Re-installing Ubuntu and not sure on which flavor I should try next

[Arida]

I have been using Ubuntu for the past year or two and I am not sure which desktop environment or flavor to use when I do this in a few days.

I personally like KDE better however I have had issues with it in the past for example anacron starting over and over and over again and the only way for me to stop this from happening was to make a startup script that has pkill anacron about 30 times in it. This is the kind of thing I want to avoid in the future.

I started getting used to Unity however I really don't like it that much. From the screenshots it looks like the MATE desktop is pretty much a Gnome2 clone? If this is correct then I would probably prefer that although I want Ubuntu and not Linux Mint. (installing it is easy but I am worried about bugs)

I just want something that is easy to use and customize as well as quick. KDE would be great even if its not quite as fast but the above example is just one of the many issues I had so far and I would like to avoid them. Also when I run KDE on my laptop it gets really hot and then freezes but this doesn't happen with other desktops and makes no sense whatsoever to me.

Any suggestions?

[leclerc65]

Try Mint Maya Mate.

[Peripheral Visionary]

Many folks who prefer the old Gnome 2 desktop have found Xubuntu very much to their liking. It's fast, simple, and pretty.

[ibjsb4]

Many folks who prefer the old Gnome 2 desktop have found Xubuntu very much to their liking. It's fast, simple, and pretty.

Xubuntu, good stuff

[orb9220]

"From the screenshots it looks like the MATE desktop is pretty much a Gnome2 clone? If this is correct then I would probably prefer that although I want Ubuntu and not Linux Mint."

What do you think Mint is based on and uses same repositories?
Yep Ubuntu. So it is Ubuntu just custom re-packaged DE.
.

[Ashtonford]

I have been using Ubuntu for the past year or two and I am not sure which desktop environment or flavor to use when I do this in a few days.

I personally like KDE better however I have had issues with it in the past for example anacron starting over and over and over again and the only way for me to stop this from happening was to make a startup script that has pkill anacron about 30 times in it. This is the kind of thing I want to avoid in the future.

I started getting used to Unity however I really don't like it that much. From the screenshots it looks like the MATE desktop is pretty much a Gnome2 clone? If this is correct then I would probably prefer that although I want Ubuntu and not Linux Mint. (installing it is easy but I am worried about bugs)

I just want something that is easy to use and customize as well as quick. KDE would be great even if its not quite as fast but the above example is just one of the many issues I had so far and I would like to avoid them. Also when I run KDE on my laptop it gets really hot and then freezes but this doesn't happen with other desktops and makes no sense whatsoever to me.

Any suggestions?

All the talk of mate is nice but if you want a nice clean modern desk top try cinnimon its the best.

[Anders Stroem]

I usually just install Ubuntu, and then select a desktop environment later to use alongside Unity.

You will find that most desktop environments are already available in the Software Center.

As an example, here is Openbox with Tint2 (running under Sabayon in the screenshot, but I use the same configuration on Ubuntu as well).

[llanitedave]

I agree with the Xubuntu recommendations, it's a very nice DE. Although I've had a few refresh issues with it when coming out of hibernate.

I might also recommend giving the 12.10 version of Kubuntu a try. In the past, I've had some of the same issues with KDE as the OP, and I abandoned it for Unity with 12.04.

However, the 12.10 version appears rock solid to me. I've had no issues. It might be worth a revisit.

[black veils]

I want Ubuntu and not Linux Mint. (installing it is easy but I am worried about bugs)

I just want something that is easy to use and customize as well as quick

your solution seems to be xubuntu, as others have said. you can have window and panel transparency. panels can be configured.

if you need something lighter than that, lubuntu (lxde) would be a good idea.

[Marzata]

Xubuntu is probably the best distro at the moment. Avoid Linux Mint Xfce (and similar), it is a waste of time.