How often do you switch DEs/WMs?

[aysiu]

Just a couple of days ago, I switched from Gnome to KDE. I switch between the two every few weeks or months--sometimes days!

I was just curious if there were other fickle folks like me, or if a lot of people were really loyal to a particular desktop environment or window manager.

I don't want a battle about which is "better"--just want to know if you're loyal or fickle.

I'm fickle.

[MaximB]

I've always used Gnome , in fact I never installed KDE
but I've tried kicker over Gnome a few times...
didn't like it much - but got the idea of what is KDE.

[fuscia]

constantly switching between kde, gnome and openbox. i'm always switching wallpapers too. when i say 'constantly', i mean like every hour, or less.

[Jagot]

I experiment every now and again - I've installed XFCE and KDE, along with Fluxbox and IceWM but it usually just serves to remind me that I'm at home with GNOME

[.t.]

I started using KDE full-time after bad experiences (mainly to do with lack of configurability) in GNOME. But now GNOME's moved on, and I cannot return to the crazy, somewhat crude, world of KDE. Sorry, but I'll be waiting till KDE 4 till I try that out again. GNOME is beautiful, easy, and does what I want it to do, in the expected manner.

[aysiu]

Forgot to mention--I started with KDE because my first real distro was Mepis.

Then I got into Gnome when I adopted Ubuntu. I was really into XFCE for a while, but now I pretty much just switch between KDE and Gnome.

[ComplexNumber]

Just a couple of days ago, I switched from Gnome to KDE. I switch between the two every few weeks or months--sometimes days!

I was just curious if there were other fickle folks like me, or if a lot of people were really loyal to a particular desktop environment or window manager.

I don't want a battle about which is "better"--just want to know if you're loyal or fickle.

I'm fickle.
even though you switch quite rapidly, aysiu, your heart seems to be with kde :).


i used kde full time for years, with the occassional 1-2 day dabble with gnome just to see what the latest offering was like. i made my final choice recently-ish to gnome, and thats what i've stuck with because its the right one for me. therefore, i voted for the 1st option. gnome feels like home to me, whereas kde doesn't and never did.

[Brunellus]

It depends on my hardware. on the continuum from "heavy" to "light":

GNOME >>>> XFCE >>>> Fluxbox

[aysiu]

even though you switch quite rapidly, aysiu, your heart seems to be with kde :). I wish I could honestly say where my heart is for desktop environments. Every time I switch, I always feel like I'm "coming home."

When I've used KDE for a while and then switch back to Gnome, I think, Ah, nice and simple. There are my multimedia keys, working the way I want them. Oh, simple configuration of the automounting and media. Beautiful Human Theme.

When I've used Gnome for a while and then switch back to KDE, I think Ah, all my little GUI tools. Settings > Configure... my old friend. Really transparent taskbar, there you are. Screensaver options, we meet again.

Right now, since I just switched back again to KDE recently, I'm feeling a bit frustrated, actually. I did a kde-core instead of kubuntu-desktop and the Display option is missing from my Control Center (if anyone wants to help me with this problem... (http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=232259)). I also have never been able to make sense of the device mounting options in KDE. But I did finally find a theme I like--I'm using a brushed metal Baghira window decoration with a Domino style and some nuoveXT icons.

Who knows where my heart truly lies...?

[loserboy]

oops i lied on the vote, ive tried xfce, but i voted that ive only tried 1,
anyway I like gnome but I feel like i should try everything onc... just that ive spent some time getting gnome the way i like it... then laziness sets in

[carlosqueso]

I'm pretty solidly an XFCE user, but I'll pop into GNOME every now and then, and really like IceWM. I always love trying new WM's. Anyone know any really obscure ones to play with? ;)

[Brunellus]

I'm pretty solidly an XFCE user, but I'll pop into GNOME every now and then, and really like IceWM. I always love trying new WM's. Anyone know any really obscure ones to play with? ;)
ratpoison?

[aysiu]

I'm pretty solidly an XFCE user, but I'll pop into GNOME every now and then, and really like IceWM. I always love trying new WM's. Anyone know any really obscure ones to play with? ;)
You might want to try playing around with Enlightenment.

[gruvsyco]

For the most part I stick with Gnome. I occasionally pop over to KDE to play around but that never lasts much more than an hour or 2. Really looking forward to some of the features of KDE4 though. As far as window managers, it's all about Compiz for me. The only time I ever run anything else is when a Compiz update breaks on my system... then it's Metacity for the duration of the fix.

[TravisNewman]

I'm thinking I've tried every WM/DE ever made ;) I sometimes like playing around with KDE and XFCE, occasionally even the *boxes or E17, but I always come back to Gnome.

The ones I've tried:
Gnome
KDE
XFCE
Sawfish
Enlightenment
openbox
fluxbox
blackbox
FVWM
TWM
CDE
Ratpoison
WindowMaker
wmii
dwm
ion
larswm
some others I can't remember, including the few tabbed WM's that have come out recently. If you know any that aren't here, let me know, I want to try them.

[linuxgeekery]

I use Gnome mainly, but when I feel like something light and speedy, I use openbox with either xfce4-panel or fbpanel (it's like a slimmed down gnome-panel). However, I'm going to probably checkout KDE when it releases KDE4. KDE4 looks awesome.

[23meg]

I've tried pretty much everything and have settled with GNOME a long time ago. I switch to XFCE when I need more power while running resource intensive production software.

[John.Michael.Kane]

I always endup back with gnome.

The ones I've tried:
Gnome
KDE
XFCE
Enlightenment/Elive
openbox
fluxbox

[ComplexNumber]

aysiu
maybe when kde4 or gnome 3 are released, one of them will give you that 'being at home' feeling.
perhaps part of your 'problem' is that you switch often, so maybe you don't give yourself enough time to feel at home with any specific desktop. maybe you're indecisive. i don't know.

[GuitarHero]

Im using GNOME. From time to time I pop in a Live Kubuntu disk, but KDE feels so very cluttered to me. I wanna try XFCE soon, but I just got my system working how I wanted and I dont wanna mess anything up. If I do sudo aptitude install-xubuntu-desktop I can just do aptitude remove when i want to go back to gnome for good and xfce and all its programs will go away right?

[aysiu]

I'm definitely indecisive.

But I've also spent plenty of time on both KDE and Gnome. Plenty of time, believe me.

[Jagot]

If I do sudo aptitude install-xubuntu-desktop I can just do aptitude remove when i want to go back to gnome for good and xfce and all its programs will go away right?

Thats correct, but there's no hyphen after the install:


sudo aptitude install xubuntu-desktop
sudo aptitude remove xubuntu-desktop

[kabus]

If you know any that aren't here, let me know, I want to try them.


wmii (http://wmii.de/wmii/)
dwm (http://wmii.de/dwm/)
ion (http://www.modeemi.fi/~tuomov/ion/)
larswm (http://home.earthlink.net/~lab1701/larswm/)

[kabus]

double post

[TravisNewman]

wmii (http://wmii.de/wmii/)
dwm (http://wmii.de/dwm/)
ion (http://www.modeemi.fi/~tuomov/ion/)
larswm (http://home.earthlink.net/~lab1701/larswm/)
yep, I'd tried those :) Added to my previous post.

[croak77]

...

I'm a big wmii fan. Right now I'm using KDE from Ubuntu repos but I miss Archlinux with wmii. As far as other wm you havn't listed;

pekwm
aewm++
afterstep
evilwm
waimea <-- used to like that one
fxdesktop <-- fox toolkit
oroborox
pawm
windowlab <-- pretty nice

[AndyCooll]

First distro I tried was Fedora Core and of course that introduced me to GNOME. I liked it and I've stayed with GNOME ever since. I've looked at KDE but for some unknown reason I'm never comfortable using it, and I'm always glad to get back to my GNOME desktop.

It's funny, because I really like alot of the KDE apps, preferring them to the GNOME equivalents (Amarok, K3B and Gwenview spring to mind).

:cool:

[ubuntu_demon]

I voted other :

-I use Ubuntu (gnome) on my desktop
-I use Xubuntu (xfce4) on my second machine which is also my gateway and server
-I play around for fun sometimes with other WM's/DE's but not very often. icewm and fluxbox are nice for machines with very little memory. I tested them on a slow laptop with only 64 mb (I borrowed it from a friend to bring it with me to the Ubuntu Developers Summit in Paris). It's workable unless you try to do more than one or two things at the same time :).

on a related note :

I downloaded nUbuntu http://www.nubuntu.org/ just for fun. But I haven't tried it yet (and I need to buy new cd's first).

I just discovered Fluxbuntu http://www.fluxbuntu.org. I'm curious why they want to run their own forums and their own repositories.

[%hMa@?b<C]

I am pretty loyal to gnome, (no bashing please, Linus ;) ) but I have used, and loved XFCE, periodiclly, KDE, I like it and all, but the "feel" of gnome, maybe because it was the first DE I ever used, really gets me, I couldnt live without it.

[nalmeth]

I suppose I'm fickle, but I don't see it that way.

Basically KDE is home-base. I like to wander and try everything out to see if I can customize it to work for me.

Notables which have been sucessful:
Gnome
Xfce
Fluxbox
E17

I don't really have a habit of switching on any particular periodic basis, but I like to have another DE handy when I'm in the right mood.

[RAV TUX]

I switch desktops like I switch OS's....which can de between 2 to 5 a day....in testing and constantly experimenting and learning...

I like fluxbox alot. I prefer Gnome.

[richbarna]

Just a couple of days ago, I switched from Gnome to KDE. I switch between the two every few weeks or months--sometimes days!

I was just curious if there were other fickle folks like me, or if a lot of people were really loyal to a particular desktop environment or window manager.

I don't want a battle about which is "better"--just want to know if you're loyal or fickle.

I'm fickle.

Me too, I change everything quite a lot. I have several computers and 5 distros on the go at the moment so I am lucky that I can have a play with many all at the same time.

I have Gnome, KDE, Enlightenment, Fluxbox.

Gnome and KDE are used on the main distros (Ubuntu & PClinuxOS) on my main PC. I've also got Zenwalk, Dyne:Bolic and I am waiting for Mepis 6 to download. My low end laptop has DSL and Ubuntu with Enlightenment.

I spend a lot of time on my computers so it's nice to boot into another OS and have a different DM/WM.

"Variety is the spice of life"

[angkor]

I've always run gnome since I started using linux. I do change the WM now and then for several reasons (speed, look, feel).

[MaLek]

b4:fluxbox---->now:pekwm

[handy]

I use Gnome in Ubuntu, I have found that KDE is usually set up to be just so much more than I require. I bit like Xp or Vista's desktop.

Having said that, when I was using PC-BSD, I was converted to KDE, due to the very efficient (to my mind) setup of KDE, it is really quite trimmed down in PC-BSD, & I learned to appreciate the strengths of KDE as opposed to Gnome; the strength being the powerful configuration tools available.

DreamLinux has a wonderful Xfce setup, I liked that a lot.

I've just installed PClinuxOS, & find the KDE setup is trimmed down & quite clean, probably roughly equivalent to the PC-BSD setup, so I will have to relearn what I've forgotten about KDE again.

Having 2 machines on at the same time, one with Gnome & the other with PClinuxOS & KDE, I can be switching multiple times a minute! :)

[steven8]

If it was just my computer, I would change a lot. But my family all uses it, so I don't want to mess them up.

[happy-and-lost]

Depends on the machine I'm on. I use Gnome on my speedy laptop, XFCE on a 3GHz P4 too sluggish to take Gnome (?!?!) and Fluxbox on a 7 year old box too slow for anything else.

[steven8]

Depends on the machine I'm on. I use Gnome on my speedy laptop, XFCE on a 3GHz P4 too sluggish to take Gnome (?!?!) and Fluxbox on a 7 year old box too slow for anything else.

Gnome sluggish on a 3ghz P4? I run it on my 1.8 ghz Sempron 3000+. . .

[happy-and-lost]

Gnome sluggish on a 3ghz P4? I run it on my 1.8 ghz Sempron 3000+. . .

I know, it's a disgrace. I think the slugishness is down to the 16Mb shared Intel graphics, rather than the P4.

[steven8]

I know, it's a disgrace. I think the slugishness is down to the 16Mb shared Intel graphics, rather than the P4.

16mb 'shared' graphics says a bunch. I had 32 mb shared on my sis630 and it was a dog! I feel your pain. . .

[happy-and-lost]

16mb 'shared' graphics says a bunch. I had 32 mb shared on my sis630 and it was a dog! I feel your pain. . .

It's really odd. It can run PPRacer at 27 fps, but Gnome just grinds to a halt. XFCE skips along just fine, so everybody's happy.

[runningwithscissors]

Almost never. Unless I am forced to by resource constraints.

[Sunflower1970]

I use Gnome mainly, and also XFCE on the oldest computer.

I've tried KDE a few times, even have it on Gutsy in VMWare, but I keep coming back to Gnome--it feels like home right now...although I like what I see with KDE4 development, which might make me switch permanently :)

I also use around with Openbox, Blackbox, Fluxbox, E17, IceWM, FVVM-Crystal they're all on the old Compaq, and I switch between them pretty regularly...although right now I'm using XFCE more regularly because I just got Compiz-Fusion working on it, and I've been playing around with it.

[Nikron]

I've stuck to gnome on my main machine, and installed different DE's on machines I don't use all that much, or machines that don't belong to me.

[celsofaf]

I'm at home with KDE, and I like experimenting other DEs/WMs. XFCE would be the 2nd choice over KDE.

[jviscosi]

I used to constantly switch between Fluxbox and XFCE. Now I switch between Fluxbox and WindowMaker. Hmm, Fluxbox both times ... maybe I should just stick with Flux.

[FuturePilot]

I'm always giving KDE a try but there's certain things about Gnome that keep bringing me back. I've tried XFCE too but somehow I always find my self back with Gnome.

[a12ctic]

I always used openbox until beryl/compiz, now I'm to spoiled =[

[Freddy]

I think it's always fun to try new version of everything, but my heart stays with Enlightenment17, it's just that beautiful.

[x0as]

Never, I've used fluxbox almost since I started using linux. Dont see me changing in the future.

[init1]

Just a couple of days ago, I switched from Gnome to KDE. I switch between the two every few weeks or months--sometimes days!

I was just curious if there were other fickle folks like me, or if a lot of people were really loyal to a particular desktop environment or window manager.

I don't want a battle about which is "better"--just want to know if you're loyal or fickle.

I'm fickle.
Right now, I'm stable with Gnome. In Mepis I switch between KDE and 9wm. There were times where I was constantly switching, but I so content with my current Ubuntu set up, I don't see the need.