Trying several 13.04 *buntu's

[makitso]

Had a lot of time on my hands this weekend so decided to do some testing on my T61 Thinkpad that "was" dual booted to WIN7 and Ubuntu 12.04. So on the Ubuntu partition I tested several different versions of 13.04, xubuntu, ubuntu/Unity, and ubuntu/gnome. I did not include lubuntu in this mix. I tested it extensively at 12.04 and found that it was just to hard to customize to my liking.

Overall, each installed quite nicely and operated almost bug free. Here are my quick observations.

ubuntu/Unity:
I like the interface and would prefer to use it. However, the HUD just is a pain and the one reason why I can't.
Yes, it uses the most resources.

xubuntu:
I have always liked this distro, it's like an old friend, comfortable and known and the polish has improved significantly over the past few releases.
I do wish they would ditch the out of the box splash screen at login time for something a bit more attractive.

ubuntu/gnome:
I was hoping to see 3.8 but that was not the case. However, with a few gnome extensions it is very nice. One (dash to dock) keeps the dash visible all the time like Unity so its a very comparable product.
Seems to use less resources than Unity.

In the end, I am going to keep ubuntu gnome since for me, it's just little bit better than the other two. But, I still like xubuntu

[grahammechanical]

This is personal preference that is being expressed. Let us hope that it can be expressed in a way that dignifies those who have a different opinion.

The HUD is not a pain when it is not used and I do not use it. But then again if and when I get a Ubuntu Touch device I might find the HUD useful.

As regards Ubuntu Gnome, did you install the PPAs? I find Unity better laid out than Gnome shell 3. Move the mouse to the top left corner of the screen to reveal the launcher and then move the mouse to the bottom of the Launcher to reveal the Dash. Too much movement of the mouse for my liking. That grid like icon should be at the top of the Launcher and not the bottom. Likewise the search panel should be at the top left not in the middle.

But each to his own. And let us be thankful we do have choice.

Regards.

[screaminj3sus]

Xubuntu 13.04 is excellent, I installed it on an older laptop that can't handle unity. The latest xubuntu and XFCE releases have been very good and polished, its perfect for computers that can't handle unity or those that prefer a classic desktop, its now reached pretty decent parity with gnome 2 functionality-wise.

The only problem I have with XFCE/Xubuntu is video tearing on intel, doesn't matter if the compositor is enabled or disabled. I got around this by using the wonderful compton compositor (https://launchpad.net/~richardgv/+archive/compton) which gave me proper opengl compositing with no tearing (I have this script in my XFCE startup settings: compton --backend glx --paint-on-overlay --vsync opengl-swc --config ~/.compton.conf -b &, and this as my .compton.conf: http://pastie.org/7697600 ), and its awesome because it doesn't need to replace the window manager like compiz so I still use all of XFCE's native window management.

On my newer system76 laptop I use ubuntu 13.04 with unity and it works great, massive improvement over 12.10. I was worried about some major bugs that were still around quite late in 13.04 dev cycle, but it came together at the end and the major issues were fixed.

[makitso]

This is personal preference that is being expressed. Let us hope that it can be expressed in a way that dignifies those who have a different opinion.

grahammechanical, sorry if you took offence, where none was intended, on my HUD remark. I appreciate its value and have no issues with this technology. I just personally don't like it.

As regards Ubuntu Gnome, did you install the PPAs?

I installed ubuntu/gnome from the daily build gnome build iso image.

[AllenGG]

Almost looks like "Makitso" is looking for the perfect Ubu-distro.
It does not exist, and never will. I have Gnome (Ubuntu) on my Zenbook, but its' not comfy on my 10 year old Acer Lugtop. Whereas my desktop doesn't care.
In truth Unity is a little easier for the non-techie to use. (my wife)

[llanitedave]

Nothing wrong with looking for it, even if you never quite find it. It's a journey, not a destination.

And actually, curiosity is what keeps the cat alive!

[dandroid13]

I always try the releases but end up going back to Unity, much easier to use.

[craig10x]

I always try the releases but end up going back to Unity, much easier to use.

+1 So true

[boog321]

I always try the releases but end up going back to Unity, much easier to use.

I guess it is what you get used to. I have been old school xfce for so long that I get in the way of liking Unity.

But, that is also why I love Linux, you can choose to have it just the way you like.