[Cialug] The Linux Desktop and Window Managers - when is too much?

[Theron Conrey]

This is always an interesting question or conversation that leads to 
TONS of awesome information.  I'm pretty simple when it comes to 
interfaces I guess on linux.  I didn't initially like Unity when I was 
heavily using Ubuntu but I got used to it and really enjoyed it.  It's a 
solid option assuming modern hardware.  Getting to whatever it is I'm 
trying to do is the only purpose of any interface that I'm working on, 
and it seems pretty solid.

Since switching back to fedora I scratched my head with Gnome 3 for some 
time and rather than switching out, I got used to it and it quickly 
because familiar and easy to use, again assuming modern hardware.  I 
dunno.  I'm sure if I used KDE I'd have a similar experience.

I think for me, as long as the interface allows for easy and direct 
access to the applications I'm using while trying to be an unobtrusive 
as possible, I'm a happy camper.

-theron


On 07/25/2013 10:39 AM, aaron wrote:
> On 07/25/2013 12:12 PM, Dave Hala wrote:
>> I'm also a KDE fan.
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Jul 25, 2013 at 12:05 PM, L. V. Lammert <lvl at omnitec.net> wrote:
>>
>>> On Thu, 25 Jul 2013, aaron wrote:
>>>
>>>> My question to the group is, When is too much? Can there be too much?
>>>> Personally I think a more unified WM across all distros will help
>>>> greatly bring Linux more in focus of the mass user base.
>>>>
>>> If you want 'old style', you have a number of choices. If you want
>>> 'current', Gnome3 (and KDE whatever) are your choices.
>>>
>>> Personally, I liked the simplicity of Gnome3 when it was 
>>> mainstreamed two
>>> years ago and have never looked back.
>>>
>>> Of course, some things are a little headscratching (like the lack of
>>> ability to set an 'array' of workspaces in favor of one vertical list),
>>> but those are easly Googlable.
>>>
>>> For a server, *IF* I need X at all, I normaly install XFCE.
>>>
>>>          Lee
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> At the start, I tried many DM's in many different Distros. I ran 
> Fedora, OpenSuse, CentOS, Debian and Ubuntu. I ultimately settled on 
> Debian based distros and thus I now run Mint and Pure Debian, however, 
> if I had the time, Arch would be my favourite.
>
> In all honesty, I like the functionality and extreme customisation I 
> have with Mate for my personal desktop. On my servers, if I need a 
> Desktop manager, I install XFCE or Awesome or Gnome with fall back 
> mode. I used Debian for my servers, and with Wheezy's introduction, 
> XFCE and Gnome are desktop options at install.
>
> I'm not against choices, in fact that's one thing I very much love 
> about Linux. However Choices often confuse the average user and thus 
> will alienate them. I like the thinking that Ubuntu has with Unity, 
> but I don't like Unity one bit, it's confining and lame for 
> customisation. However, Ubuntu is the most visible at this time to 
> those non-Linux Enthusiasts such as many of us here. And my thinking 
> is for Linux to really make it to the masses, unification, instead of 
> fragmentation (while still keeping true to our roots) must be a goal.
>