What Do YOU Look For in a Desktop Linux? How Do YOU Choose?

[MikeRocor]

Backup option.... If I can't decide.. I have a set of D&D die to my right underneath a screen, they're always a fallback option for when I cannot decide

Save vs. death ray (*) or your hard drive crashes.

*) If you are an acolyte of RNG, save as a cleric at +1. If an acolyte of the pretender, PRNG, save as a cleric at -3. Otherwise, save as magic user. Saving throw matrix, Men & Magic, page 20.

And just hope you don't have... "bad dice"!

 

[KGIII]

She is already complaining about not being able to create desktop icons.

You can show her how to put shortcuts in the panel after getting rid of the desktop switcher (if you want).

Desktop icons can be made, but I don't tend to use any. If I need it, it's in the application menu - or it's something I do in the terminal. I've never really been a big fan of desktop icons as I pretty much never see my desktop.

So... I'm not much help there.

 

[The Duck]

Oh No it's got to be desktop icons not just a few of them but dual monitors which are both full of icons.
I bet half of the icons are dead links by now.
She's not going to change.
Some people are just set in their ways.
There's awhile before Windows 10 runs out.

 

[KGIII]

I bet half of the icons are dead links by now.

LOL Your browser has a bookmark function. You can even create categories!

I have zillions of bookmarks and I'm sure some are invalid. I also have a zillion open tabs in my browsers. I just leave 'em open 'cause I use them, refer to them, have yet to get to them, etc... It works for me and I know where stuff is, more or less.

 

[The Duck]

We tried the bookmarks back in Windows XP days and she didn't like them.
My wife is hell bent on her desktop icons.
I'm trying for the move over to Linux but I pretty much know how this is going to go.
I'll be optimistic though.

 

[The Duck]

I have zillions of bookmarks and I'm sure some are invalid. I also have a zillion open tabs in my browsers. I just leave 'em open 'cause I use them, refer to them, have yet to get to them, etc... It works for me and I know where stuff is, more or less.

I can get confused with four or more tabs open.

 

[KGIII]

I can get confused with four or more tabs open.

I need to clean this browser instance up - but I can't until I write tomorrow's article. I have 109 open tabs and Chromium gets grumpy with more than 110 - it starts to hide them and there's no scrolling to reach them.

I suspect most folks wouldn't ever bump into that limitation, but here we are...

Also, your wife is not going to like the process of making desktop icons into shortcuts for web pages. She is not gonna like that one bit.

Unless there's a DE that allows it (and I haven't tried in in many years) you can't just drag and drop that sort of thing. Oh, no... No, that's open a text editor and fashion your own desktop shortcut manually.

You could build her a template and she could use that for it, but she's not going to be happy with that.

Maybe someone'll have a quick and easy way? Maybe there's a DE that allows this nice and easily?

 

[The Duck]

I don't know any desktop environment a user can right click or drag and drop a link to create desktop shortcuts.
This is one of the changes that she will have to adjust to if she is going to use Linux.
It's her first day on Linux and I give her credit as she used it most of the day instead of Windows.
Like most of us in our age group she doesn't like change.
I'll let her learn Linux on her terms and her time and answer whatever questions she asks.

 

[camtaf]

There are a few, but as I don't, I forget which, but I do know that the one in LXDE does, it was annoying me until I found how to disable it!

 

[greenmarty]

I gave up on Windows this year when Windows 8.1 reached its EOL.
There's only one computer in the house with Windows 10 and that belongs to the wife.
Went looking at some Windows 11 computers because our computers are to old and need some kind of TPM2 device or something like that.
I don't want to buy no new Windows 11 computer but don't know if the wife will want to use Linux.

Win 11 (i use for work) is actually little different than Win 10 and it reminds me distro with dock / plank in middle. They even introduced the terminal.
So I think going with something like Linux Mint won't be much bigger change for misses than using the Win 11. So why not to take this opportunity to go with Linux DE that is friendly for former win users.

 

[The Duck]

So why not to take this opportunity to go with Linux DE that is friendly for former win users.

Linux Mint Cinnamon or Linux Mint XFCE or Linux Lite or Lubuntu.
Any of the Linux distro's or there Desktop environments makes any difference because in none of them can a user create a desktop shortcut.
My wife is hell bent on having her desktop icons.

 

[Brickwizard]

Any of the Linux distro's or there Desktop environments makes any difference because in none of them can a user create a desktop

Linux mint open mint Menu, find the application you want a desktop icon for say for example calculator, hover cursor over the icon for calculator, RIGHT click and select Add to desktop [this also works with many other desktop distributions]

 

[KGIII]

They even introduced the terminal.

Can you elaborate on this? I know nothing about this.

AFAIK, Windows has always had a command prompt and has had PowerShell for a long time.

But, I've not used Windows in a long time. Which type of terminal did they introduce?

 

[atanere]

I don't know any desktop environment a user can right click or drag and drop a link to create desktop shortcuts.

No? Are you dragging-and-dropping the right thing? Clicking and dragging the "padlock icon" from the URL address to the desktop creates a shortcut for me with Firefox, Chromium, and Vivaldi browsers, running in Linux Mint Cinnamon. They aren't "pretty" but they can be renamed. And the icon can be changed by right clicking the desktop icon, choose Properties, then click on the icon to see others that are available.

Oops, @Brickwizard described making a desktop shortcut to a program above, but I thought you meant shortcuts to websites for your wife. One way or another, maybe she will get the hang of it.

Another way of making desktop shortcuts: Right click on the desktop and choose "Create a new launcher here." Then, in the "Command" box, enter the command name for a program ("firefox," for example) and save it like that for just a program. Or, in the Command box, enter something like "firefox http://www.linux.org" to make the shortcut open to a web page (change as needed).

Good luck!

 

[greenmarty]

Can you elaborate on this? I know nothing about this.

AFAIK, Windows has always had a command prompt and has had PowerShell for a long time.

But, I've not used Windows in a long time. Which type of terminal did they introduce?

Windows 11 comes with CLI tool called "Terminal" .

• customizable (colors, font etc),
• colors of command line depends on CLI but you can customize each CLI colors via terminal settings
• tabs in same window (like in web browsers).
• can be configured to run probably any CLI tool supported on Windows
  • cmd,
  • powershell,
  • multiple powershell versions at same time,
  • git bash
  • azure cloud shell
• You quickly open new tab with different CLI tool by clicking arrow next to last open tab and picking CLI.
• shell extension = right click in folder/ on file to "open Terminal here".
• typing wt into address bar in file explorer opens terminal here
• can be install it on Win 10.

That's about what i can think of.
They clearly took inspiration from many Linux variants.
I hate to advert Windows but this was one good thing they did.

 

[greenmarty]

Linux Mint Cinnamon or Linux Mint XFCE or Linux Lite or Lubuntu.
Any of the Linux distro's or there Desktop environments makes any difference because in none of them can a user create a desktop shortcut.
My wife is hell bent on having her desktop icons.

What do you mean? I can drag and drop let's say Firefox or right click -> add to desktop on my Mint FXCE and that's "vanila" installed distro with no customization.
There's no real difference between Windows and Linux Mint in terms of creating icon on desktop aside from not calling it "shortcut" . Actually it's even simpler on Linux because Win 11 hides right click option deep in multi-layer menu. There is no "send to desktop" anymore in Win 11 under right click. I know it because i have to use it for work.
In other words don't buy your significant other Win 11 and stick to Win <10 or go Linux. I'd recommend just life booting from USB so you can try it.
Also if you run Win 10 and will switch to Linux you most likely don't need new PC because Windows eats tons of resources just by being Windows but Linux does not.

 

[KGIII]

They clearly took inspiration from many Linux variants.

Thanks for explaining and that does indeed sound like they did. It's almost as if they cleaned up and improved cmd.exe.

 

[The Duck]

No? Are you dragging-and-dropping the right thing? Clicking and dragging the "padlock icon" from the URL address to the desktop creates a shortcut for me with Firefox, Chromium, and Vivaldi browsers, running in Linux Mint Cinnamon. They aren't "pretty" but they can be renamed. And the icon can be changed by right clicking the desktop icon, choose Properties, then click on the icon to see others that are available.

Oops, @Brickwizard described making a desktop shortcut to a program above, but

I thought you meant shortcuts to websites for your wife. One way or another, maybe she will get the hang of it.

That is exactly what I meant.

Another way of making desktop shortcuts: Right click on the desktop and choose "Create a new launcher here." Then, in the "Command" box, enter the command name for a program ("firefox," for example) and save it like that for just a program. Or, in the Command box, enter something like "firefox http://www.linux.org" to make the shortcut open to a web page (change as needed).

Good luck!

I doubt she will be willing to do all of that.
She wants to right click on a website and create an icon to put on her desktop just like she does in Windows.

 

[MikeWalsh]

Also, your wife is not going to like the process of making desktop icons into shortcuts for web pages. She is not gonna like that one bit.

Unless there's a DE that allows it (and I haven't tried in in many years) you can't just drag and drop that sort of thing. Oh, no... No, that's open a text editor and fashion your own desktop shortcut manually.

You could build her a template and she could use that for it, but she's not going to be happy with that.

Maybe someone'll have a quick and easy way? Maybe there's a DE that allows this nice and easily?

Are you honestly telling me that most current Linux DEs make a big song & dance about putting icons on the desktop? Why, for God's sakes?

Puppy can do it.....largely aided by ROX-filer's "pinboard" being an integral, linked-back part of the file-system anyway, so it's simply a case of D'n'D. Kennel Linux's Void-based "KLV 'Airedale'" uses XFCE; rt-clk your Menu entry & send it where ya like.

Surely you're not telling me that Nautilus, PCManFM, Dolphin, et al, won't let you do this anymore..? If they won't, then that is one MAJOR retrograde step.....and certain devs/dev teams need a massive boot up the backside.

I do know GNOME does NOT speak for the entire community, despite the reams of crap their top brass have been spouting recently..!


Mike.

 

[The Duck]

We're not talking about application icons or shortcuts.
The wife wants to be able to right click on any web page or website and create a desktop shortcut or icon just like she does in Windows.
I'm using Puppy Linux and cannot right click on a web page or website and create a desktop shortcut.