Poll: Desktop environments

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Which desktop environments do you use?

Cinnamon
1476
30%
Fluxbox, OpenBox, Blackbox, *box
147
3%
Gnome Fallback
149
3%
Gnome Shell
464
9%
KDE
543
11%
LXDE
316
6%
MATE
963
19%
Other non-listed DE (Enlightenment, Trinity, RazorQT, ROX) or not using or planning to use any of the DEs listed in this poll.
101
2%
Unity
182
4%
Xfce
642
13%
 
Total votes: 4983

arjot

Re: Poll: Desktop environments

Post by arjot »

I would vote for the cinnamon desktop environment.
It is fast & highly configurable.
If possible I would just love to use it standalone without it needing gnome 3 shell to be installed.
Fatal I/O

Re: Poll: Desktop environments

Post by Fatal I/O »

Enlightenment for now. Will be going cinnamon when Mint 13 drops.
cwwgateway

Re: DE switcher with Control Center

Post by cwwgateway »

abnor wrote:Needs to usable DE switcher as an Toools with Control Center.

For example, can be Tools like it:
=================
Choose your prefered DE:
[*] MATE
[ ] Cinnamon
[ ] LXDE
[ ] OpenBox
[ ] ...
Button: ["INSTALL and switch to..."]
=================

I think, it's true way to best Linux Mint distros... ;)
This would be neat, but I don't think it would be practical. It is really not recommended to have many DEs installed, as many come with there own packages. For example, MATE and Cinnamon in LMDE don't really work well together because MATE has caja, mate-system-monitor, pluma, and other tools which are forked from the gnome versions, so you get incredible overlap. This especially applies to having a "heavyweight" DE like Cinnamon installed along with a lightweight DE like LXDE, because, while the DE is lightweight, the programs aren't, which negates many of the benefits of a lightweight DE.
jjaythomas

Re: Poll: Desktop environments

Post by jjaythomas »

My Opinion

LMint should concentrate on the main edition (cinnamon?) That I don't use (I'm a XFCE guy)
But should...
have a core edition (32 and 64 based :) )that have the things that make Mint LinuxMint (software sources, mint tools, codecs,ect.) based around the update manager (to stay current) and the software manager (to install everything as you like). If needed (I don't know :?: ) a DE/WM to have some of that stuff, use a lite one (Fluxbox, JWM ect.).

Maybe have a community area (on forums maybe :)) where one could upload scripts to install DE and desktops apps for specific situations/desires. All community driven
(maybe a rating system for scrips or LMint stamp of approval).

Wouldn't be perfect but would satisfy those not using main edition (most are tinkering people anyways :P )
J.Jay

P.S. The scripts would be like community Meta-packages :o
candrax

Re: Poll: Desktop environments

Post by candrax »

My vote goes for Cinnamon.

I've been testing it for a month or so and slowely it become my default DE on my LM 12. I'am realy much faster and more productive than working in gnome 2 or gnome shell.

1 thing thou, please if you can fix cinnamon crashing with whichever proprietary amd driver I've used. I've tested the last 3 or 4. And also that ugly left 15px margin from the menu and the display border :)

Thanks for your hard work!

Z
Mister.T
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Re: Poll: Desktop environments

Post by Mister.T »

Gnome shell can be made usable by putting all of your favorites onto a "bottom of the page dock" such as Docky or Cairo Dock.
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killinjoe
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Re: Poll: Desktop environments

Post by killinjoe »

I've got LMDE 64 Cinnamon running fine on my laptop, LM11 64 GS (MGSE) on my HTPC, and LM9 64 LTS Gnome 2 on my family desktop, but this last one will get LM13 64 LTS with Cinnamon (or MATE, if the regular users don't like it) as soon as it is out.

Cinnamon is quite fine,actually, although I did get to like GS while running LM11...

keep up the good work... :D
BTPFMJ

Re: Poll: Desktop environments

Post by BTPFMJ »

I've been installing and recommending Linux Mint (main edition with Gnome 2) since version 9 LTS to many people who were new to Linux. Linux Mint with Gnome 2 has been hands down the best "just works" distro that I'm not afraid to give to newbies. After the arrival of the unholy mess called Gnome 3, I've been desperately looking for an alternative "just works" system I could give to people, and this time to my wife, too.

I've tried quite a few options and here are the results:

KDE: I had the highest hopes for this. It's very feature rich, very configurable, has some really nice applications, but unfortunately has the occasional major glitch that makes it less than ideal as a "just works" system. I wish there was more focus on stability and QA versus new features. It's also the heaviest, which matters even on new hardware: Battery life suffers on laptops, and the system is just not as snappy as the alternatives. Dolphin opens quite fast but noticeably slower than other similar file managers, it's also slower to browse e.g. Samba shares. It's the most user-friendly graphical file manager with the best features I've ever seen on any OS... but you trade snappiness you could use 100% of the time for features you'd find useful maybe 5-10% of the time. Kickoff is very good, it's the second best main menu after Mint Menu in my opinion. The default visual appearance of KDE is too flashy and busy, but luckily it can be toned down.

Verdict: KDE could be used as a "just works" system, it's quite good but not ideal.

Gnome 3: I imagine it might work for some people who're very new to computers, are very light users, or just have an extremely different idea of what a workflow should be like. For very many people who are used to the traditional desktop, it'd be a show-stopper because it imposes its weird ways on you and cannot be configured differently, so as a "just works" system it's completely useless. Another issue is that it doesn't work without 3D acceleration, so if there's any problem with the 3D drivers (not unusual on Linux), the user would be forced to use a totally different interface. That would be a major annoyance at the very least.

Verdict: Not a viable option. (And I couldn't support it as there's no way I'd use it myself even temporarily.)

Unity: Regarding the user interface experience, it's like Gnome 3, except not as bad. Luckily it works in 2D, but it has a different drawback: It's only available in Ubuntu and derivatives. So it's very hard to support unless you use Ubuntu yourself, and it's also a sort of vendor lock-in: If you get someone to get used to Unity, they'd have a hard time switching to a non-Ubuntu distro.

Verdict: Not a viable option unless you're totally committed to Ubuntu (or derivatives). Might work if you are commited, but isn't ideal because of the unusual workflow. (I couldn't support it as there's no way I'd use Unity myself even temporarily.)

XFCE: Light and snappy but lacks a few convenience features and could use some more configurability. Hopefully it'll get better in the future.

Verdict: Might work in an otherwise very user-friendly distro like Mint but isn't ideal as a "just works" system for newbies.

LXDE: Like XFCE except even lighter and even less convenient.

Verdict: Might work as a last resort but definitely not ideal as a "just works" system.

MATE: Looks very good in the latest LMDE. Snappy enough on modern hardware, not as many features and not as configurable as KDE but it's good enough for the average user. Haven't seen any major glitches with the latest version, but if there are some, I expect MATE to reach the level of reliability Gnome 2 had relatively quickly. The Mint Menu is the best of its kind on any OS in my opinion, a very welcome addition for the average user.

Verdict: Best option as a "just works", "no surprises" system, the only downside being that MATE isn't yet as mature as Gnome 2.

Cinnamon: First of all, kudos to the Mint team for taming Gnome 3. That said, Cinnamon is not yet polished enough, not even close to being configurable enough, and doesn't work without 3D, so as with Gnome 3, if the 3D drivers go down, your inexperienced user will have a very hard time with a totally different interface. Currently there's nothing that Cinnamon does better than MATE from a user interface perspective but it's less polished and more fragile.

Verdict: Might work but it isn't a good option. (And supporting it would be annoying as I really don't like it myself.)

Overall ranking: MATE > KDE > XFCE >> LXDE, Cinnamon >>> Unity >> Gnome 3

Since I'm an advanced user who mostly lives in the terminal and can fix most problems, I could be happy with either MATE, KDE, XFCE or LXDE and appreciate the different strengths of each (and indeed I have used all of these four extensively), and I could live with Cinnamon if I really had to although I wouldn't like it. However, for the non-expert user, MATE (Gnome 2) is still very clearly the best choice. Hopefully, with Mint 13 LTS, MATE will be supported for a long time. (On my own systems, it's going to be LMDE with MATE though.)

A big thank you to the Mint team for integrating MATE into such a very user-friendly distro!
CapitalG

Re: Poll: Desktop environments

Post by CapitalG »

besides cinnamon at the top this is a very balanced poll. just shows it hard to leave out any of these guys. xfce still seems the best option to me :wink:
iainrs
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Re: Poll: Desktop environments

Post by iainrs »

I messed up initial Upgrade 4 ( didn't update repositories ), reloaded from Clonezilla, then ran MATE/Cinnamon on Virtual box. Not entirely convinced by new desktops and so decided to try XFCE.

This seemed to provide everything I needed - speed, simplicity, familiar panels.

So having changed to LMDE-xfce I then ran Upgrade 4 and have no regrets.
It's a bit simpler but I can still run Nautilus (even if I'm missing a few options - root terminal)

Thanks Clem !
Iain
matthew 123

Re: Poll: Desktop environments

Post by matthew 123 »

For me cinnamon works fine. It has alot better arranged options than other DE. Fast, intuitive and nice looking with minimalism.
ManicSquirrel

Re: Poll: Desktop environments

Post by ManicSquirrel »

drackmere wrote:
ManicSquirrel wrote:I'm actually a big fan of Enlightenment... Unlike a lot of people I actually don't mind Gnome-Shell, and I like a number of features of Unity...
...Enlightenment settings on 12 is borked, and all one can see for external themes is a tall ribbon with "Close" in the middle. If I need to change the settings I have to change the theme back to the default to see the window. I have no idea how to fix this, or if I even can. So I find myself more and more in AfterStep and Gnome Shell.
Yes, the implementation of Enlightenment is notoriously bad in the standard ubuntu repos, so I'm actually running it on Bodhi (which is based on Ubuntu LTS). The things they have done with Enlightenment are absolutely amazing. I've also added the Mint9 repos so I can get a minty flavour to my Bodhi (and I suppose one might be able to do the opposite and add Bodhi repos to Mint, though obviously some care needs to be taken here). I haven't played around with AfterStep, but after you comment I think I'll go check it out. Your point about Enlightenment users being more open to Gnome-Shell is also quite interesting and I think that maybe because Enlightenment calls for a completely different understanding of what a desktop is those who use it might likewise be not so adverse to other radically different environments, such as those that came with Gnome-Shell.
rhY

Re: Poll: Desktop environments

Post by rhY »

I have been REALLY impressed with MATE in the latest LMDE. I think this is the way forward. Cut out the Ubuntu junk altogether, have a fast clean system with the desktop that most people want. Cinnamon is going to get a bias on the Mint forums because it is an official part of the mint project. LOL
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ddavid123
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Re: Poll: Desktop environments

Post by ddavid123 »

As of this moment, I am running Linux Mint 9 on my main machine. When I upgrade I will either upgrade to LM 13 or LMDE! I will probably use Cinnamon most of the time, but I would love to be able to log out and switch to mate or gnome shell. I am trying to get used to gnome shell and Unity but I am having serious issues with both. I want to like Gnome shell and Unity, they offer cool features but the change in paradigm is just too much.

Mate and Cinnamon are the only two real choices for those like me who are stuck on the old paradigm. To me, Gnome 3 and Unity were built for Tablets and Notebooks specifically and were not meant for desktops with large resolution screens. That is what it feels like to me. Clem, I still say you should base Linux Mint Main on one of the LMDE releases! In this way LMDE will be to Linux Mint main as Fedora is to Red Hat! I like the Debian version much better than the ubuntu based main version. it is lighter, faster and peppier.

Keep up the great work, Clem!
spi

Re: Poll: Desktop environments

Post by spi »

- Gnome Fallback. It's quite stable and good looking in Precise. It also has editable panels, classic Gnome menus, and uses Compiz with all its customizability and my favourite effects. Plus it's officially supported and included in Ubuntu LTS distro.
- Unity. Just the best environment for laptops today.

Cinnamon... Guys, i appreciate your work on it very much, but i don't see any reason to use it now. Gnome Fallback + Compiz do the same, just better.
dlc

Re: DE switcher with Control Center

Post by dlc »

cwwgateway wrote:
abnor wrote:Needs to usable DE switcher as an Toools with Control Center.

For example, can be Tools like it:
=================
Choose your prefered DE:
[*] MATE
[ ] Cinnamon
[ ] LXDE
[ ] OpenBox
[ ] ...
Button: ["INSTALL and switch to..."]
=================

I think, it's true way to best Linux Mint distros... ;)
This would be neat, but I don't think it would be practical. It is really not recommended to have many DEs installed, as many come with there own packages. For example, MATE and Cinnamon in LMDE don't really work well together because MATE has caja, mate-system-monitor, pluma, and other tools which are forked from the gnome versions, so you get incredible overlap. This especially applies to having a "heavyweight" DE like Cinnamon installed along with a lightweight DE like LXDE, because, while the DE is lightweight, the programs aren't, which negates many of the benefits of a lightweight DE.
I think a simpler approach, given what is already available, would be to burn multiple hybrids into separate partitions of a single 8-16GB pendrive with GRUB in sector zero configured to enable the user to select the specific installable live system they want to try out.
cwwgateway

Re: Poll: Desktop environments

Post by cwwgateway »

rhY wrote:I have been REALLY impressed with MATE in the latest LMDE. I think this is the way forward. Cut out the Ubuntu junk altogether, have a fast clean system with the desktop that most people want. Cinnamon is going to get a bias on the Mint forums because it is an official part of the mint project. LOL
Cinnamon isn't default in any mint release, and has only been secondary in one mint release. MATE was secondary in Mint 12 and the primary desktop of LMDE, so, as for being used in Mint distros, it has a leg up. As for MATE, it really isn't used too much outside Mint, although neither is Cinnamon. It is default in Snow Linux and an option in Leeenux. Cinnamon will be default in Fusion Linux 16 and is an option in Sabayon. So, I argue, MATE has had more showtime than Cinnamon, yet it is winning. Note that Clem is the project manager for MATE. MGSE is an official part of Mint and used as default in Mint 12, yet Gnome Shell has less votes than Cinnamon (I know that Clem said it was discontinued, but it made people use gnome shell and possibly want to continue using it). Basically, what I'm saying is that it's unfair to say that Cinnamon is winning because it is part of Mint. If you went to the Ubuntu forums (after Mint 13 was released, meaning easy access to Cinnamon for 12.04 users) and did a poll, my guess is that Cinnamon would fare better than MATE, although my guess is that people who wanted Cinnamon would use Mint, not Ubuntu (and people who wanted MATE).

Edit: Also, Xfce is doing just as well as MATE (Xfce has been both ahead and behind MATE, and they're basically neck and neck). MATE is more of a part of Mint than Xfce. MATE is included on two Mint releases, one based on Ubuntu and one on Debian, whereas Xfce is included on one that is based solely on Debian.
KBD47
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Re: Poll: Desktop environments

Post by KBD47 »

spi wrote:- Gnome Fallback. It's quite stable and good looking in Precise. It also has editable panels, classic Gnome menus, and uses Compiz with all its customizability and my favourite effects. Plus it's officially supported and included in Ubuntu LTS distro.
- Unity. Just the best environment for laptops today.

Cinnamon... Guys, i appreciate your work on it very much, but i don't see any reason to use it now. Gnome Fallback + Compiz do the same, just better.
Wow, you had me until that word "Unity" :lol: But seriously, Gnome Fallback is getting too little attention, it is running very solid and if you can just remember alt-right-click you can tweak it to your heart's content.
spi

Re: Poll: Desktop environments

Post by spi »

KBD47 wrote:Wow, you had me until that word "Unity" :lol:
What's so wrong with Unity? Yes, good old Gnome 2 style is better for big monitors (that's why my first choice is Gnome Fallback) - but Unity is better on laptops. And even on FullHD i find Unity better than Gnome Shell - it has compiz and indicators are more powerful than shell extensions. And when one needs panel - xfce4-panel works fine.
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Re: Poll: Desktop environments

Post by KBD47 »

To each their own cup of tea :-) For me Unity is a wall between me and my computer, I can use just about any other desktop and quickly access all my programs with a mouse or skimming across a touchpad, no extra typing, no texting through menus, but that's just me :-)

I will say this, if you install myunity and unfreeze that dock so it auto-hides, and make the thing small enough to not be intrusive, then set the sensitivity all the way up, it's much better than the earlier iterations of Unity and approaches being almost usable :-) Just need to move the window buttons to the right and get rid of the hiding menu bar and I could almost live with the thing :-)
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