work and hope to upgrade my desktop at home to KDE when mint 13 is available. I've used both XFCE and LXDE on my laptop (old thinkpad R60) currently a previous LMDE LXDE. I also checked gnome fallback, but what I REALLY meant was I'm still running mint 9 on my home desktop with gnome 2. That will probably move to KDE on mint 13 as I'm very happy with KDE on mint 12 on my linux development box at work. KDE with Cario-dock makes a nice MACish desktop.

[kk5pa]

Mate is best....

[Aethyr]

This thread is quickly becoming laughable. By sifting through the comments it is pretty clear that most of the people use KDE or XFCE, which would make sense as they are the only sensible choices for the Main and LMDE editions respectively. Moreover, it is already accepted in the rest of the Linux world that KDE and XFCE are already more widely used than GNOME variants. This is what the original poll, which had been "corrupted", depicted, alongside with a preposterously large Cinnamon adoption, which makes no sense given the life span and maturity of the project.

This new, "clear" poll still shows the same preposterously large Cinnamon adoption. However, I am very hard pressed to believe that this poll is accurate given the comments and the current state of linux. My guess is the result was, in both polls, pushed towards Cinnamon by the dev. as a means of propaganda. The obvious high usage of KDE/XFCE is being hidden to discourage the rest of the community from making the switch like the rest of the world and encourage the usage of Mint's own product, Cinnamon. Pathetic.

I guess this will be the last thread I post in in these Mint forums. I've already made the switch to Arch from LMDE on my desktop machines and I'm not looking back. When the holidays arrive, or hopefully perhaps even sooner, I'll be making the final switch on my laptop, and bidding the world of Mint goodbye forever. The distro just doesn't cut it anymore, after becoming the apparent "no.1" everything went downhill for me, and this is yet another french developer operating in the same way that all french devs I've met in my life do. I'm waiting for my ban, because I highly doubt anyone will be inclined to "argue". So long, Linux Mint. Thanks for teaching me about Linux, and for giving me the skills and knowledge to move away from you.

[amadeus128]

On my desktop I am using Lisa with Cinnamon for the time being, but I have also installed KDE. I am quite ambivalent about Lisa and I am waiting for version 13. I will then decide between MATE, Cinnamon or switch to KDE for good. I don't want my desktop to behave like a big tablet.
On my nettop I am using Isadora, it is very stable. My wife also uses Isadora on her desktop and she just loves it, I am not allowed to change anything!
Almost all members of my family use the French edition of Linux Mint: my wife, my daugter, my son in law and my grand daughter...
Yves Lortie (Amadeus128)

[veggen]

Using Mint 12 with Cinnamon and loving it I see Mint devs as saviors of desktop Linux.
On the other hand, I'm also using Enlightenment on Bodhi Linux on my netbook, and am quite pleased. Wouldn't be my first choice for desktop (Cinnamon is), but for netbooks, Enlightenment is a great option.

One of the appeals for me is that Mint with Gnome 3, (which is despised by so many I see now), is NOT a Windows wannabe; where it seems like both MATE and cinnamon are trying to go back to Gnome 2, or become Windows clones.

This argument is nonsense. Breaking (yes, breaking) something that works well just to be different than something else is dumb. Mint is trying to be a useful OS and it doesn't give a rat's butt about how Windows looks and what Windows does, but being a useful OS means having a useful environment. If something Windows does happens to be good, avoiding it just for the sake of difference is something Apple would do, not something a sane decision-maker would do.
Gnome Shell makes you perform 3 actions for simple tasks you do a million times a day, MATE/Cinnamon achieve the same in a single action. Do I care if it looks like Windows? No.

[samriggs]

Mate for me, works pretty great and has the old feel to it.
I think I found my work station finally besides xfce this one is working.
Edit: sorry I put Cinnamon but it was supposed to be Mate.
I am actually using a very old steampunk theme I made a really long time ago.
glad to see it wasn't totally meant for the boneyard yet.
Sam

[bamm]

Gnome Shell makes you perform 3 actions for simple tasks you do a million times a day, MATE/Cinnamon achieve the same in a single action. Do I care if it looks like Windows? No.

Perhaps that is one reason why Windows was succesful.