Now that the Unity hate has cooled down, how do you feel about the WM?

[monkeybrain2012]

Unfortunately, Gnome/Unity is still ridiculously slow. KDE is better on so many levels and I actually like my desktop cube and wobbly windows.

?? I have used all three of them (on same machine, different partitions) , KDE is the slowest on all account and kwin cpu usage is high. Yes, kde would be faster if you disable all effects but then why not just run LXDE? Unity in 13.04 is very fast, but can be made even faster and smoother with the compiz-experimental ppa (though one should get that sweet spot and stop upgrading as there are some risks)

[Moose]

To be honest, the only Desktop Environment I believe actually goes well with Linux, is Gnome 3.8.
Unity was alright for a while, but in my honest opinion, it's just a slower, clunkier version of Mac OS X.
Every other desktop environment is either a Mac OS X or Windows clone. Gnome is the only Desktop Environment that is actually unique and suits Linux.

[monkeybrain2012]

To be honest, the only Desktop Environment I believe actually goes well with Linux, is Gnome 3.8.
Unity was alright for a while, but in my honest opinion, it's just a slower, clunkier version of Mac OS X.
Every other desktop environment is either a Mac OS X or Windows clone. Gnome is the only Desktop Environment that is actually unique and suits Linux.

Gnome 3.8 is not bad, I have it on Debian, except I don't think all the pieces fit together, may be because of Debian's packaging (gnome3.8 is from experimental) Nautilus is still a mess, all x + - buttons are gone (I enable them in other applications with gnome-tweak tools but doesn't work for Nautilus) and it always opens in full screen, changed that with the dconf-editors but the settings got forgotten as soon as I close and reopen nautilus. Dash (whatever it is called) has no category and everything get dumped in one place, partially fix it by re-introducing categories in gconf-editor or dconf-editor but now additional boxes appear for groups so the same app appears twice, once inside a category box, once outside ungrouped. I can do whatever I do in gnome-shell with Unity, the most convenient feature of the shell is the hot corner on the top left, but that can be done in Unity with the Compiz scale addon.

[HermanAB]

"just a slower, clunkier version of Mac OS X"
Yup, I know what you mean, since I actually use a Mac. The Mac desktop is sometimes annoying, whereas Gnome/Unity is annoying all time.

On my Mac, I actually find myself inside a Linux XFCE Virtual Machine most of the time. I use the Mac apps for some fun things, and Linux for the important things.

I should just re-install the Mac with Linux, but it is just not quite annoying enough to make it worth the effort.

[Sam Mills]

Unfortunately, Gnome/Unity is still ridiculously slow. KDE is better on so many levels and I actually like my desktop cube and wobbly windows.

If bling is your thing, then go for it. That's what linux is all about. Make it your own.

[Sam Mills]

To be honest, the only Desktop Environment I believe actually goes well with Linux, is Gnome 3.8.

Wow. (there's nothing to say)

[Moose]

Wow. (there's nothing to say)

I was waiting for someone to say something like that. People like you are so annoying, using very vague answers such as this just to make it look like you know what you are talking about.

[Paddy Landau]

If your'e a productive user download teh Gnome shell extension or try Linux Mint with the Mate desktop…

Honestly, most of what you wrote is a personal opinion, not a statement of fact. I find Unity far more productive and faster to use than the old menu-driven method. But that's my opinion, and you're welcome to disagree.

Perhaps you just haven't learned how to use the Unity method? But you don't need to. Just use a different distribution. If you want to stick with Canonical, use Kubuntu, Xubuntu or Lubuntu. Otherwise use one of the many, many other distributions out there.

Unity itself however is way less buggy today than it was back when it got forced onto everyone.

Forced? No one ever forced anyone onto Unity. This is Linux. I have been forced onto Windows, though, every time I've worked for a company that used Windows.

[montag dp]

Gnome 3.8 is not bad, I have it on Debian, except I don't think all the pieces fit together, may be because of Debian's packaging (gnome3.8 is from experimental) Nautilus is still a mess, all x + - buttons are gone (I enable them in other applications with gnome-tweak tools but doesn't work for Nautilus) and it always opens in full screen, changed that with the dconf-editors but the settings got forgotten as soon as I close and reopen nautilus. Dash (whatever it is called) has no category and everything get dumped in one place, partially fix it by re-introducing categories in gconf-editor or dconf-editor but now additional boxes appear for groups so the same app appears twice, once inside a category box, once outside ungrouped. I can do whatever I do in gnome-shell with Unity, the most convenient feature of the shell is the hot corner on the top left, but that can be done in Unity with the Compiz scale addon.

That's strange, I don't have to go through any of those hoops with Gnome 3.8 on Ubuntu. Like you, I don't like how the new "appfolders" work in the show applications window, but I trust that will be refined in future releases. Gnome Shell is my favorite of the Linux DEs I've tried (includes Unity, KDE, Cinnamon, and XFCE), but they all have a lot to like and at least some things to dislike.

[LillyDragon]

Once those words come out, as far as I'm concerned, you lose all credibility. Saying you find it not to your liking is one thing, but outright bashing of OS's and software is not allowed here. It makes one come across as immature, and not ready to handle a real discussion.

No one expects you to love everything, but it could be handled in a better manner.

Exactly. Words like "LOLOLOL THIS SUCKS" can't be taken seriously in a conversation. All I heard was ranting, and from the sound of it, he barely took the time to figure out how Unity works. (Something I'm glad I did, Unity is actually pretty fluid at what it does; I'd prefer some mouse gestures for changing desktops, but switching between keyboard and mouse isn't exactly hard for me. Of course, that's my opinion too.) The quote below is a much better example of an opinion.

To be honest, the only Desktop Environment I believe actually goes well with Linux, is Gnome 3.8.
Unity was alright for a while, but in my honest opinion, it's just a slower, clunkier version of Mac OS X.
Every other desktop environment is either a Mac OS X or Windows clone. Gnome is the only Desktop Environment that is actually unique and suits Linux.

To a point, I have to agree, but Unity's slowly starting to carve out its own distinct feel, I think. Although the top taskbar does come off as MAC-inspired from the get-go. At least it still retains the virtual desktops of Linux, and does its own thing with the side bar. Otherwise, I find it a refreshing alternative to the usual document-centric DE, and since I don't have a MAC, it's the perfect go-to DE for me when I need a more alien desktop. =P

Also, how's Gnome 3.8 shaping up? Last I tried it during 3.2, I wouldn't call it messy, it was just hard for me to see the vision the Gnome devs were going for. If it's gotten better with time, I might consider installing it again once I have a new desktop machine.