What's your GUI of choice?

[TobiSGD]

I am using i3, basically my journey through the DEs/WMs went Gnome 2 -> Openbox -> XFCE -> XFCE with Xmonad as WM -> pure Xmonad -> wmii -> i3. I think I will keep i3, it does everything I need and works fine, regardless if I run it on my 27" desktop monitor or the 7" in my old Eee PC.

 

[sam_p_lay]

I am using i3, basically my journey through the DEs/WMs went Gnome 2 -> Openbox -> XFCE -> XFCE with Xmonad as WM -> pure Xmonad -> wmii -> i3. I think I will keep i3, it does everything I need and works fine, regardless if I run it on my 27" desktop monitor or the 7" in my old Eee PC.

OK you're not too bothered about looks then What do these offer that the more popular WMs don't? Is it just that they're ultra lightweight or is it to do with usability?

 

[TobiSGD]

It's all about usability.
The main reasons for me to use i3 are:
- Tiling. No overlapping windows.
- Keyboard use. Most tiling WMs are created with the keyboard in mind. I can do almost anything on my machines without using the mouse.
- Extrem configurability, like starting specific apps on specific workspaces, named workspaces, ...
- Active development with a very active and helpful mailing list, very helpful developer (I never had to wait for an answer for longer than a day when filing a bug-report or posting a question)

 

[Guest]

I'm the only one using gnome 2

 

[sam_p_lay]

That sounds pretty cool actually. I've been navigating Windows primarily by keyboard for years and it always amazes mouse/touchpad users how much faster I get around using just the keyboard. Course it's not about showing off (but I'll allow the admiration of my peers if I must...) but being able to do things much faster.

The only OS I've encountered that seems really anti-keyboard is OSX, and it's one of its biggest flaws (in my opinion). One thing that really impressed me about Linux when I first started playing with it is how the Windows keyboard shortcuts were all there to make Windows users feel at home (Alt+Tab, Alt+F4, Ctrl+W etc).

The tiling sounds cool also. I'd be interested to see window moving/resizing in action on it. There's probably videos on the site, I may take a look. I'm much too superficial though to use an interface that isn't sleek, sexy and polished to perfection

 

[sam_p_lay]

I'm the only one using gnome 2

Yep. To be fair it is actually a brilliant GUI for customisation - I've spent way too long in it adjusting every little aspect of its interface to my preference. Crystalsphere with Nuvola controls was an old favourite of mine when my tastes were a bit less refined And the GNOME black cursors are beautiful - I've imported them to my Windows installs at home and at work.

A lot of people will abandon technology though simply because something new has come along to replace it. The existing technology is seen as obsolete because there's a newer alternative, even if it's not necessarily an improvement (like Windows 8). You could use Xfce, LXDE or Enlightenment 17 if you wanted an interface combining attractive design with lots of customisation, or KDE if you don't mind about it being lightweight.

 

[amdfangirl]

even if it's not necessarily an improvement

You said it!

After Windows 7, I'll be moving exclusively to RHEL 7+.

I don't see Microsoft redeeming itself.

 

[sam_p_lay]

You said it!

After Windows 7, I'll be moving exclusively to RHEL 7+.

I don't see Microsoft redeeming itself.

I've been wondering a lot about that - what will follow Windows 8 and will it fix the problems? A lot of what I hate about Windows 8 is not just what's wrong with Metro, but (strangely enough) the fact they're not going 100% with Metro, and instead forcing you to use a castrated Windows 7 interface for certain tasks.

It's like they can't even create a new UI that does everything the old one does. If they're going to leave Windows 7 in there, why not leave an equally functional Windows 7?

If Windows 9 is pure Metro, I'd actually be more open to the idea. Though I'd still prefer it to be a U-turn on Metro of course I'll be really interested to see how the general public responds to Windows 8.

 

[amdfangirl]

Hot corners and dual displays don't work if my main computer doubles as a HTPC :/.

 

[sam_p_lay]

Hot corners and dual displays don't work if my main computer doubles as a HTPC :/.

Right, and this is supposed to be user-friendly and intuitive - how can it be if users need to remember what corners/edges to hover over to do what they want? Surely some kind of visual indicator would make it more user-friendly rather than relying on teaching and memory.

When I started playing with Linux, coming from a pure Windows background, it couldn't have been easier. Opening an application was obvious and straightforward, moving/resizing windows, switching between them, closing them - even the Windows shortcut keys like Alt+F4 and Alt+Tab worked. Only new thing was the package manager, and that should be familiar to anyone who has used an app store on a smartphone.

Windows 8 on the other hand... like most people, I actually had to look up how to shut it down.

 

[amdfangirl]

Windows 8 on the other hand... like most people, I actually had to look up how to shut it down.

It was the one OS I need to look it up for.

I don't know what GNOME 3/Unity users are complaining about .

 

[sam_p_lay]

It was the one OS I need to look it up for.

I don't know what GNOME 3/Unity users are complaining about .

Well if they're complaining about lack of customisation then fair enough But yeah, interms of usability, I had absolutely no problems with either. I wasn't massively fond of Unity designwise, though it grew on me and probably would have looked better if GNOME 3 wasn't raising the bar, looking so much sleeker and sexier. But KDE and E17 deliver the looks AND huge customisation, and E17 is even ultra-lightweight too! I've never understood why somebody else doesn't take over development of E17 and actually get it finished - there's so much potential there.

 

[amdfangirl]

I'm the boring kind of person who keeps everything stock standard.

 

[sam_p_lay]

I'm the boring kind of person who keeps everything stock standard.

Haha there seems to be a lot of that in the Linux community! Seems strange to me, because one of the most attractive things to me about Linux (other than package managers and security) is the selection, quality and customisability of the user interfaces.

 

[cainy1991]

LXDE on fed17

 

[sam_p_lay]

LXDE on fed17

I think that's amdfangirl's setup also. Remember to vote if you didn't already