Linux Mint 11 Destkop Environment?

[Fandangio]

I'm going to give Fedora15 a try (and for a couple of weeks rather than 15mins) and see for myself if it's a decent DE.

Fandangio,

You going to virtualize Fedora? Or, do the full blown install? It has been awhile since I've used a RPM based OS.

Err, I had planned the full blown install but I can't get it to install as yet (tried for about an hour yesterday). I then thought I'd try Unity and I'm going to struggle running it for a few weeks. I've had it for a day and my first opinion is that it is truly awful.

I'll make another attempt to install Fedora and if unsucessful may try the openSuse version.

[smkeeth]

I count myself as one of those that hopes that Linux Mint continues to be offered with GNOME without the GNOME Shell. I am switching to Linux Mint from Ubuntu 11.04 because I do not like the Unity interface in this new version of Ubuntu. GNOME has served me well over the years, and I prefer to keep using it.

[bwat47]

Gnome 3 isn't as bad as I thought it would be when I gave it a brief run in fedora 15., My biggest criticism was the ABSURD amount of padding in the default theme, but thats finally being fixed.

Unfortunately I really can't test it properly as its still broken with fglrx, and using the oss drivers on my laptop results in ridiculous heat even on low profile, and poor performance with compositing compared to fglrx. (srsly when are they gonna fix the activities bar with fglrx?)

[Adler]

Hi All,

What is Ubuntu thinking? The reviews have been all bad...

http://www.linuxinsider.com/rsstory/72383.html

Strange.

[ThistleWeb]

I now have 2 netbook installs of Natty 11.04, one with Unity, the other with Gnome 3 and Gnome Shell from the PPA. Unity isn't as bad as many have claimed when you spend some time with it. I was very impressed with the live Fedora Gnome 3 CD so it's time to spend time with the installed Gnome 3. They may turn out to be nice, different but not quite practical as a full time workhorse DE. I liked Unity but not enough to switch to it, maybe Gnome 3 will be the same.

One thing is for sure, right now there's a lot of strong feelings on all sides, with a lot of plans in flux.

[michaelzap]

If you check out the LM blog from today, you'll see that LM 11 will be offered with Gnome 2 and a "normal" desktop environment. This is probably a smart move for the Gnome devs, since they're going to release LM 11 this month and neither Unity nor Gnome Shell are 100% ready yet. I expect that a whole lot of disaffected Ubuntu users will be trying Mint for the first time in order to avoid the Unity stink bomb.

But this is really only a temporary reprieve, since Mint can't (and shouldn't) stay with Gnome 2 forever. I hope that the Mint devs put some effort into developing Gnome Shell extensions and themes and switch to a Debian base for the next release. I think that would probably be the fastest and most stable Gnome release out there, and I bet that the Mint devs are just the ones to pull it off.

Just my 2 cents.

[Adler]

Will do. Whats going on with Linux.

[mdawgmike]

One of the things I admire most about Mint is their relative consistency from release to release. I am glad that they've made the decision to stick with Gnome 2 for this release, and especially to not adopt Unity. Unity is just plain garbage. It's in no way innovative (Mac clone), it's inconsistent between applications, it places the dock in an illogical position (less space for applications then if they would've just left it on the bottom of the screen), the developers made it intentionally non-configurable, and above all they released it with a ton of bugs.

It would be a nice touch to have the option to easily install Gnome 3 in Mint 11, as I'm sure many would like to try it out for a bit. I actually don't mind the new Gnome too much, but still prefer a "classic" desktop environment. I would think it would be in everyone's best interest if the Gnome developers offered the shell, as well as a traditional desktop by default. This way individual distributions wouldn't have to scramble to make a bunch of modifications to it. Either way, I still admire Gnome for opting to be innovative with the new release as opposed to just copying trends of Mac/Windows. Innovation is what will help to draw people into Linux.

[midas]

Forget gnome 3.0 on the Ubuntu 11.04 base and on top of Mint Katya. I do hear a lot of signals it is simply not stable enough. Therefore I am very glad gnome 2.32 is included in upcoming Mint Katya. Everything simply has to work without stability issues...rule no 1!

Yeah, if Linux Mint is going to choose for the newest incarnation of Gnome there would occur some interesting possibilities at the horizon. Just imagine a Mint 12 or 13 (future) release with the following ingediënts:

- A DVD-release in where users can choose between an enriched fallback mode (the current Mint-desktop-experience) and the Gnome-shell. People can just choose what to use. The current Ubuntu 11.04 is nearly a perfect example. People can switch easily between the classic-mode and Unity (with the right hardware). Even after installation.

- A CD-release only providing the enriched fallback mode with the taskbar on the bottom and the Mint-menu as we know till now. For users who are still in love with the current Mint-desktop and for users with older hardware.

[Tpiom]

I count myself as one of those that hopes that Linux Mint continues to be offered with GNOME without the GNOME Shell. I am switching to Linux Mint from Ubuntu 11.04 because I do not like the Unity interface in this new version of Ubuntu. GNOME has served me well over the years, and I prefer to keep using it.

You are not alone. I, also just came from Ubuntu myself.

I think Gnome 3 and Unity are much better than Gnome 2 when it comes functionality, speed and such. But the shells themselves are horrible so it's almost impossible to use them.
Linux Mint with Gnome 3, but without the shell would be my preferred solution. Gnome's two days are numbered...

[linuxviolin]

I think Gnome 3 and Unity are much better than Gnome 2 when it comes functionality, speed and such.

But the shells themselves are horrible so it's almost impossible to use them.
Linux Mint with Gnome 3, but without the shell would be my preferred solution. Gnome's two days are numbered...

GNOME 3 "without the shell"? Good luck!

As I already said elsewhere recently, I think now since KDE 4.6.2 is there, the only about good, not too bad, Linux desktop is probably/perhaps KDE4.

GNOME is dead. (GNOME3 should normally mortify all those who are looking for productivity from their OS.)
Unity suc* too. (Unity is less a disruptive change than GNOME Shell, yet it’s also a step back for any serious computer user. Not to mention that Ubuntu’s defaults are crazy, like the positions of the min, max, close buttons.)
XFCE is always "never there yet". And it looks dated, à la Windows 95 if you ask me. And its inability to display the desktop icon titles with a transparent background (and shadowed/outlined text for improved visibility over the wallpaper) is simply a decision to stick to 1995!
LXDE is too minimalistic and you must not to be afraid to invest some time in adjusting the system’s settings. It looks like a desperate, last-resort desktop environment choice for those who can’t trust the major ones. Limited productivity still.

KDE4 is currently the closest to Windows in terms of ergonomics and intuitive use, and it’s very much improved in 4.6, although it’s still kinda crashing, being much more unstable than, say, Windows XP and Windows 7. With a folder view desktop, KDE4 should require an almost zero-learning curve to anyone who has previously used any version of Windows.

So maybe/probably we, I, should give KDE4 a chance.