First time linux user

what DE is "best"? Im thinking about KDE at the moment

openSUSE KDE


it's the only distro where firefox's file picket features thumbnail preview out of the box

xfce is best but only after a lot of tweaking
budgie's a pretty good ootb DE, but might be a bit too simplistic/lack enough customization for your tastes, based on gnome cancer
kde's a very fully featured distribution, but heavy
gnome's dumb and is for retards
mate's just...why
unity's ded

the manjaro KDE spin has it ootb as well, and without all the extra configuration openSUSE needs

i believe there's a patched version of firefox available from a PPA if you're using ubuntu with KDE/kubuntu/KDE neon and what have you

KDE looks great, and when it does not bug out then it functions great as well. I installed it two weeks ago, but it's still a buggy mess

>manjaro

nobody wants that

>kde's a very fully featured distribution, but heavy
meant to say DE, im tired

xfce on mx-16.1

I’d just like to interject for a moment. What you’re refering to as Linux, is in fact, GNU/LInux, or as I’ve recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Linux. Linux is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning GNU system made useful by the GNU corelibs, shell utilities and vital system components comprising a full OS as defined by POSIX.

Many computer users run a modified version of the GNU system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of GNU which is widely used today is often called “Linux”, and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the GNU system, developed by the GNU Project.

There really is a Linux, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. Linux is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the machine’s resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. Linux is normally used in combination with the GNU operating system: the whole system is basically GNU with Linux added, or GNU/Linux. All the so-called “Linux” distributions are really distributions of GNU/Linux.

if you dont want the 1995 feel then its either going to come down to a version of gnome or kde.
So the question you need to ask yourself is "do I want my computer to look and feel like a tablet or a computer".
if you want the android feeling, go with gnome.
if you want a desktop, go with kde/plasma.

MATE

KDE - configure as much as you want, even stupid little shit no one cares about
Cinnamon - great OOTB
XFCE - good OOTB and can configure a lot, install Compton though
Choose any or all for some good time. I like them all and can't pick a favourite.

Deeping

Using a DE goes against the whole point of linux

The K can mean Kool and Komfy, but it can also mean Krash. The KDE apps are nice though. YMMV
I recommend xfce if you don't like KDE

best DE is no DE

This. Use WM instead.

Look no further OP. You got it at first time lucky bastard.

Xfce. You don't even have to tweak anything other than installing Compton.
Install Chalet or Zorin Lite.

>cinnamon

Wtf man? Mate is a fucking solid DE. Familiar to windows and just werks.

Has anyone here tried out budgie

What's the nicest looking DE that isn't slow as shit on an x200

>DE that isn't slow as shit
There's none and you should stop using DEs. Use a WM instead. I personally use DWM.

Get out "muh arch" baby.

bspwm

>needing more than a console
look at this pleb

Just use XFCE if you really want/need a DE.
Otherwise, follow advice. DWM is good, so is Awesome, and some people really like i3. Protip: use Ratpoison.

just learn how to use openbox is all what you need.

Many people use i3 because it's easy to install/config (without recompiling). I like DWM because you compile it and it's done, all you need is the executable. Other than recompiling to see the changes, DWM is pretty easy to config aswell, but there aren't as many niceties.

Any extra info on XFCE? I read good stuff from the technical standpoint, but every screenshot I come across makes it look as if it didn't came out this century.

thats a cute lxde

Gnome3 has been growing on me, though it's heavy. It's good enough.

Xfce is so good.

Have you looked at the xubuntu screenshots? That's XFCE with the greybird theme. The default XFCE is kinda ugly but all you gotta do is install a new gtk theme.

> KDE
Don't do it!!!!

Is everything GTK and Qt lately or is there any other engine I'm missing?

Also: any way to change the "start" menu? that is the most W95 of all things on that DE

The latest KDE release is pretty legit. Really comfy vibe

Replace the default one with whisker menu.

Just install a different theme like Arc or Numix.

Pretty much everything is GTK or Qt. There are some fringe toolkits but they aren't all themeable and you won't encounter them enough to care.

Gnome

KDE for anything with decent specs (at least a 1GHz dual core CPU and 4GB of RAM) or XFCE for pretty much anything else. For absolute toasters that you fished out of a dumpster somewhere, you should try a lightweight window manager or just go text only with no GUI at all.

Other honorable mentions:
>Budgie
Really great Gnome fork, prefect for normalfags. Looks nice out of the box and it's easy to use. Ubuntu Budgie is pretty good.
>MATE
Extremely stable and snappy. Kind of ugly.
>Enlightenment
Lots of bells and whistles and it runs great on older machines but it's sort of an acquired taste. I personally hate it for the way it feels but I can still recognize it as a good DE for some people.

...

i uses kde when i first started with linux feels comfy at first but later you realize its bloated as fuck. and to get an uniform feel you need to stick to kde applications which suck most of the time. i really like tiling window managers and i like them even more since i got a job and use my laptop for actual work. really improves yor flow. also if you are on a laptop plasma and gnome will rape your batery. use a tiling window manager or use xfce. fluxbox is also nice.

Budgie

Either XFCE, KDE, or Gnome.
XFCE if you want the best, KDE if you want shiny features at the cost of performance and stability, or Gnome if you hate yourself.

What makes shit like Windows XP (or earlier) much lighter than say Lubuntu or even Bunsen Labs or a minimal Arch+Openbox/LXDE install? Windows XP can easily function with 128 MB of RAM.

what the fuck is wrong with your hand

WHY IS EVERYONE ON THIS BOARD A FUCKING AYYLMAO

*shows 3% of body in a picture*
>Its fucking deformed

nice DE

>it's the only distro where firefox's file picket features thumbnail preview out of the box
Yeah, but then you are stuck with yum, which is garbage. I'd rather just use Arch Linux and install firefox-kde-opensuse from the AUR.

>but heavy
Not really. Heavy would be something like Windows or OSX environments. KDE is way lighter than either of those. This isn't the 80's anymore man. We have big enough storage devices that the size of your DE is irrelevant now.

my hand is normal ur just dumb

Nice meme. I guess you've never heard of busybox, which can be used instead of the GNU coreutils.

...

>to get an uniform feel you need to stick to kde applications which suck most of the time
So you've never heard of kde-gtk-config? You are completely oblivious to the fact that you can easily install matching themes for gtk and qt?

Everything about that device is garbage except the touchpad.

?
werks fine for me

no, the base of your palm is abnormally fleshy

no ur dumb
and so is op

wtf