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Dbzdude707
February 21st, 2009, 11:46 PM
What's your favorite type of desktop and why?

Also, if you could, read the following and try to recommend me one. It doesn't have to be a choice in the poll. If I don't know how to install it, I'll figure it out somehow.

I'm new to Linux in general and I decided to try it... I seem to have most everything working (although, I'm having trouble with Wine and Iptables firewall... but that's not what this topic is for).

Well, I'm looking at different types of desktops, and it seems the main three (or at least, the easiest ones for me to install) are GNOME, XFCE, and KDE. I had GNOME already on Ubuntu but I decided to install the others and they all work well in their own ways.

However, GNOME just doesn't look good and I don't know how to make it look good... Also I want to customize the toolbars/panels so that I only have one panel to deal with. This is a reason I don't like XFCE either. Neither of them look that great, and I can't figure out how to customize panels on either... Oh, and for some reason the system for arranging icons on the desktop is really annoying in GNOME, it's hard to get them aligned right, and the auto-align to grid function doesn't really do the job. That also kinda irritates me. XFCE, however, fixes this problem. But then, in XFCE I don't have the ability to drag and select multiple icons, and that's a little annoying too. However, I can get over not having that if I have to.

Now I'm trying KDE and I really like it so far. I'd say what really matters to me in a desktop are... In order:

1. Obviously it must be stable... I don't mean I want earlier releases just for the sake of stability, only that I don't want too many bugs. I'm not a programmer... =/
2. Either the desktop or the toolbar/panel system has to be easily organizable. If I'm relying heavily on panels, I hopefully only have 1 of them to deal with, as this makes it so that maximizing a window means that a panel doesn't overlap part of the window and keep me from doing something... If I'm relying heavily on the desktop, I want the Align to Grid function to be similar to XFCE's or Windows'.
3. I don't need a start menu. However, I do need a good way of finding my programs. XFCE's AppFinder, GNOME's menus, and KDE's start menu are all great.
4. Easily customizable... I'm love it when it has a lot of customization options and you can find them fairly easily. I want to customize as much as possible, lol...
5. I really want it to look good. Yes, this comes after everything else, but... It's always nice! I'm a sucker for software that looks as good as it functions. Most of the software I rely on in Linux functions great, it just doesn't look that great. But KDE does look good!

As you can see, I'm used to Windows. I came this far with Linux though, and I've found it's a very efficient system. So I'd like to keep using it. Windows can be very clunky sometimes... Linux hasn't failed me, except that it takes some getting used to.

Thanks!

Vadi
February 22nd, 2009, 12:05 AM
Gnome is designed to be skinned actually. You can find lots of themes @ http://www.gnome-look.org/ and http://www.ubuntu-art.org/

jerrynewt
February 22nd, 2009, 12:08 AM
Dunno exactly what you are looking for but here is my desktop with Griffin Embers theme from gnomelook.org and one of my ten wallpapers. Maybe not some peoples cup of tea but does a good job for me, although I don't put any icons on the desktop, just launchers in the tray.

lukjad
February 22nd, 2009, 12:14 AM
1. Obviously it must be stable... I don't mean I want earlier releases just for the sake of stability, only that I don't want too many bugs. I'm not a programmer... =/

I have heard that KDE is less stable than GNOME. However, if you do a strait install of Kubuntu, I think that would minimize the instability (if there is any) compared to installing KDE over an existing Ubuntu installation.


2. Either the desktop or the toolbar/panel system has to be easily organizable. If I'm relying heavily on panels, I hopefully only have 1 of them to deal with, as this makes it so that maximizing a window means that a panel doesn't overlap part of the window and keep me from doing something... If I'm relying heavily on the desktop, I want the Align to Grid function to be similar to XFCE's or Windows'.

Well, GNOME can be tweaked onto one panel, but I prefer two because I can have my list of open windows at the bottom and my shortcuts and drop down menus at the top and still have room to read both. :)


3. I don't need a start menu. However, I do need a good way of finding my programs. XFCE's AppFinder, GNOME's menus, and KDE's start menu are all great.

Well, GNOME is my preferred Desktop Manager. (Who'd have guessed? ;) )


4. Easily customizable... I'm love it when it has a lot of customization options and you can find them fairly easily. I want to customize as much as possible, lol...

GNOME can be customized in Appearance Preferences found in System->Preferences->Appearance Preferences. Then you can just download a theme from gnome-look.org and add it.


5. I really want it to look good. Yes, this comes after everything else, but... It's always nice! I'm a sucker for software that looks as good as it functions. Most of the software I rely on in Linux functions great, it just doesn't look that great. But KDE does look good!

Well, pretty much just what I said. :D

Hope this helps. And as a tip, try whatever you feel like. The end choice is yours.

Dbzdude707
February 22nd, 2009, 12:17 AM
Hey, cool, I assumed there was some way to skin it, I just went on to trying KDE and XFCE.

I'll take a look at the skins then. =D Thanks.

2 things though...

1. GNOME's icon aligning system is funky, it doesn't like to align them in nice, organized grids, even when I tell it to do so... Any way to fix this? I like the way that Windows and XFCE aligns icons.
2. Can you all tell me how to better customize toolbars/panels? I want to put on it whatever I want, in whatever order I want. KDE has an excellent system for this, which is a big reason why I like it right now. I never found it for GNOME, but I assume it's there?

lukjad
February 22nd, 2009, 12:19 AM
Right click the desktop and select Clean Up By Name doesn't work?

4Orbs
February 22nd, 2009, 12:46 AM
All of them can be customized to look about the same. Each one has a different way to achieve the desired results. Gnome comes with compiz effects out of the box, and Kde has comparable special effects. Kde also includes desktop plasmoids which may add to the appeal of Kubuntu. I prefer Xubuntu because it's less complicated, although less feature-full. But it can still be made to look quite snazzy.

Dbzdude707
February 22nd, 2009, 12:51 AM
Hey cool I seem to have figured out how to customize the panels and everything, so now it all works peachy!

The Clean Up By Name thing does work, and it's a temporary solution at least, but... I want to arrange them in an aligned format with my mouse lol, like you can do in Windows and XFCE. I never checked in KDE since I didn't even need to use the desktop for that.

But other than that small problem, I'm set. GNOME's my favorite again lol.

Plus I think my computer just went retarded last time I loaded it... Now it looks fine. I dunno why, but before it didn't look very good.

lukjad
February 22nd, 2009, 01:24 AM
I've had something weird happen from time to time as well. Usually a reboot fixes it.

binbash
February 22nd, 2009, 01:42 AM
Gnome looks better after customizations in my opinion

4Orbs
February 22nd, 2009, 01:56 AM
Gnome looks better after customizations in my opinion

All of them look better after some customizations. Hah...!

chamber
February 22nd, 2009, 02:47 AM
Openbox. Glorious in its simplicity.

Dbzdude707
February 22nd, 2009, 03:04 AM
Openbox. Glorious in its simplicity.

Openbox eh? I'll look into it. =D

Also, to the rest of you voting Other... Please post what that other desktop software is. Although you probably won't see this message... Lol.

nynoah
February 22nd, 2009, 03:25 AM
I think Gnome works the best. But I hate most all the stock programs in Gnome. They are always to simplistic for me. I do how ever like all the KDE programs that come with the base install. Its just that KDE4.1 has a LONG way to go. There are just too many quirks to it right now. I think KDE 3.5 was far better. I know I can get KDE programs to work on Gnome. But they do not always work perfect.

T2manner
February 22nd, 2009, 03:26 AM
Gnome.
I like the simplicity of it.

I hate the way KDE looks.

Dbzdude707
February 22nd, 2009, 04:07 AM
Hm... I thought KDE 4.2 was out already? Or is it just not compatible with intrepid yet... I forgot.

Anyways, whatever version of KDE is the most recent for intrepid right now works and looks pretty good. BTW, KDE has its own themes, and they look nice. I remember I liked a particular one, but I forgot what it was called.

Anyways, I don't remember which one came with Ktorrent, but that's served me pretty well. Wicd is a program that didn't come with any of them but I like it a lot... However, if you're not on a computer with a WLAN card, it won't be much use to you lol. Pidgin and Firefox came with Ubuntu... So yeah, I'm pretty much set with the programs that came with GNOME.