Desktop Environment Discussion

Software PureOS
22

I agree. :neutral_face:

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23

Try using Windows 10 on a PC which is 10 or 15 Years old. Good luck. With Linux you still have a good working PC.

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24

Yep new features typically require more computing power. But also this is part of the upgrade machine that keeps the yearly updates profitable. That being said, windows 10 will run on anything that ran 7. Whether it will have drivers is on the computer manufacturer and not ms.

25

what other DE do you like and why

KDE is what I use.
The main reasons for ā€œwhyā€ is partially because the UI is really good but also because when I started running Linux other DEs like Xfce were really bad IMHO. KDE was kinda like my ā€œbreath of fresh airā€.
Some other DEā€™s I like:

My best advice is to just install a bunch and test them (for debian). Most DE let you easily switch.
I see you are new to Linux, here are some resources to try: Best Linux Desktop Environments for Noobs, Best Linux Desktop Environments for Everyday Users.

26

Thanks for the response! Can I ask why using components from Elementary OS is a concern? As far as I can tell they aim to offer things very similar to PureOS. (Admittedly I donā€™t see one reference to FOSS though which I know is a hot button among many.)

27

I am not fully aware of the amount of software the Pantheon for Debian DE installs but I do remember it installing some applications like the AppCenter. I would doubt that it installs any non-free software.
Here are some good resources:

Note: AppCenter does showcase non-free software. Many applications listed arenā€™t made for Debian and therefore might not work.

28

for me itā€™s gnome because i prefer the bottom-up way of customisation it provides and the fluidity of changing windows and workspaces. itā€™s suitable for single monitor environment.
hehe ! talk about non-obtrusive - just use CLI

29

@reC Really agree. On a single monitor Gnome just really shines. On multiple monitors it is still great just a lot of what makes it great becomes unnecessary.

@LastDragonDog66 ahhh! Makes sense. For the record I tried Elementary OS yesterday, and while they really have put a lot of work into the finish and shine, I found that it felt too simplified for me. Also the link to the repo for Pantheon does not appear to be maintained currently.

2 Likes
30

Wanted to revisit this and just say that Gnome 3 with the dash to panel extension, and the panel set to auto hide is workflow nirvana for me.

Combined with the shortcuts for switching workspaces and the get out of the way mindset of Gnome and you really do have a nice environment to work in.

I saw Manjaro can come with XFCE and while it doesnā€™t seem as shiny as Gnome, it does seem to be able to do a lot of the things that Dash to Panel permits. Only it is much lighter weight.

Has anyone used it? Have anything to say about it?

1 Like
31

GNOME is the most polished piece of bloat-sw that the linux world has to offer (except for KDE maybe) :wink: however, for advanced users and minimalist people, there are some really nice window-managers out there but mainly only for X11 since thatā€™s been around the longest ā€¦

32

Yeah and Iā€™m not trying to get attached to software that is essentially dead. I mean some of these DEs will for sure make the switch to Wayland, but this isnā€™t a guarantee.

But you say that Gnome is bloated? Iā€™m curious in what way? It seems like Gnome is the default DE of choice these days on the major distributions.

33

this is the resource consumption in PureOS amber-GNOME (default version) with just FF-ESR open (just one tab open for the Purism forum) and the GNOME-disks-app open + transmission with 3 torrents left to seed (set to ā€˜encryption requiredā€™ in privacy settings) on my Librem Mini.

posga-res
posga-res695Ɨ1121 90.5 KB

that might be so but it is ONLY an indication of what MOST people prefer NOT how minimal the code is ā€¦

34

I need a counterpoint to have any frame of reference. Show me the same system running XFCE instead, for example. Performance metrics arenā€™t really a good example of bloat either. Extremely bloat free software can tax a CPU just as bad as bloated software.

35

Iā€™m beginning to fall in love with the way Feren OS uses KDE. Settings are easier to find, and if you like the way windows looks, particularly with the start menu, they have it nailed. Thereā€™s I think half a dozen pre-configured layouts for the desktop so you can have it gnome-like, mac-like, windows-like, and a few in between (including unity-like). The whole thing is exceedingly user-friendly (while this reads like preferring an OS, the my point is theyā€™ve done great things with KDE).

36

a good invitation for somebody else with a Librem Mini system to contribute to this conversation ā€¦

agreed. i was pointing at the RAM usage more than anything else ā€¦

37

iā€™d rather not give XFCE as a minimal example although it is a valid example (less RAM requirements than GNOME)
instead > https://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=puppy
the latest is 9.5 > mesa is 20.0.8 so it should have support for fairly recent hardware.

38

I used to shop around for window managers a lot, even used some fairly obscure tiling ones like AwesomeWM at some point, but these days I tend to simply use GNOME on Wayland. All in all I like how it works and how it looks, itā€™s also fast enough for me :woman_shrugging:

My only complaint about GNOME is that some even straightforward customization settings are deeply buried and need special tools (like gnome-tweak-tool) to edit. Then again, there is no need to write LUA code at least :sweat_smile:

1 Like
39

I can echo your sentiments. Gnome does feel really polished, and in the world of Linux that is extra special. :+1:

2 Likes
40

i should mention that i was talking about the default GNOME-shell experience as it comes from the source not how itā€™s bundled for ubuntu 20.04.

the way ubuntu implements the latest gnome-environment violates at least some of the get-out-of-your-way features that the original set out to do. but i guess itā€™s better they didnā€™t stick to unity for desktop ā€¦

for a successful mobile/desktop convergence GNOME/phosh/libhandy by Purism is the ONLY way to go so far ā€¦ but KDE plasma is going someplace too ā€¦

41

I use xfce and because itā€™s customisable I can change it appearance easily.
I heard that KDE collect data so I donā€™t use it. We already have Google and Microsoft to do that.