Cinnamon and MATE are the future

Here's an important article debating the future of the Linux desktop environment, with Cinnamon and MATE becoming the dominant environments, alongside Unity and to some extent KDE, focusing on ease of use, simplicity, productivity, efficiency, Gnome 3 failure, growing popularity of the Ubuntu family, Linux Mint market positioning, future market gaps and opportunities, traditional desktop ecosystem, evolution of the desktop as an application, natural migration of users between operating systems, familiarity, resistance to change, Windows 8 failure, Windows and Mac users, emerging markets, other factors, and more. Now, read carefully so you do not accuse me of any inaccuracies in my assessment. Have fun.

http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/cinnamon-mate-future.html


Cheers,
Mrk

 

And Pantheon - if you exclude the crippled Pantheon File Manager, its also is a good desktop for the future - if you lke the MacBuntu and such - its the most elegant and usable desktop environment I've seen. The Gala Window Manager and Pantheon Shell is very light on resources and has nothing to do with GNOME 3.

 

Do note I wrote, MATE will not break it big.
That league is reserved for whatever Mint goes for, thanks to Ubuntu.
Thus, any other alternative will meet the same fate, unless sponsored by a popular distro.
Mrk

 

The Pantheon Desktop Environment is available in the Ubuntu repositories. The native file manager will NOT work - it offers no right-click functionality. So how to get around a frozen desktop? You can remove Pantheon File Manager, install Nautilus File Manager from GNOME to handle the desktop - and voila - you hae a working right-click desktop back. The top wingpanel is home to a Unity-like applications dash you get your inline search and more importantly - you can drag and drop applications to the dock just like on Mac OSX. Since its written in Vala and C+, the concern is not for eye candy and bling but for pure usability and an enjoyable end user computing experience. Since its not GNOME 3 - no software rendering engine is needed and all that related nonsense. Elementary OS Luna going into the beta is going in the right direction but I do not care for a locked down desktop. But the modularity of Pantheon allows you to replace whatever you don't like and still get a beautiful and functional desktop. I think the desktop environment is with us to stay and with the choices we have - its just lovely. Take your pick!

 

whats your view on old gnome classic

i heard ubuntu 12.04 have fallback version of classic gnome 2.32 but never tried it.

http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2012/03/gnome-classic-in-ubuntu-12-04-its-like-nothing-ever-changed

 

Dated. I'd go for Pantheon since its elegant, lightweight and intuitive and uses new technologies. Just replace the File Manager as I said and you're good to go with it!

 

Gnome 3 fallback mode is actually not bad in 3.4+. Main issue is that Metacity is still a dog, and replacing it is no longer easily possible.

(Gnome Shell itself is usable given the right extensions, but the video card requirements are absurd because the special effects can't be turned off; and frankly the whole concept is ridiculous. Everyone knows that Linux is terrible at 3D, and that's not going to change any time soon, so why on Earth make 3D desktops for Linux?)

Edit: say, is it true that fallback mode will eventually be removed?

 

The Gala Window is one of the best I've ever seen. Lightweight and no penalty. It runs blazingly fast on a weak chip CPU! Pantheon Desktop takes a radical departure here and doesn't have a 3D desktop. This is a huge advantage over GNOME Shell, Unity and Cinnamon, which require a software rendering engine to run on older hardware. You get an application launcher, a customizable dock and a top wingpanel that loads only the most necessary notifications and nothing else. This is the essence of Macbuntu computing! I think the elementaryos folks are on to something with Luna - simple is always better! Unfortunately, the stock Pantheon File Manager doesn't support right click you have a desktop that is frozen solid - like in the now deprecated Jupiter edition Mrkvonic reviewed a while back and this isn't something he would look kindly on. Not all is all is lost though - uninstall the stock File Manager, replace it with Nautilus File Manager and let that handle the desktop - you finally get back everything you need that Windows and Mac OSX users are accustomed to. Fancy graphics aren't everything in Linux and I think much of the current desktop environment development is meant for morons and nerds - there is nothing wrong with the old-fashioned desktop metaphor. I think Luna is perfect because there is no need for a fall back mode. It is what GNOME 3 should have been in the first place.

Cheers.

 

The problem is, if it's not endorsed by a big shot, it won't succeed.
I really like KDE, but it has no sugardaddy to sustain it.
Mrk

 

What about Blue Systems ? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Systems

http://blue-systems.com/

There is moola to be deployed for KDE development.

 

Sure, that helps. But the visibility is still low.
The support needs to translate into a product.
Mrk

 

I did have to edit the button layout to close, maximize, minimze to recreate the Mac OSX button layout.

My little netbook looks like a Mac - very posh and expensive feeling. Jupiter was something of a misfire but Luna is the most beautiful desktop I have ever seen. The beta should be out any time now.

Here is a screenshot of a Macbuntu Luna Desktop: