Mint Desktop Environment Popularity Poll

[bimsebasse]

I'm another one who uses Gnome Shell without MGSE. I wasn't expecting it to be that unpopular! I do have a few extensions installed though, but I more or less retain the core principles of the UI such as the hotspots and an overlay instead of a window list.

I like where Cinnamon is going, although when I tried it, it was quite unstable on my system. Most of the time it would crash or have problems refreshing the panel whenever I moved an applet. Also when I disabled the launcher applet, the menu text would just read "Me..." if I had no windows open. I think it has a lot going for it however and I might even switch to it in future once it becomes more stable.

You should have been there for 1.2, it was rock solid. 1.3 not so much

[Monsta]

Wow, no votes for MATE yet? Not good...

I see one at the moment. Wait until Update Pack 4 for LMDE will be released

please select all Desktop Environments that are used on computers in your home

Oh noes! Am I not allowed to vote for DE I use at work?

[Paul_Vandenberg]

Also when I disabled the launcher applet, the menu text would just read "Me..." if I had no windows open. I think it has a lot going for it however and I might even switch to it in future once it becomes more stable.

Does anyone know of a fix for this? Not a big deal. More of an annoyance for me.

[d00med]

Still prefer Gnome2, though I haven't tried Cinnamon.

[Herpy]

Fluxbox and pekwm here!

[toomanyquestions]

I fell in love w/XFCE using Elyssa, like LXDE, & think Cinnamon looks promising. Voted other & wished Mint offered Enlightenment.

[pocaixiaozai]

Linux works all right and after two months of agro, I have finally gotten internetcall.com to work; however, the wallpaper is boring rubbish, so I have selected black-I can't really handle more convoluted paths of misleading nonchalant advice of not only how to download a picture but get the blighter to not only install but to work- I'll put up with a black screen. Seems to me you have to be retired or on the dole to have enough time to learn some of Linux's ways of accomplishing the mundane. Anybody wants to know how to get internetcalls .com to work, I know that---on Mint 12 at least.

[bimsebasse]

Changing wallpaper is as easy in Linux as it is in any other OS I'm familiar with.

[monkeyboy]

Linux works all right and after two months of agro, I have finally gotten internetcall.com to work; however, the wallpaper is boring rubbish, so I have selected black-I can't really handle more convoluted paths of misleading nonchalant advice of not only how to download a picture but get the blighter to not only install but to work- I'll put up with a black screen. Seems to me you have to be retired or on the dole to have enough time to learn some of Linux's ways of accomplishing the mundane. Anybody wants to know how to get internetcalls .com to work, I know that---on Mint 12 at least.

Wow, I am surprised you got that pile of stuff to work period. There are so many easier to use and more reliable alternative available. I applaud your dedication and resourcefulness. As to the screen saver issue that is just a few clicks. If I were at my Mint box I could walk you through it but I am not. Trust me its as easy as it gets. Enjoy

[guimaster]

LXDE not doing very well despite the new release??? Perhaps people are going Lubuntu due to no 64-bit? But most people use LXDE for an older PC, so it shouldn't matter that much.

[Miami592]

I prefer LXDE. Gnome2 was fine but Gnome3 is just awful. If I had to rate them:

1 LXDE
2 MATE
3 Gnome2
4 XFCE
5 Unity
6 KDE
7 Gnome3

[guimaster]

Has anyone checked out reviews of Ubuntu 12.04 beta? Unity has improved by leaps and bounds.

[nomko]

Has anyone checked out reviews of Ubuntu 12.04 beta? Unity has improved by leaps and bounds.

Might be, but it still looks like the desktop of a netbook.

I think most ex-Ubuntu users who dislike the Unity desktop are better off with the LXDE and/or Xfce desktop environment. Mint is also a very good replacement for Ubuntu in my opinion.

[spider2097]

Nearly got two votes from me - but since Cinnamon has been introduced, my attempts to get an Openbox-based version of LMDE working have pretty much halted. Now, my tinkering surrounds trying to get Cinnamon working in Crunchbang (sorry, didn't mean to mention another distro in a Mint poll). I was trying to get a GNOME-free LMDE using the Openbox WM whilst still trying to retain a lot of the Mint tools (Mint Menu, Mint Update, etc). I wanted to not have HDD space taken up by stuff I'm not going to use, otherwise it would've been much easier. Anyway, since Cinnamon came about (in the main edition at least), I don't feel as though I have to worry quite so much what my desktop is going to look like & I think it not only looks great but (for me at least) does what I expect when I expect.

Edit : A side objective of my mini-project was to slim down a Mint install to fit quite happily on my netbook (Asus EeePC 4Gb SSD) although being able to install & boot from USB somewhat negates that as being a prime objective for the project (but keeping storage space free is obviously still a valid concern).

[classic]

Gnome Shell all the way. Not sure what the hell the devs are thinking with that horrible hybrid mess by default in 12. Time to switch to a gnome shell focused distro sadly..

[Aethyr]

I don't see how this will result as anything other than a crushing victory for GNOME 3 breeds such as Cinnamon/Shell etc... The vast majority of Linux Mint users are not technical enough to even install new packages, let alone know what a "different desktop environment" is. So we all know where this is going...

[craig10x]

Has anyone checked out reviews of Ubuntu 12.04 beta? Unity has improved by leaps and bounds.

Might be, but it still looks like the desktop of a netbook.

I think most ex-Ubuntu users who dislike the Unity desktop are better off with the LXDE and/or Xfce desktop environment. Mint is also a very good replacement for Ubuntu in my opinion.

Unity is actually very nice to use if one goes into it with a positive attitude and spends a few weeks actually working with it....

When i initially checked it out, i went it to it with a negative attitude (after reading various negative comments) and didn't think i liked it...

But then, a few weeks later, i tried it again but this time decided to try it with an open mind and without the "attitude" and after about two weeks of using it, i really began to like it a lot and ended up installing ubuntu 11.10 and have been using it with unity ever since...

Meanwhile, i have checked out a few "daily builds" isos of 12.04 and it is even faster and better and they are starting to add some configuration options...so when it comes out next month, i will be installing it for sure...

[deleted]

RE: DESKTOP ENVIROMENT! CHANGE IS NOT ALWAYS GOOD! CHANGE JUST FOR THE SAKE OF CHANGE ALONE IS OFTEN BAD! (Ask Microsoft about that one) CHANGE IS ONLY NEEDED TO FIX THINGS THAT ARE BROKEN ON SOMETHING THAT OTHERWISE WORKS WELL!

Examples: Change from Windows 98SE to Windows ME? BAD MOVE! Change from Windows Vista to Windows 7? GOOD MOVE! Change from Windows 7 to Windows 8 (METRO)? Really bad move!!! Change from Gnome2 to Gnome3? BAD MOVE! Change from Gnome2 to Unity? BAD MOVE!

I started migrating to Linux on a "semi-permanent" basis back on v9.04 Ubuntu. I loved the easy install and the stability but didn't like the "Mac" format buttons on the desktop. I found out how to move the Min, Max, Close buttons to the upper right corner and just put up with the start/shutdown button being on the wrong side at the bottom of the page. This was on 3 multi-boot systems here in my home/shop and all were upgraded when new Ubuntu distros were released. Then v11 came out and boy was that thing horked up with it's “Unity” hogwash so that pretty much did it for me with anything Ubuntu.

Then I tried Mepis but didn't like the tech support forum nor the KDE desktop. It was really unstable too on my “mule box” so I went looking again. That was when I found Mint v11. Downloaded it from a friends connection but didn't install it until about a month ago and boy was I happy. Buttons in the correct location, desktop (Gnome2) that DIDN'T look like dirt and I found that it was basically the same thing as Ubuntu so what I knew already applied to Mint. I can also get tech support on the Ubuntu forum so it's a win, win for me as that forum is THE BEST I'VE EVER SEEN!

Then came v12 and Gnome3 and I was heart broken again. Don't like G3 at all and did some reading so I finally upgraded to Cinnamon, which I like but will like more once/if the bugs are all fixed!! So now I have v12 with Cinnamon bugs on 2 of my 3 multi-boot systems and will update the 3rd some time within the next month or so as bandwidth on my 3G connection allows.

So it's Cinnamon for me until they make Gnome3 where I can put Icons, buttons and start menu where I want them!

[Habitual]

...as scientifcally accurate as possible...Please don't vote in the poll if you are using another Linux Distro other than Mint....

...Other / I don't use Linux Mint...

Once again, being ever so cynical, question "scientific" and "accurate"
Either modify the poll if possible, or the Opening Post.

Thanks.

[overthetop]

I had to cast my vote for Gnome 2. I am still using Mint 9 because my computer doesn't get along with anything newer. I've tryed KDE but I don't like the setup or the applications. I prefer gedit to kate, gnome terminal to kterm and so on. I will definitely give KDE another try in the future though as I like to keep an open mind. Lxde is currently my lightweight choice!