Which Ubuntu alternative is best?

[HappyLinux]

Basically, I've been doing some reading, and found out that Ubuntu 11.10 will be solely the god awful Unity interface.

Then again, from what I hear, Gnome 3 doesn't fare any better. This is because both interfaces almost force you to use keyboard shortcuts for browsing menus etc.

There are very few keyboard shortcuts that I can remember (cut, copy, paste, find, bold, italic, save and print.) Basically, just a few word processing shortcuts.

But then I have a problem. KDE doesn't seem to like my computer for some reason, and ends up crashing whenever I view videos (online and offline) at fullscreen.

What alternative distros is there that would be great for me? I'm a simple user, nothing fancy. As long as it works for the most part, it's fine.

Other variations of Ubuntu, Fedora, Mint, OpenSuse, etc. Which would be best for me?

[ajgreeny]

Try xubuntu, Lubuntu or something using an alternative to gnome, if neither gnome 3 shell, nor unity, nor the gnome 3 fallback DE are to your liking.

Xubuntu will probably be my choice, or even Lubuntu.

[XubuRoxMySox]

A helpful post is found in my signature below, "What's the Difference in the 'Buntus?" It provides a general overview of the different flavors. The mods even made it "sticky" so it must be at least a little helpful! Click on it below (and the others as well just for fun if y'want).

-Robin

[Frogs Hair]

These are both Ubuntu based and using Gnome 2.xx at present though I'm not sure for how long . It is Gnome that is finished with Gnome 2.xx not Ubuntu . So I would expect to see the major distributions to changing over to Gnome 3 or other options as current versions reach EOL.

http://pinguyos.com/
http://www.linuxmint.com/

[snowpine]

Ubuntu 10.04 LTS, Debian, and CentOS will support for Gnome 2 for at least another year or so.

Then you have KDE, Xfce, LXDE, JWM, IceWM, Fluxbox, Openbox, etc... :)

[sanderd17]

Gnome 3 is nothing like Unity. Gnome shell is more minimalistic than Gnome2, but you can install extensions to make it just as bloated as Gnome2.

You can install a menu extension, so that you get the old menu back, a taskbar/dock, a lot of applet-like extensions ...

This is also the main difference between Gnome3 and Unity. Gnome3 is made minimal, so that others can write extensions and themes for it without problems. Unity is made to be complete and not extendable.

Every theming/extension making in Gnome3 is done with a combination of CSS and JavaScript to attract the huge amount of web developers.

Please don't judge Gnome3 if you have not seen it. If you want to try it, take a look at gNatty: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1754198

gNatty is not vanilla Gnome Shell, but it comes quite close. If you want to look for extra extensions, check WebUpd8: http://www.webupd8.org/search/label/gnome%20shell?max-results=10

Also note that Gnome Shell (certainly in combination with Ubuntu) is not very stable yet. For most it works well once it's installed. But if you get annoyed by bugs, please give it some time. The combination Ubuntu-Gnome Shell should be stable when Oneiric comes out.

[HappyLinux]

you can try kubuntu,xubuntu

I already said that I tried Kubuntu. KDE crashes when viewing stuff in fullscreen.

[SoFl W]

Ode to Xfce (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1802371) (xubuntu) But haven't you been told? If you don't like Gnome3 or unity, its because you can't handle change. That is the only reason.

[HappyLinux]

Gnome 3 is nothing like Unity. Gnome shell is more minimalistic than Gnome2, but you can install extensions to make it just as bloated as Gnome2.

You can install a menu extension, so that you get the old menu back, a taskbar/dock, a lot of applet-like extensions ...

This is also the main difference between Gnome3 and Unity. Gnome3 is made minimal, so that others can write extensions and themes for it without problems. Unity is made to be complete and not extendable.

Every theming/extension making in Gnome3 is done with a combination of CSS and JavaScript to attract the huge amount of web developers.

Please don't judge Gnome3 if you have not seen it. If you want to try it, take a look at gNatty: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1754198

gNatty is not vanilla Gnome Shell, but it comes quite close. If you want to look for extra extensions, check WebUpd8: http://www.webupd8.org/search/label/gnome%20shell?max-results=10

Also note that Gnome Shell (certainly in combination with Ubuntu) is not very stable yet. For most it works well once it's installed. But if you get annoyed by bugs, please give it some time. The combination Ubuntu-Gnome Shell should be stable when Oneiric comes out.

I have seen what Gnome 3 looks like. There are loads of videos reviewing it on the internet. Although it is more minimal than Unity, it still focuses on keyboard use to use handle it.

[HappyLinux]

Ode to Xfce (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1802371) (xubuntu) But haven't you been told? If you don't like Gnome3 or unity, its because you can't handle change. That is the only reason.

I can handle changes in layouts no problem. It's that I can handle having to learn keyboard shortcuts to use the desktop interface. It's like forcing people to ditch the mouse.

To me, it's like a step back in usability.

Sure, I can go from Windows, to Mac, to Linux, and vice versa. HI just don't want to be learning keyboard shortcuts en-mass just to load a few programs, or to hold ALT just to Shutdown my computer (I don't use sleep, suspend or hibernate.)

Xubuntu does look interesting for me, and I think I will try it out when 11.10 comes round.

[tlcstat]

Greetings,

Posted by OP

Which Ubuntu alternative is best?

If you come to a fork in the road ...... take it!

As for myself Unity is better than anything I've found since switching to Linux.
tlcstat