Linux Desktop Environments

[dos2unix]

I am not posting this link because it's Fedora, I am posting it, because it's a good single web page example of multiple desktop
environments for Linux. Almost all of these Desktop Environments are available for the larger, more popular distro's.

Fedora Spins | The Fedora Project

fedoraproject.org

But this web page does a good job of showing some of the different desktops available for Linux, and some of their differences.

I would say that Gnome and KDE are the most popular, although I rarely see any statistics on these type of things.
Xfce is popular and I know a few people who use Budgie.

One of the greatest things about Linux... is choice. Some people like drop down menus, other's like pop-up menus.
Other like icons to click on, still others don't like mice, and prefer a touch-screen. With Windows 11, you get one choice,
but with Linux there are several desktops available.

The problem with KDE and Gnome is they tend to be a little resource heavy. This usually isn't a problem for most modern PCs.
If you want a really low resource desktop, I have found that LxQt is about the lightest I have ran so far.

I recently installed some less popular desktops just to try them out for a while.
I used Budgie for a while. I liked it, but ended up going back to KDE.

I used MATE for a long time. But it doesn't really support Wayland yet, there are ways to hack it together and make it work,
but I wanted it to work out of the box.

I then tried Soas, if you're a Mac user, this will look familiar to you.

I know Gnome is very popular, but I don't like it that some applications take over the entire screen and I can't have two applications on the screen at the same time. If you like Android cell phones, that is what Gnome reminds me of.

KDE mobile desktop is very similar to Gnome.

I have tried Cinnamon in the past, I would say it's probably the one most like Windows ME and WindowsXP as far as looks go.
The only distro that still seems to offer this is Mint. ( there may be others I'm unaware of )

I recently tried Sway and i3, they look promising, but some menu options are missing, and a few applications refused to launch
using them. I might try again in 6 months or so.

I have a VM running the Miracle desktop right now. Like Sway and i3, some menu options are missing, but I do find it easier to add menu
options with this desktop.

So what about you? What desktop do you use? Why do you use it?

 

[Oldhabbits]

Also a nice website, placing most popular linux desktops next to each other: https://www.tecmint.com/best-linux-desktop-environments/

Cheers,
Eddy

 

[Danbor]

Everyone has their preferences. Which is only one of the advantages of using Linux.
As for myself, having 11 different Virtual Linux machines, I've found some that I like, some are ok, and some a really dislike.
First, no matter the OS, I absolutely detest touch screen anything. My cell phone has one and I have to carry a micro fiber cloth in a pocket in a vain attempt to keep the d*** thing clean. And all I use a cell phone for is .... phone calls.
I like the Mint desktop. Also XFCE and Mate are nice. The desktop in Kubuntu is good as is the debian plasma dektop and the Arch cinnamon version. The generic Arch desktop is ok, not great but better than some others.
However, though I can navigate around them with little issue, I find the Ubuntu, Fedora and Bookworm desktops counter intuitive and clunky.

 

[ron.alan]

I used MATE for a long time.

I've only used Mate. When I switched to Linux I also tried out Cinnamon and Xfce. Mate fit me to the proverbial "t."

 

[f33dm3bits]

I am posting it, because it's a good single web page example of multiple desktop
environments for Linux. Almost all of these Desktop Environments are available for the larger, more popular distro's.

Fedora Spins | The Fedora Project

fedoraproject.org

But this web page does a good job of showing some of the different desktops available for Linux, and some of their differences.

Comparison of desktop environments - ArchWiki

 

[neeljy]

I am not posting this link because it's Fedora, I am posting it, because it's a good single web page example of multiple desktop
environments for Linux. Almost all of these Desktop Environments are available for the larger, more popular distro's.

Fedora Spins | The Fedora Project

fedoraproject.org

But this web page does a good job of showing some of the different desktops available for Linux, and some of their differences.

I would say that Gnome and KDE are the most popular, although I rarely see any statistics on these type of things.
Xfce is popular and I know a few people who use Budgie.

One of the greatest things about Linux... is choice. Some people like drop down menus, other's like pop-up menus.
Other like icons to click on, still others don't like mice, and prefer a touch-screen. With Windows 11, you get one choice,
but with Linux there are several desktops available.

The problem with KDE and Gnome is they tend to be a little resource heavy. This usually isn't a problem for most modern PCs.
If you want a really low resource desktop, I have found that LxQt is about the lightest I have ran so far.

I recently installed some less popular desktops just to try them out for a while.
I used Budgie for a while. I liked it, but ended up going back to KDE.

I used MATE for a long time. But it doesn't really support Wayland yet, there are ways to hack it together and make it work,
but I wanted it to work out of the box.

I then tried Soas, if you're a Mac user, this will look familiar to you.

I know Gnome is very popular, but I don't like it that some applications take over the entire screen and I can't have two applications on the screen at the same time. If you like Android cell phones, that is what Gnome reminds me of.

KDE mobile desktop is very similar to Gnome.

I have tried Cinnamon in the past, I would say it's probably the one most like Windows ME and WindowsXP as far as looks go.
The only distro that still seems to offer this is Mint. ( there may be others I'm unaware of )

I recently tried Sway and i3, they look promising, but some menu options are missing, and a few applications refused to launch
using them. I might try again in 6 months or so.

I have a VM running the Miracle desktop right now. Like Sway and i3, some menu options are missing, but I do find it easier to add menu
options with this desktop.

So what about you? What desktop do you use? Why do you use it?

Great insights! Linux offers amazing variety in Desktop Environments (DEs). I agree, KDE is feature-rich but resource-heavy, while GNOME is clean but restrictive. Xfce and LxQt are excellent lightweight options. Sway and i3 are great for power users, though missing features can be frustrating. I personally stick with KDE for its balance of functionality and flexibility, but I’m always open to trying new ones!

 

[Fanboi]

I know Gnome is very popular, but I don't like it that some applications take over the entire screen and I can't have two applications on the screen at the same time. If you like Android cell phones, that is what Gnome reminds me of.

Amen! When I first saw one of those "Intro to Gnome 3" videos, I remember saying, "That looks like my smartphone!" and I hate my smartphone UI (and ironically, it's the best Android UI, MIUI).

I've been on XFCE for so long, I can't say when, but it was before I killed my last Windows install. It's not because it's lightweight (well, not any more); it's because it's functional. It's extensible, and functional and this suits me. I have a nice GTK and WM theme, and about the best I can find icon-wise, so that plus conky makes my desktop looks pretty modern IMO. If I was inclined to bother prettying it up further, Picom works better than XFCE's built-in compositor (tried it with XFCE, it plays nice), but as they say, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
I sometimes have need of tiling, but not enough to warrant switching XFWM with i3wm & co, so again, I leave it be. XFWM provides some crude tiling functionality.
I'm very keyboard-centric, so I use sxhkd (Simple X HotKey Daemon) for my shortcuts -- I see there's an swhkd which is a clone for when I'm forced to switch to Wayland (I'm hoping everything I use is ported by then).
I've tried everything from Enlightenment to Cinnamon and nothing's as well-balanced as XFCE, even if XFCE ain't perfect.

I do run different DEs on VMs. Basically stick with the distro defaults as it does give me a little familiarity with each DE, example Cinnamon w/ Mint, Gnome w/ Fedora, and so on.
I can't see myself ever moving. If I did it'd most likely be in the KDE Plasma direction -- though for my laptop, I'd have to go back to Fluxbox.

If I was 20 years younger, had the free time, and had the know-how I have now, I'd probably build my own DE from pieces of various projects, because it'd be pretty cool to get rid of "features" I didn't want and add functionality and optimise things... But when you get older, time seems to move quicker and you have to triage things, and that project would be about 999 on my list.

 

[exatonix]

İ am using debian 12. with all of desktop envs. especially kde plasma, xfce4, Gnome and all of it 5 variants, i3 rarely, openbox seldom, lxqt and lxde good perf. fluxbox rarely.