Linux
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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I bounce between Xfce and Plasma. I used Xfce for... I don't know, 15 years? And only switched to plasma for a while because of getting a hidpi laptop before Xfce had support for it.
For me, from most to least favorite, it goes:
Cinnamon
Mate
KDE
xfce
Bash-only; no GUI
doing my math homework by counting on my toes
Losing three fingers in a table saw accident
GNOME
Edit to add: I love the "one newline in the editor is no newlines in the published comment." The internet isn't getting worse by the minute at all.
Gnome. But I use 3 extensions (dash to dock, desktop icons and appindicators) and the adw-gtk3 theme so GTK3 apps looks the same as GTK4/libadwaita apps.
Not technically a DE, but for productivity and full customization I use DWM (DWL is available for Wayland). It is super easy to use, keyboard centric and can be modified to behave exactly the way you want, as long as you patch it.
Gnome, KDE is also nice but the default doesn’t function in a way that makes sense to my brain anymore after using gnome
Started with GNOME, then once I got more comfortable I jumped ship to hyprland
KDE or cinnamon are probably the closest ones to windows if you're looking for familiarity but I think gnome/tiling wms improve on that
Hyprland and other tiling wms are great but only if you're the kind of person who likes to tinker and fiddle constantly
only if you're the kind of person who likes to tinker and fiddle constantly
What if, completely hypothetically, I'm the kind of person who is incredibly lazy and just wants things to work out of the box with minimal effort and maintenance?
plasma, xfce and sway/swayfx.
plasma and xfce are DEs, sway is a wlroots-based wayland compositor (tiling window manager).
Ubuntu 23.04 and GNOME.
I'm currently using KDE Plasma with i3. I like it fine. I love i3, and KDE works to tie everything together and add consistency for theming. Previously I was using i3 on XFCE, that was easier to set up. Plasma tends to require special configuration to make it play nice with i3, but once you're over that hump it makes for a pretty decent combination.
I've used Dwm for a long time, then switched to awesome, for the easier configuration! Loved both, really can't stand a floating wm no more
Ubuntu's GNOME.
I'm now full time on sway
Productivity is through the roof!
I’ve been using Debian with Cinnamon desktop for a while. I tried XFCE but it didn’t click and I really disliked how you added an app launcher to the dock. Cinnamon gets out of my and just works for the little that I need.
@governorkeagan My preferred Desktop environment is Cinnamon. I used to prefer swaywm but it's not a complete DE.
Gnome. On my laptop KDE and cinimon have given me a LOT of issues. I've had a lot of linux problems due to my hardware tho but finally found a fix and don't want to change
I love gnome but too used to kde to switch.
I prefer Plasma, but having an nvidia GPU makes using wayland a non-starter.
XFCE is my second favorite.
AwesomeWM is my current daily driver but outside the scope of the question
For VMs I use IceWM. I like MATE (Gnome 2.0 feel) for daily driving.
LXDE
I love the swipey gesture workflow on gnome on the laptop
I use gnome as a primary, it feels really polished and doesn’t break or crash. Very modern, but if you want to have a super-customized experience, you’re gonna have a bad time. Extensions break every update and so do themes, so you either wait for the dev to port it or so it yourself. Annoying, so I only use vanilla for now.
Maybe I’ll try plasma, looks cool.
TDE. Does its job, doesn't mess with my workflow by changing stuff that worked perfectly well before, but still has plenty of built-in software and general stuff for the occasions that I need it. But then, I'm a weirdo by tech enthusiast standards.
Gnome. Mostly vanilla except for some extended tiling for when I need it. Also sped up animations.
I bind Activities to an extra mouse button. But I'm also comfortable without that.
I've used a lot of stuff over the years. Started with the kde 3 series. I just don't really want to do a lot of fiddling anymore, and find the default Gnome workflow to be a really good fit for me.
Started with XFCE but migrated away due to bugginess with my outdated system. Next was KDE. I was pleasantly surprised by how lightweight it ended up being after hearing otherwise. Now I'm on Sway, and it makes this old computer scream!