Desktop Environment poll

Jason · February 27, 2023, 04:58:01 AM

Just curious to see where everyone is at with desktop environments. Let us know which ones you are actively using. You can vote multiple times (up to 10 times) representing multiple PCs and Linux distribution installs.

But we're not just looking to see desktop environments on systems you just play with. Which ones do you actually do something productive on? Y can decide what productive means to you even if it means watching cat videos all day (don't judge me!).

Poll ends in 30 days with ongoing results displayed. You change your vote should your usage change in that time.

Note: One DE that can be confusing is GNOME. There is vanilla GNOME which only a few Linux distributions use and others are modified, usually slightly but sometimes much more. Check what your distro calls it on their website to make it easy. If they call their desktop GNOME, it's GNOME. Otherwise vote, for "Something else" unless you know differently.

Example: I use Pop!_OS. The website doesn't even mention a desktop environment and never even mentions GNOME. So it's "something else".

Am I being too pedantic?

And I'd love it if you posted below exactly why you prefer your chosen desktop environment(s) or you didn't choose and just used what was available and/or don't really care. Not caring is a choice. It would win most elections if there was a party that represented them.

Jason · February 27, 2023, 05:28:59 AM

I use the desktop environment with Pop OS. I think it's based on GNOME seeing how the distro is based on Ubuntu but I can't say for sure since there are also Ubuntu variants. And I believe there are enough desktop changes to justify it being a different desktop environment.

I use the Pop!_OS desktop environment because it's easy. I don't mean to say that other desktop environments are hard. I mean that it limits the options so I'm less distracted. As someone with ADHD, it's too easy to spend a lot of time playing with the various settings. I loved and hated Plasma for this very reason. I'm not married to it. I don't use many of its useful features other than tiling occasionally, but it works for me. I could probably just as easily use Ubuntu or GNOME on another distro (I think). I only have one PC now and Pop!_OS along and Windows 10 are the only operating systems installed on it.

buster · February 27, 2023, 05:31:12 PM

Buster uses KDE Plasma because he's familiar with it. It's a bit like bathroom fixtures. Some people get excited about styles and colour. Mostly in the morning you just want to turn them and get hot water.

fox · February 27, 2023, 11:57:24 PM

Fox uses Ubuntu, which uses a modified version of Gnome. Since Gnome can be modified in any distribution to look and feel more or less like vanilla Gnome, I answered the poll with Gnome. I suspect that one could say the same thing about pop_OS.

ssfc72 · February 28, 2023, 12:55:03 AM

I don't bother messing around with the looks of the Desktop. It has to be pretty ugly looking to me, to avoid a certain Desktop of a Distro.

Jason · February 28, 2023, 01:26:04 AM

Quote from: ssfc72 on February 28, 2023, 12:55:03 AM
I don't bother messing around with the looks of the Desktop. It has to be pretty ugly looking to me, to avoid a certain Desktop of a Distro.

I assume you picked Cinnamon because it's the recommended desktop environment flavour of Linux Mint? And I agree with you, mostly. Xfce can be downright ugly in some distros but Linux Lite and MX Linux do a nice job with their Xfce flavours. Although, Fox and I both agree, I believe, that Manjaro does Xfce the nicest.

Jason · February 28, 2023, 01:30:42 AM

Quote from: buster on February 27, 2023, 05:31:12 PM
Buster uses KDE Plasma because he's familiar with it. It's a bit like bathroom fixtures. Some people get excited about styles and colour. Mostly in the morning you just want to turn them and get hot water.

It's funny because I'd expect that most Plasma users use it because of how customizable it is. One could spend a lifetime trying all the different permutations.

fox · February 28, 2023, 07:41:36 AM

I agree with Jason that Manjaro and Linux Lite make nice looking XFCE desktops; MX Linux isn't bad either. The icon sets of all three are much more attractive than the XFCE default, and Manjaro and Linux Lite use nice looking wallpapers. At the other end, I think that the default Cinnamon desktop of Linux Mint is one of the least attractive. Having said that, I have a Mint Cinnamon installation that I spiced it up by using a different theme, background and icon set; all are easy fixes. I also made the dock vertical; more Ubuntu-like. (Yeah I know most of you like having the dock on the bottom.)

ssfc72 · February 28, 2023, 09:03:39 AM

I think when Cinnamon was first available on Mint, I just looked at the screenshots of the different desktops for Mint, and went with Cinnamon.

I just tried to also add my vote for XFCE wirh MXLinux, but the poll does no have any way for me to add another Desktop vote. :-(

Quote from: Jason on February 28, 2023, 01:26:04 AM
I assume you picked Cinnamon because it's the recommended desktop environment flavour of Linux Mint? And I agree with you, mostly. Xfce can be downright ugly in some distros but Linux Lite and MX Linux do a nice job with their Xfce flavours. Although, Fox and I both agree, I believe, that Manjaro does Xfce the nicest.

buster · February 28, 2023, 02:32:20 PM

"I think that the default Cinnamon desktop of Linux Mint is one of the least attractive."

I have a Mint Cinnamon on Marilyn's, and like it, though it's probably not totally default. I agree with Bill. And I'll add a desktop is just a means to open programs. Ugly is not good, but if you don't fall off your chair in horror after it boots, it becomes hardly noticed background.

William · March 01, 2023, 01:54:08 AM

William uses KDE on Slackware. It was my first desktop on my first Linux distro. If I migrate, I would choose KDE spin, because I don't want to waste time re-learning desktop.

Jason · March 08, 2023, 09:05:23 AM

Quote from: ssfc72 on February 28, 2023, 09:03:39 AM
I think when Cinnamon was first available on Mint, I just looked at the screenshots of the different desktops for Mint, and went with Cinnamon.

I just tried to also add my vote for XFCE wirh MXLinux, but the poll does no have any way for me to add another Desktop vote. :-(

That's strange. I set it so that voters would have up to 9 votes each. Weird. I don't know how to fix it. Sorry about that.

I haven't looked into previous years' votes but I think they're pretty much the same other than me having moved to Pop!OS and its desktop.

buster · March 08, 2023, 12:26:46 PM

Agreeing with Bill. My second choice is Cinnamon but there is no way to have a second choice. So:

Buster is happy to use either KDE Plasma or Cinnamon.

Jason · March 08, 2023, 04:29:25 PM

When you voted, did you guys not see a screen like this? They're basically checkboxes and I was able to choose two. I have to click the 'Remove' button first. And you need to put check marks at the same time. That is, you don't vote once and then Submit and then vote again.

Edit: Updated 2023-03-09 to correct the mistake saying to use the 'Edit' button. The 'Remove' button is what you want.

ssfc72 · March 08, 2023, 08:02:33 PM

I don't see any checkboxes.