Setting up a linux computer.

[35g700]

Hi, recently my friend upgraded from an old Pentium 4 rig with about 512MB of RAM to one with an AMD Athlon X3 (unlock to X4) with 8GB of RAM. I set his old Pentium 4 up with Ubuntu Linux around two years ago and he preferred it over windows. He chose to go with Linux again to save money. Ubuntu has changed to the Unity interface so to avoid it I installed openSUSE 12.1 on his computer with the KDE desktop. He hated KDE so I decided to try install Ubuntu 12.04 thinking that maybe he would like the Unity interface but he doesn't.

Back when he ran Ubuntu on his P4 machine you could customize the GNOME interface quite easily. He had it set up so he had one panel at the top and a dock at the bottom so I thought maybe installing Mint with the GNOME desktop would be better. I've installed GNOME on a virtual machine on my desktop and it appears that customizing your GNOME desktop isn't as simple as it used to be. For some reason the developers of GNOME have made it much more difficult to add, remove, move and customize panels compared to what it used to be like a few versions back. I did manage to get it set up the way he liked it in Mint with the XFCE desktop but running XFCE on a machine like his seems kind of foolish considering he isn't limited by his hardware.

So I'm wondering weather it would be better to run Ubuntu 10.04 LTS or a more modern version of Linux with the more customizable XFCE interface or if anyone has any better ideas feel free to share them.

 

[kmote]

My knowledge of desktop environments is not very "up to date" but if he is happy with XFCE, why change?

 

[MindoverMaster]

Can't you just use Xubuntu?

Has he tried LXDE? LXDE is made for older systems, but you can easily spec it up.

 

[KSoD]

Cant you just install the XFCE interface right within his current setup?

Ubuntu 12.04 – How to Install the Xfce Desktop | Complete, Concrete, Concise

Save himself a lot of trouble of having to redo the entire system. Just install the interface he prefers and from there continue on as he would.

 

[MindoverMaster]

I don't think "interface" is the right word, Mak. I think Desktop Environment is the correct term. But still, it got the word across.

 

[KSoD]

Well technically it is a graphical user interface or GUI. So while it is the desktop environment, it is still a GUI.

But yes in this case Desktop Environment would be a better term than interface. With that being said, I do not know if it will get rid of Unity. From what I know Canonical is very strict about making sure Unity is supported in all the environments. There was a fall out with Kubuntu cause they went with a straight KDE interface with no Unity so Canonical dropped the support for them.

Kubuntu Announces New Funding Partner
Canonical Drop Funding for Kubuntu

Of course my information maybe a bit off on that aspect. Like I said, at least he could try the XFCE interface with Ubuntu and see if that works better for him.

 

[35g700]

Alright, I'll have him install XFCE.

I was thinking about installing Mint XFCE because it comes with a lot of good preinstalled things that Ubuntu doesn't come with.

 

[Jayce]

Canonical only dropped financial support for Kubuntu, but it doesn't mean Canonical doesn't support Kubuntu. Canonical never financially supported Xubuntu or Lubuntu, but they're still in direct relation to the *buntu family. Plus, it seems as if most people aren't aware that Kubuntu recently got a decent endorsement from another company (I forget who, but I remember reading it), which was likely why Canonical pulled the plug. Think of it like this... you have a good job, your brother is laid off, and you're giving him money to help him out. Would you keep giving him money when he got a job? Food for thought...

Personally, Unity in 12.04 is a totally different experience. It's one thing if he's used Unity in 12.04 and personally doesn't like it. That's fine. But I just hope your friend understands that it IS different and a tremendous amount of the Unity hater population (me included) is now coming back to Unity with the 12.04 release. That said, based on what you've said, XFCE sounds like a winner. I think I'd stick with that. Like the others have said, don't bother doing a complete reinstall... just install XFCE and select it at the login screen.

 

[KSoD]

Kubuntu is backed by Blue Systems now. But they didnt get that support till after Kubuntu got the notice that Canonical wasnt going to support it beyond the 12.04 line.

 

[Jayce]

Kubuntu is backed by Blue Systems now. But they didnt get that support till after Kubuntu got the notice that Canonical wasnt going to support it beyond the 12.04 line.

The funny thing is, I think Canonical only had 1 Kubuntu dev on their payroll... A lot of people thought this was the instant end of Kubuntu... however it's far from it. Also, as I look at date stamps on when the news was reported, it looks like you're right - support announced to drop in Feb, Blue Systems announced support to pick up in April.