Solved GNOME desktop environment

[Emanate Presence]

A developer in the Cardano blockchain community who uses Linux says he likes Ubuntu. I need to consider it before choosing a distribution.

Can anyone help me understand the GNOME desktop environment and / or point me to an explanation with screenshots?

 

[f33dm3bits]

 

[kc1di]

I might add that Ubuntu has other desktop flavors if you are not in Love with Gnome
Xubuntu -XFCE4
Kubuntu- KDE
Lubutu - LXQT
Ubuntu Mate - Mate
Then there is also Mint with Cinnamon.
You can also get Ubuntu Cinnamon.
There are many choice while the underlying system remains pretty much the same.
I'm using Kubuntu at the moment because I happen to like the KDE Desktop. never got into Gnome after they went to Gnome 3 and 4.
But in any event Welcome to the linux.org forum.

 

[PsychoHermit]

I find a few modifications are necessary to make Gnome usable. If you load the Gnome shell extensions there is an application menu that you can turn on. Also there is an extension called dash to dock that moves the dock from the activities menu to the main desktop. With those modifications Gnome is my choice of desktop.

--glenn

 

[f33dm3bits]

I find a few modifications are necessary to make Gnome usable. If you load the Gnome shell extensions there is an application menu that you can turn on. Also there is an extension called dash to dock that moves the dock from the activities menu to the main desktop. With those modifications Gnome is my choice of desktop.

That isn't the way Gnome is meant to be used, since those extensions give you a more classic desktop experience. You can, but you might as well use KDE Plasma then.

 

[Emanate Presence]

I might add that Ubuntu has other desktop flavors if you are not in Love with Gnome
Xubuntu -XFCE4
Kubuntu- KDE
Lubutu - LXQT
Ubuntu Mate - Mate
Then there is also Mint with Cinnamon.
You can also get Ubuntu Cinnamon.
There are many choice while the underlying system remains pretty much the same.
I'm using Kubuntu at the moment because I happen to like the KDE Desktop. never got into Gnome after they went to Gnome 3 and 4.
But in any event Welcome to the linux.org forum.

Do Cinnamon and Mate refer primarily to the look and feel?

What distribution will be the least technical for me?

My head starts spinning with some of the Linux terms.

 

[dos2unix]

Do Cinnamon and Mate refer primarily to the look and feel?

Yes, the desktop environment is the way the screen and menus are laid out.
Here is a page with some pictures of some of the differences.

Fedora Spins | The Fedora Project

fedoraproject.org

 

[Emanate Presence]

I might add that Ubuntu has other desktop flavors if you are not in Love with Gnome
Xubuntu -XFCE4
Kubuntu- KDE
Lubutu - LXQT
Ubuntu Mate - Mate
Then there is also Mint with Cinnamon.
You can also get Ubuntu Cinnamon.
There are many choice while the underlying system remains pretty much the same.
I'm using Kubuntu at the moment because I happen to like the KDE Desktop. never got into Gnome after they went to Gnome 3 and 4.
But in any event Welcome to the linux.org forum.

Thank you for the welcome. It's an adventure. Is Cinnamon like a template on a website?

 

[Emanate Presence]

Yes, the desktop environment is the way the screen and menus are laid out.
Here is a page with some pictures of some of the differences.

Fedora Spins | The Fedora Project

fedoraproject.org

Wow! That is extremely helpful!

Right now I have to stay focused on gathering information. If I start going in-depth the funny farm will need to find another vacancy. I can see this definitely is a website I will investigate thoroughly before choosing. Many thanks!

Alternative desktops for Fedora.
https://fedoraproject.org/spins/

So there are spin off projects by different developer groups?

If it's all free, how is it sustainable?

No one lives on air yet, that I know....

 

[dos2unix]

Some of the larger distro's are corporately backed.
Ubuntu has Canonical, Fedora has Redhat/IBM, SuSE has EQT partners, Oracle has... Oracle.
But by and large, it's mostly just volunteers doing it for free.
Most of these volunteers have a "real" paying day job. Linux is just a side hobby.

As much as I hate supporting commercial corporations to own an OS, the best distro's are
usually the ones with corporate backing. That's not to say there aren't some great independant distro's.

A distro is short for distribution. For a list of distributions see.. https://distrowatch.com

 

[Emanate Presence]

Some of the larger distro's are corporately backed.
Ubuntu has Canonical, Fedora has Redhat/IBM, SuSE has EQT partners, Oracle has... Oracle.
But by and large, it's mostly just volunteers doing it for free.
Most of these volunteers have a "real" paying day job. Linux is just a side hobby.

As much as I hate supporting commercial corporations to own an OS, the best distro's are
usually the ones with corporate backing. That's not to say there aren't some great independant distro's.

A distro is short for distribution. For a list of distributions see.. https://distrowatch.com

What is the benefit for IBM to back Fedora?

I also don't resonate with corporate entities and although in the past Firefox wasn't completely compatible with my endeavors, I will go back to it. The integrated apps with 'Fedora KDE Plasma Desktop' look great so at the moment I am leaning towards it.

Thanks for the link, it will be added!

 

[kc1di]

What is the benefit for IBM to back Fedora?

I also don't resonate with corporate entities and although in the past Firefox wasn't completely compatible with my endeavors, I will go back to it. The integrated apps with 'Fedora KDE Plasma Desktop' look great so at the moment I am leaning towards it.

Thanks for the link, it will be added!

IBM Bought out Redhat awhile back so they now call the shots on Fedora and Redhat enterprize Linux Fedora tends to be the experimental side of Redhat. The opposite of the commercial backed distros might be Debian mint Arch and others.
This page gives the history of some Distros.

The History of Various Linux Distros - Make Tech Easier

Linux has been around for almost 30 years. Check out a brief history of various Linux distros, highlighting the most popular options.

www.maketecheasier.com

 

[atanere]

Is Cinnamon like a template on a website?

Cinnamon is a Desktop Environment (DE)... like the others mentioned before: GNOME, XFCE, KDE, LXQT, and MATE are all Desktop Environments. And there are others. Besides DE's there are also Window Managers (WM), such as Fluxbox, i3, IceWM, JWM (Joe's Window Manager), and others. Each product is a labor of love by those who make them to share their vision of how things should look and how they should work. But everyone has different ideas, so you have choices.

WM's and DE's are what gives you the look and feel of the graphical desktop.... while all are using the Linux kernel under the hood (not always the same kernel). Window Managers are typically "lighter" (need less RAM and CPU resources) than Desktop Environments, so they may be preferred on very old computers. There are some differences in behavior too, and it's good to test some samples of both as you learn your way around.

XFCE, KDE and the original GNOME are "old timers" of the X Desktop world, but others branched off from them, and GNOME has reinvented itself over the years. MATE is a fork of GNOME 2, and Cinnamon is a fork of GNOME 3.

Both DE's and WM's give various options and controls for the user to change each one to suit their own needs. But they can't all do everything, nor suit everyone. You can download or create your own themes to customize your desktop. There are many applets that can run on the desktop, like local weather or system usage (memory, hard disk space, etc).

 

[atanere]

Do Cinnamon and Mate refer primarily to the look and feel?

What distribution will be the least technical for me?

My head starts spinning with some of the Linux terms.

Oops, I just covered that first question.

Take your time. There is a lot to learn, but there's no hurry. Most distros are easy to install and easy to use if you have any previous computer experience with Windows or Mac. You will probably use a terminal more... the command line... because we will almost certainly try to teach you things with it, or to help you diagnose problems with it.

Yes, there are many terms to learn... and different names for the same thing.
Terminal = command line = console = shell = tty (and probably more)

But you learn as you go. Google for terms you don't know. There are probably YouTube videos that can give you a good introduction... take a look!

 

[Emanate Presence]

Cinnamon is a Desktop Environment (DE)... like the others mentioned before: GNOME, XFCE, KDE, LXQT, and MATE are all Desktop Environments. And there are others. Besides DE's there are also Window Managers (WM), such as Fluxbox, i3, IceWM, JWM (Joe's Window Manager), and others. Each product is a labor of love by those who make them to share their vision of how things should look and how they should work. But everyone has different ideas, so you have choices.

WM's and DE's are what gives you the look and feel of the graphical desktop.... while all are using the Linux kernel under the hood (not always the same kernel). Window Managers are typically "lighter" (need less RAM and CPU resources) than Desktop Environments, so they may be preferred on very old computers. There are some differences in behavior too, and it's good to test some samples of both as you learn your way around.

XFCE, KDE and the original GNOME are "old timers" of the X Desktop world, but others branched off from them, and GNOME has reinvented itself over the years. MATE is a fork of GNOME 2, and Cinnamon is a fork of GNOME 3.

Both DE's and WM's give various options and controls for the user to change each one to suit their own needs. But they can't all do everything, nor suit everyone. You can download or create your own themes to customize your desktop. There are many applets that can run on the desktop, like local weather or system usage (memory, hard disk space, etc).

The strongest attraction for me at this time is Plasma.

Although the reason for the attraction might turn some stomachs here, I will share. The initial draw was the name, because I have a spiritual relationship with plasma as in plasma physics. It's a strong theme on my website.

Beyond that, the Plasma apps look great and the names are also an attraction, but I do look to the practical side as well . It's a help that a Cardano developer uses Ubuntu, that got me started looking at the Ubuntu family of distros. The input here has been outstanding, thank you all!

 

[kc1di]

The strongest attraction for me at this time is Plasma.

Although the reason for the attraction might turn some stomachs here, I will share. The initial draw was the name, because I have a spiritual relationship with plasma as in plasma physics. It's a strong theme on my website.

Beyond that, the Plasma apps look great and the names are also an attraction, but I do look to the practical side as well . It's a help that a Cardano developer uses Ubuntu, that got me started looking at the Ubuntu family of distros. The input here has been outstanding, thank you all!

KDE/plasma Desktop is one of my favorites I've been using it for a long time. I currently use Debian with the Plasma DE.
Other good distros for plasma/kde are Kubuntu- Ubuntu's spin , Fedora. OpenSuse. I would for the time being stay away from the newest Plasma 6 version which was just release I think last week and still has some grown pains (IE Bugs ) that need fixing.

Each distro has it's own pluses and minuses so give several a try live first before choosing see which one fit your style /computing needs.
Another page you may want to look at as you learn Linux

Home | Linux Journey

linuxjourney.com

As has been said there is a lot to learn, take your time and enjoy the journey! I've been doing this since 1995 or so. So seem normal to me.

 

[Emanate Presence]

Oops, I just covered that first question.

Take your time. There is a lot to learn, but there's no hurry. Most distros are easy to install and easy to use if you have any previous computer experience with Windows or Mac. You will probably use a terminal more... the command line... because we will almost certainly try to teach you things with it, or to help you diagnose problems with it.

Yes, there are many terms to learn... and different names for the same thing.
Terminal = command line = console = shell = tty (and probably more)

But you learn as you go. Google for terms you don't know. There are probably YouTube videos that can give you a good introduction... take a look!

Will do, thanks.

I started on computers in 1982 and developed my first website by coding html in a text editor. I remember attending a meeting where the big attraction was a computer that used the old audio cassette tape cartridge for storage. My first pc had a 20 mg hard drive, and when a friend bought a computer with 1 gb, I said, 'How could anyone ever use that much storage?'

I was a business broker agent in Atlanta and did a deal where an IBM 1040 Mainframe was part of my commission, having been told it contained enough gold to be valuable. It ended that I was thankful to not have to pay to have it hauled off, where it would be used for landfill. Not very environmentally friendly.

 

[The Duck]

What distribution will be the least technical for me?

My head starts spinning with some of the Linux terms.

Take small steps one at a time.
Don't try and learn everything at once.
The more you use Linux the more you will learn how Linux works.

Choose a Linux distro like Linux Mint or Linux Lite and use it for awhile.
Once you gain some basic Linux how to then start test driving other Linux distros.

Enjoy the adventure as @kc1di posted and remember to have fun with your Linux.

 

[atanere]

The strongest attraction for me at this time is Plasma.

KDE Plasma is an excellent choice. It has a LOT of options and can be a little daunting at first, but it is worth the effort to explore it. It's one of the best.

Here are a couple of related links I think you will like:

Distro Chooser gives you an "interview" to help you decide on a distro to try.

DistroSea actually lets your run a live Linux desktop through your web browser... if everything works as it should. I don't know if your iPad can do this, but it's worth a try.

 

[Emanate Presence]

KDE/plasma Desktop is one of my favorites I've been using it for a long time. I currently use Debian with the Plasma DE.
Other good distros for plasma/kde are Kubuntu- Ubuntu's spin , Fedora. OpenSuse. I would for the time being stay away from the newest Plasma 6 version which was just release I think last week and still has some grown pains (IE Bugs ) that need fixing.

Each distro has it's own pluses and minuses so give several a try live first before choosing see which one fit your style /computing needs.
Another page you may want to look at as you learn Linux

As has been said there is a lot to learn, take your time and enjoy the journey! I've been doing this since 1995 or so. So seem normal to me.

Debian with the Plasma DE

Can you give me a link to that?

Then I need to get off the ipad for awhile. It's so delayed and jumpy it's hard to stay calm and peaceful.