KDE, MATE, Xfce - what do they mean?

[tantric]

Oh, great, it doesn't look like an official Ubuntu desktop? Who is behind https://ubuntu-mate.org/vivid/ is it gonna be around in 1 year? Or maybe split into two groups of fighting dorks? The screenshot looks promising.. Is it in the normal Ubuntu repos?

well, i have an active programs bar on the bottom, a top bar with info and a menu and a hideable dash on the side with app launchers....but it could look like a TRS-80 if i wanted that, so i don't know how to answer you.

Ubuntu MATE is a free and open source Linux distribution and an official derivative of Ubuntu. Its main differentiation from Ubuntu is that it uses the MATE desktop environment as its default user interface, based on GNOME 2 which was used for Ubuntu versions prior to 11.04, instead of the Unity graphical shell that is the default user interface for the Ubuntu desktop.[1]

The Ubuntu MATE project was founded by Martin Wimpress and Alan Pope[2] and began as an unofficial derivative of Ubuntu, using an Ubuntu 14.10 base for its first release;[3] a 14.04 LTS release followed shortly.[4] As of February 2015, Ubuntu MATE gained the official Ubuntu flavour status from Canonical Ltd. as per the release of 15.04 Beta 1.[5][6] In addition to IA-32 and x86-64 which were the initial supported platforms, Ubuntu MATE also supports PowerPC[7] and ARMv7 (on the Raspberry Pi 2).[8]

In April 2015, Ubuntu MATE announced a partnership with British computer reseller Entroware, enabling customers of the latter to purchase desktop and laptop computers with Ubuntu MATE preinstalled with full support.[9]

but its' not just a desktop - it's the opposite of 'lean'. it comes with all the programs and shit you need, ready to go. i tweaked it a little, just out of preferences, but there was no need. yet somehow it's not cluttered or slow. it blazes. the desktop is very well integrated with the peripheral software. KDE and Unity were nonsense - a pox on both their houses. MATE is a home user desktop/laptop system, but it has all the functionality of Ubuntu and the tech support. it's sweet. i tried xcfe and bodhi first, but yuck - why? i ran xcfe on my server for a bit, because it's 'lite' then it bugged and i slapped MATE on it, and now it's all good.

for the rest of y'all wankers: i'm told people who can fix cars prefer chevies, because they are made to be fixed. if all you can do is change a flat, lease a toyota. if you want to invest the time and learn how to make shit work and keep it cherry, go with a chevy. i know my computer backwards and forwards, and it purrs like a kitten. it *never* tells me 'no, you can't do that'. if i wanna sniff IP packets, boom. if i want art, bring out the GIMP. it's all free and it all works because i know how to work it. you can't do that shit with MS any more - 'it'll break your warranty'. besides, no viruses. i don't have to scan everything coming and going, making communication vastly more efficient. i don't want the whole world to go linux, that's be a disaster, it's not for everyone.

 

[bigfield]

With Mint, have they released updates recently? Last time I looked it had been a long time. How many people are behind Mint? It always has the feel of hobby project when I first tried it out.

Doing pretty well for a hobby.

 

[NobleSavage]

For now. That chart needs Red Hat and Cent OS. Debian is becoming less popular -- that's not good considering they are upstream of Ubuntu and Mint. Never the less, I'll check it out.

 

[bigfield]

For now. That chart needs Red Hat and Cent OS. Debian is becoming less popular -- that's not good considering they are upstream of Ubuntu and Mint. Never the less, I'll check it out.

Here is a more comprehensive list:

http://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=popularity

Debian is holding steady if you look at the long term trend; there's no reason to fear for the end of Debian based distros.

 

[NobleSavage]

When Linus dies off or retires I wonder what direction the kernel will go.