Are there any plans for an official Ubuntu Cinnamon flavor?

[user1397]

Just curious!

[cariboo]

Not unless you want to start creating it yourself.

[user1397]

Not unless you want to start creating it yourself.
Ah, alas I have not the time to undertake such a project, was just curious if anyone had started a similar project. I imagine it's in low demand since cinnamon is a linux mint invention, and most people wanting it would probably just install regular linux mint for that purpose. Still, now there is ubuntu mate, so I can imagine ubuntu-cinnamon becoming an option in the near future, that is, if someone were to undertake that project :)

[Elfy]

so I can imagine ubuntu-cinnamon becoming an option in the near future, that is, if someone were to undertake that projectwhich, I beliieve, is what post#2 said ;)

afayq - wish I could - but why whould I ;)

xfce works for me , but wait awhile and 2 or 3 will be along to proselytise I'm sure

[sffvba[e0rt]

Well so far removing Unity and installing Cinnamon and getting it to look OK hasn't been a big challenge... I will play a bit more and then post some steps progress on how and what I am up too (please note I am just faffing around in VirtualBox so don't expect to much as I don't :p)

[buzzingrobot]

xfce works for me...

XFCE in Xubuntu and Cinnamon are not all the different.

On my hardware, the biggest difference is that Mint's Cinnamon does not exhibit the video tearing I always see in any implementation of XFCE: Mishapen borders when windows are moved, tremendous rippling effect in Firefox with smooth scrolling enabled, etc. Same behavior on Nvidia with either Nouveau or an Nvidia driver as on Intel Haswell. I'm guessing its the window manager in XFCE since this problem only shows up in XFCE on every distribution I've tried.

Pity. I like XFCE and it allows me to work as I wish, while Cinnamon does not.

[user1397]

Well so far removing Unity and installing Cinnamon and getting it to look OK hasn't been a big challenge... I will play a bit more and then post some steps progress on how and what I am up too (please note I am just faffing around in VirtualBox so don't expect to much as I don't :p)
Sounds good!

[grahammechanical]

It is my understanding that we have a Ubuntu Mate version because one of the Mate developers wanted to do it. So, does anyone know if any of the Cinnamon developers are up for the challenge? Surely, the desire for a Cinnamon flavour of Ubuntu goes beyond installing a Cinnamon desktop and removing the Gnome desktop.

Regards.

[user1397]

It is my understanding that we have a Ubuntu Mate version because one of the Mate developers wanted to do it. So, does anyone know if any of the Cinnamon developers are up for the challenge? Surely, the desire for a Cinnamon flavour of Ubuntu goes beyond installing a Cinnamon desktop and removing the Gnome desktop.

Regards.
Now we're talkin'

[mikodo]

I'm guessing its the window manager in XFCE since this problem only shows up in XFCE on every distribution I've tried. Pity. I like XFCE and it allows me to work as I wish, I haven't, but have you tried using Openbox, instead? Would that do it? Seems one can replace xfwm with openbox, as outlined in this Ubuntu Thread: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2020652&highlight=Xfwm

[buzzingrobot]

I haven't, but have you tried using Openbox, instead? Would that do it? Seems one can replace xfwm with openbox, as outlined in this Ubuntu Thread: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2020652&highlight=Xfwm

Thanks! I hadn't considered OpenBox. I'll give it a think.

[buzzingrobot]

It is my understanding that we have a Ubuntu Mate version because one of the Mate developers wanted to do it. So, does anyone know if any of the Cinnamon developers are up for the challenge? Surely, the desire for a Cinnamon flavour of Ubuntu goes beyond installing a Cinnamon desktop and removing the Gnome desktop.




Cinnamon is the Mint's team project. Not sure they'd see a reason to create an official Ubuntu derivative.;)

Mint's also currently rebased on 14.04 LTS and Debian 8 for the LMDE2 releases. Getting Cinnamon working on later releases might take some effort.

I believe Martin Wimpress had significant experience with Arch and Debian before taking up Mate with Ubuntu. Someone could similarly launch an effort for Cinnamon. I'd suspect, though, that it might be more of a moving target than Mate since Mint is interested in making it work best on its own releases.

[monkeybrain20122]

There is a ubuntu cinnamon flavour, which is called Linux Mint (Mint is just rebranded Ubuntu with a different UI basically)

[user1397]

There is a ubuntu cinnamon flavour, which is called Linux Mint (Mint is just rebranded Ubuntu with a different UI basically)
Right, but it's a bit unfair to just call mint a ubuntu cinnamon flavor, there's a bit more to it than just ubuntu with cinnamon slapped on to it. They have several GUI tools built-in that are not part of ubuntu, they are on their own release schedule, they try to polish cinnamon as much as possible, etc.

[sffvba[e0rt]

Right, but it's a bit unfair to just call mint a ubuntu cinnamon flavor, there's a bit more to it than just ubuntu with cinnamon slapped on to it. They have several GUI tools built-in that are not part of ubuntu, they are on their own release schedule, they try to polish cinnamon as much as possible, etc.

I agree, calling Linux Mint Ubuntu Cinnamon edition is like calling Ubuntu Debian Unity edition :p

With the little knowledge I have on how a distribution is put together it is obvious to me I can't :p - that being said I am still working on creating a re-mastered ISO after the fact that has Cinnamon and not Unity and looks and behaves properly. Biggest PITA thus far is that most if not all the tools I have found have been discontinued or doesn't "work as advertised" as the last documentation and on-line help for them are several releases old.

But I keep trying as time permits :)

[wildmanne39]

@not found, sounds like an interesting project.:D

[sffvba[e0rt]

@not found, sounds like an interesting project.:D

Frustrating... think I am going to switch of Virtual Machines for a bit and play some games :p

[benrob0329]

Installing Cinnamon now, I would be willing to help with this. :)

[eric-dunbar]

Ah, alas I have not the time to undertake such a project, was just curious if anyone had started a similar project. I imagine it's in low demand since cinnamon is a linux mint invention, and most people wanting it would probably just install regular linux mint for that purpose. Still, now there is ubuntu mate, so I can imagine ubuntu-cinnamon becoming an option in the near future, that is, if someone were to undertake that project :)

I am one of those people who'd run Ubuntu Cinnamon rather than going with Linux Mint. Ubuntu is what I've "grown up" with on Linux. I understand all its vagaries and am consistently impressed by the QAQC.

However, and, this has become a deal breaker for me, Unity 'sucks rocks'. I first was introduced to it last September when I returned to Linux after a hiatus of two years. Knowing that Canonical does good work I spent months using it and trying to appreciate its merits (& I'm as happy in Mac OS X as I am in Windows 7 as I am in iOS as I am in GNOME as I am in... you get the picture). I did find it to be quite stable and predictable (unlike the odd quirk in Cinnamon under Linux Mint). In the end, my conclusion is that there isn't any solid research or design philosophy behind it. What's driving Unity I do not know but it simply doesn't work.

As a long-time Ubuntu fan it really pains me to say this, but I now understand why Linux Mint replaced Ubuntu as the most popular distro on distrowatch :( :( :(. Cinnamon under Linux Mint 17.1 isn't exactly the most stable GUI but it's orders of magnitude more usable than Unity. And, when I tried Cinnamon under Ubuntu 14.10 I found it much less polished than Cinnamon under Linux Mint 17.1.

I'd love to see the developer energy that's put into making Unity a stable piece of software go into Cinnamon instead. I'm no fan of Linux Mint, nor of Cinnamon, per se, but, within a week of discovering Cinnamon in April, I'd moved most of my Linux installs over to Linux Mint because the user interface doesn't frustrate the living daylights out of me. It actually works and works very well. The only Linux machines still on Ubuntu are those that run Arduino software and that's because I don't see any point to taking the time to re-install Linux Mint instead. The interface may be poor but does that really matter if all you're doing is running one program!

PS Apologies if this rant has been made before and there are policies in place against it. I just felt compelled to add my two cents with my complaints about Unity and the benefits of Cinnamon.

[eric-dunbar]

PS My summary of Unity is that it's built by the department of redundancy department.

The dock should be part of fixed menu bar at the top of the screen (like Cinnamon) but isn't or in-app menu bars should be part of the fixed menu bar at the top of the screen (like Mac OS X). The Unity solution just doesn't make sense :(.

In the end the fixed menu bar just doesn't make sense and wastes real estate. It doesn't serve a purpose since Ubuntu still allows in-window menu bars and it ALSO has a launcher.

[wildmanne39]

There are many ways to run ubuntu, I do not use unity I use classic that looks and feels like gnome 2 and I use awn launcher, so no one has to use unity to run ubuntu, not to mention xubuntu,lubuntu,kubuntu and the like.
Just make what you use your own and enjoy.

[wildmanne39]

Please stay on topic, this is not a unity bashing thread.
Thanks

[PaulW2U]

I'd love to see the developer energy that's put into making Unity a stable piece of software go into Cinnamon instead.

Which of course will never happen. Canonical's "desktop" developers are committed to Unity and convergence between devices. Any adoption of Cinnamon as a flavour could only come about if a community led group took up development and pushed to become official in the same way that the MATE developers recently did.

[vasa1]

... Ubuntu is what I've "grown up" with on Linux. I understand all its vagaries and am consistently impressed by the QAQC.
...
As a long-time Ubuntu fan ...

PS Apologies if this rant has been made before and there are policies in place against it. I just felt compelled to add my two cents with my complaints about Unity and the benefits of Cinnamon.

How have you given back to the community? I'd give credence to a rant from someone whose been helpful to others. Sorry.

[benrob0329]

I have recently (within the last few days), and I have been very happy. It's verry polished and I really like the Package Manager. However, I would be happy to go back to Ubuntu if I saw a flavor a bit more polished (and in some cases, stable)

I'm not trying to bash Ubuntu or Unity, but so far I have been more pleased with Linux Mint than X/Ubuntu/Mate.

[eric-dunbar]

There are many ways to run ubuntu, I do not use unity I use classic that looks and feels like gnome 2 and I use awn launcher, so no one has to use unity to run ubuntu, not to mention xubuntu,lubuntu,kubuntu and the like.
Just make what you use your own and enjoy.

The drawback to that is that the quality development is happening on Unity, an interface that seems to have had the effect of sending users scrambling to Linux Mint instead (perhaps my interpretation is wrong--is there some other reason that Mint has overtaken Ubuntu as the no. one distro on distrowatch?). I've got too many other things on my plate to be messing around with getting a distro working just right and then keeping that one install working well.

I work with defaults as much as possible because defaults tend to get the most bug fixes :).

Tragically Ubuntu seems to have gone down the wrong path in my few year absence in terms of defaults and Linux Mint has picked up the pieces. Ah well, at least Linux Mint is more-or-less Ubuntu so there is a minimal learning curve. Am still hoping for the day that Cinnamon is brought fully into the Ubuntu fold.

Yes, I understand that Canonical's goal is to go after touch screens, but, the reality is that the type of user that's using Linux isn't the type of user who's using a touch screen for their desktop.

[eric-dunbar]

I have recently (within the last few days), and I have been very happy. It's verry polished and I really like the Package Manager. However, I would be happy to go back to Ubuntu if I saw a flavor a bit more polished (and in some cases, stable)

I'm not trying to bash Ubuntu or Unity, but so far I have been more pleased with Linux Mint than X/Ubuntu/Mate.

What I'm noticing is that there are the odd interface quirks in Cinnamon that make is less than rock-solid-stable. That's why I'm wishing that the development that goes into Unity were going into Cinnamon instead.

PS I'm not sure if I'd fall into the target audience for Canonical so perhaps they're making the right business decision, but, I'm not convinced. Linux provides people with income from services, not from software sales. Support is where it's at for Canonical and I don't think they're going to storm the world and carve out much of a niche from Android. While developing a tablet interface is wise, it's also wise not to abandon the core of your business income--support.

And, if people are leaving what is arguably the best consumer distro (well, ok, so I'm biased since I know little about Fedora or Debian) for Linux Mint that also means that end users are associating Linux Mint with their installs rather than Ubuntu. I'm sure there's a term for that loss of brand name association in the world of advertising and I'm also sure that that translates into lost income for Canonical :( :( :(.

My gut tells me that people are leaving Ubuntu for Linux Mint because of Unity, not because of Cinnamon! There may be a minor pull factor from Cinnamon but I think the push factor is likely stronger. I know that's my case. I got fed up with Unity and rather than investing tonnes of effort into customizing the interface to work sort-of like I'd like it to I started experimenting with Linux Mint and found it to be "good enough" (it's not nearly as stable as Unity, but, that doesn't matter since Unity interferes too heavily with the workings of the computer).

[eric-dunbar]

Please stay on topic, this is not a unity bashing thread.
Thanks

My apologies for unwittingly taking this thread off topic. It seemed appropriate given the question (in my mind you'd be wanting Cinnamon because you DON'T want Unity). I was going to ask you where I could find a Unity bashing thread but it was painfully easy--the second most popular visited thread in this entire forum :):

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=797223&page=341&p=13287175#post13287175

[eric-dunbar]

How have you given back to the community? I'd give credence to a rant from someone whose been helpful to others. Sorry.

<creak> Since before you were born, sonny.

Wow. Where did this come from? Such a disappointing comment in an Ubuntu forum. From back in the day when I subscribed to and contributed to lists.ubuntu.com (does that still exist--I unsubscribed many years ago when the volume of messages exceeded my ability to digest them) I can honestly say I would rarely see this tone in a post.

Look at the facts and leave your emotion at home. If you're going to write a post that attacks a person, save it as a draft and come back to it a few hours later. If you still feel like posting it, then do. Otherwise, bin it! Chances are you'll bin it because you realise it's simply an ad hominem attack.

[QIII]

Again: back on topic.

Let's not make a mess with territory marking.

[craig10x]

@eric: Unity isn't driving people away in huge numbers to mint at all...while it is true that some ubuntu users prefer kubuntu, xubuntu and so forth, there are many MANY ubuntu users who absolutely LOVE Unity (myself included) Gnome is the one that made the change but since they wouldn't work with Canonical, they developed their own version of the gnome 3 interface (unity) and to me, it's the nicer one and i am glad they did go on their own... :D

There's nothing radical or earth shattering about the unity desktop...it's is simple a dock launcher which is on the left side of the screen and can be auto hidden when not needed...just like on a mac...in fact, the unity desktop is very mac-like with it's dock, dash search and top panel....

Also, these days, most people are familar with macs and of course most people have smart phones so they are accustomed to use an "icon based" type of desktop....it's simple to use and there isn't anything scary about it...people who prefer kubuntu/xubuntu/cinnamon, etc...are usually those who like the old style of desktop...if you prefer that, that is fine....but that doesn't mean that everyone or even most people share your preference...ubuntu is doing just fine with unity...

[QIII]

Did I forget to mention staying on topic?

[craig10x]

Sorry QIII i just get so tired of the unity bashing...:rolleyes:
anyway, if one wants cinnamon then why not just use mint then...you shouldn't expect a community version of every desktop on ubuntu...

[cariboo]

Seeing as some of the posters in this thread can't seem to stay on topic, we can safely close it.