[TriLUG] Distro choice for desktop

Sat Oct 23 14:19:29 EDT 2021

Correction:
for an absolutely minimal Mate Desktop, `apt install
mate-desktop-environment-core` would do the trick.

added 'core' to the package name.

On Sat, Oct 23, 2021 at 1:54 PM Wes Garrison <wes at xitechusa.com> wrote:

> I have spent a lot of time over the years building highly tweaked,
> Frankenstein things that work, for a while, until you need to change or
> update something.
>
> That's what leads me to agree with the poster from the Ubuntu channel that
> the way to cause the fewest headaches is to use the package manager from
> your distro of choice to install the desktop environment.
>
> I personally use Debian for my desktop, and Debian stable (currently
> Bullseye) is rock-solid, but if you want reasonably up-to-date packages
> you'll need to use testing (currently Bookworm).  I've found "testing" to
> be very stable as well, and Ubuntu releases are more like Debian testing
> than Debian stable.  Sure Debian testing has a lot of updates, but unless
> there's a kernel update, you don't really need to restart.
>
> Overall, Debian "testing", the latest Ubuntu and Mint are all solid
> choices, but the more important choice is probably the desktop environment.
>
> If you want absolutely minimal packages without the cruft, I think your
> approach is solid: to install the base OS and then install Mate or XFCE.
> Both are continuations of the old Gnome2-based DEs, and use GTK.  I think
> Mate has a more modern look, but I use both, and both are familiar to
> people who come from a Windows-XP-style navigation paradigm and fully
> featured.
>
> If you want the absolutely lowest resource DE, then LXQt is a good choice,
> but it is not as usable out of the box as Mate or XFCE.  Some Google
> searches <https://www.maketecheasier.com/lxde-vs-xfce/> show that the RAM
> footprint of LXQt is barely over 200MB. (LXQt is the evolution of LXDE,
> which was GTK-based).
>
> Having said all of that, I personally just check the Mate desktop
> environment box when installing Debian, and I find that there's not a lot
> of cruft.  It does install a few things like LibreOffice and Transmission,
> but also useful things like the Mate system monitor.  I've never felt like
> I need to uninstall things afterward.
>
> TL;DR:
> If you install the base OS without a desktop environment, then `apt
> install mate-desktop-environment` you'll get a pretty barebones experience,
> probably missing things that many average users expect from an OS.  I think
> this is what you said you wanted.
>
> On Sat, Oct 23, 2021 at 12:20 PM via TriLUG <trilug at trilug.org> wrote:
>
>> I have used Ubuntu for decades (!). It "just works." With disk space,
>> etc., cheap, why not just go with a standard install? If there's are apps
>> you consider the be "cruft," just dessert them.
>>
>> I prefer a light weight desk top manager and use XUbuntu with the lighter
>> weight XFCE interface.
>>
>> I've installed MINT for others and they like it. MINT steers away from
>> SNAP packages used by Ubuntu even though it's Ubuntu based. MINT has as
>> good, active use forum. I consult it even though my personal desktop is
>> running Ubuntu, as is my Lenovo X-1.
>>
>> I stay with one distro to avoid confusion including deb vs. Yum package
>> management.
>>
>> At its root, hdw device support depends largely on the Linux kernel which
>> is likely to be pretty same across distros that stay up to date. Correct me
>> if I'm wrong.
>>
>> -- Roger Broseus
>> Pls excuse auto-correction induzed tiepos.
>> The inventor of autocorrect has passed away - may he restaurant in peas.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Mauricio Tavares via TriLUG <trilug at trilug.org>
>> To: Triangle Linux Users Group General Discussion <trilug at trilug.org>
>> Sent: Sat, 23 Oct 2021 6:09 AM
>> Subject: [TriLUG] Distro choice for desktop
>>
>> So, I found out I did not properly install Ubuntu on my desktop and it
>> is time to wipe and reinstall. I was thinking of starting with their
>> server and adding the windows manager I like and any other software I
>> need. Naive as I am, I decided to ask in the #ubuntu irc channel for
>> help specially regarding the dual screen and windows manager package
>> names I got this as a reply:
>>
>> (05:25:53 AM) alkisg: raub: that's what a desktop environment
>> maintainer does; he finds out the programs needed for that
>> (05:26:03 AM) alkisg: E.g. you'll need dbus-daemon, ssh-agent,
>> policykit-agent etc to avoid various tasks from failing
>> (05:26:31 AM) alkisg: So... you'll either need to learn about all
>> these  low-level things, or you'd just use the premade desktop iso :)
>>
>> I guess it is time to consider the options. Goal is to have an
>> installation with as little cruft as I can. Ideally, start from a
>> minimalistic install and then add the windows manager and the other
>> programs I need (the usual crap: 4+ different browsers, NFS, wifi that
>> does say it cannot support my wifi card). It also needs to work with
>> Zoom because unfortunately I need that for work.
>>
>> Candidates:
>>
>> Centos: Nope. I like the people in the #centos channel (not as
>> condescending as the ubuntu and specially fedora), but centos will
>> cease to exist in December.
>> Fedora: Nope. My condescending quota has been filled thankyouverymuch.
>> Debian: I never pictured it as  desktop, but hey
>> Suse: Calling Dwaine. Dwaine needed on Aisle 5.
>> lubuntu: I have used it before. What kind of support does it have? Its
>> irc channel is rather not popular.
>> Mint: never used
>> ???
>> --
>> This message was sent to: Roger <rogerb at bronord.com>
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>> --
>> This message was sent to: Wes <wes at xitechusa.com>
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>> Welcome to TriLUG: https://trilug.org/welcome
>
>