Why is Mate & Cinnamon not catching on...

[KilUma]

I started using Mint with 10. That's before Mate or Cinnamon. Actually, I was running Gnome2. Then the Gnome team decided to concentrate on other paths. That meant Mint had a choice. Stick with the rapidly aging- yet, close relationship of- Gnome2, or rely on something else. The Mint team understandably chose something else. Regrettably, that 'something-else' led to yet another split. A seemingly needless split.

I have yet to understand why there is a Mint xfce, lmde, kde, mate, cinnamon, and (not supported)gnome2/3.(well, gnome2 may be supported under some older releases, but I haven't looked it up.)

It seems to me that all the things that I can do in one, should be available to all.
Do I like the 'light' version? Yes.
1)Can I have the light version with kde style workspace management? With compositing, HW acceleration, true transperency?
2)Can I change the behavior of the desktop action of 'right-click'? Instead of a context menu, how about a system/app menu?(Always hated functional toolbars.
They seemed better suited for info purposes only.)

These are just a few ideas to get the wheels greased up.

[fraxinus_63]

Looking around this forum - are you quite sure that MATE and Cinnamon are 'not catching on'? Not only are they seemingly very popular in the Mint community but there is now more and more interest in Cinnamon from openSUSE, Fedora and other distros.

The desktop choices made by the Mint team seem to reflect what community members are asking for. People like me who think that Mint 10 was the best ever can still pretty much relive that experience using MATE. If people want a distro that focuses on Gnome Shell, then there are plenty of others out there that supply it by default. I know there are users who would like a Gnome Shell version of Mint, but the team have only limited resources. I guess the other DEs have been given priority because people seem to want them more.

[xenopeek]

I guess the other DEs have been given priority because people seem to want them more.

Yup; from last year's poll the top 4 favored desktop environments are available as separate editions of Linux Mint.

[InkKnife]

Wow, not catching on? Mint has gotten huge mindshare in the distrosphere.

[tdockery97]

Yup; from last year's poll the top 4 favored desktop environments are available as separate editions of Linux Mint.

And Mint's cousin, Ubuntu, now officially provides the 5th most popular, Gnome Shell, in the officially added Ubuntu Gnome version. I don't see how one at this point in time can say that there is not something available for everyone.

[JWJones]

I would say that both MATE and Cinnamon are doing quite well, as the use of them has spread to many distros. Heck, just yesterday, someone announced over at linuxquestions.org that they had packaged MATE for Slackware, asking for folks to give it a try and report back. I see the same thing in forums for other distros, too: Arch users running Cinnamon, Sabayon has a MATE version, etc.

The great thing about Linux is that if you don't like a particular DE or WM, you can change it for something you like better. My favorite Linux Mint was LM 12 LXDE, best looking implementation of the LXDE desktop I have seen, to date. I'm pretty happy with the performance and stability of LMDE Cinnamon on my Thinkpad T61 right now, but I may install LXDE, too, just for kicks.

[Orbmiser]

"Regrettably, that 'something-else' led to yet another split. A seemingly needless split. ""

Seemingly is a result of personal Perceptions & Preference and are very subjective.
You may be very happy with Gnome 2 mate. And can't visualize needing more.
But there is the rub as there are many valid reasons why Gnome 2 may not be optimal desktop for others.

Others may require different enviroment for a variety of reasons that range from feature specific function or form in the way of use and work flow. Gnome 2,3 xfce or Cinnamon doesn't allow me to set remember size & position of apps. KDE does. This is essential for my work flow as have 3 workspaces on dual displays with 7-8 apps laid out and sized for use. And simple mouse wheel to change workspaces in an instance.
Why should I need to open and drag every app to different displays and workspaces to setup?
Or single click to pin an app to show on all workspaces.

For many it doesn't seem to that much of an issue enough to warrant much response.
But for me a higher priority and serious need in a desktop environment for my type of work flow.

I Like Choices beyond one's opinion of just needing the One choice. Since One choice isn't really a choice at all.

[KilUma]

I can see how the wider appeal may be tempting to follow, but there is a smaller- and much more influential- group beyond the mainstream. These people tend to stress their systems(as in my case with 3d CAD rendering[which needs much better support under Linux]).

I may be an exception to the general/intended user of Linux Mint, maybe not. I'm not going to spend a lot of money on hardware, just so I can run software under a proprietary OS, when I can load a GNU OS which will use the resources of my hardware much more efficiently(by factors, when you start working with x,y, and z). This so true that I can run a composited desktop environment, run a simulation program, and display multiple workspaces in real-time.

Which leads us, inevitably, back to the very thing I am actually complaining about. The splintering of Linux. I've been doing some exploring( Ok, cheating on 'me lady'), and I have realized there are some really great opensource softwares- available by default- on other OS's. For instance, Boxee(available, by default, on Fedora18Gnome3.6.x.c.v.e.s.s.L.O.L.) PCLinuxOSFullMonty has a fully functioning Netflix application, by default. PCLOSFM also uses the KDE. Which is exactly what brought me back to Mint. PCLOSFM isn't quite ready for the primetime. But, as is typical, Mint does have a DE which is ready for primetime. KDE.

Mate(especially Mate), and Cinnamon have some maturing to do. No doubt, as these two projects continue to evolve, I will begin exploring them in the future.