[Poll] Ubuntu 13.04 with GNOME shell vs Kubuntu 13.04

[jaroli.tamas]

Hello everyone, as the title shows, I would like to know, which distro would you chose? Please write your pros/cons in this topic.

I would like to use it for work/study (coding in c++, java, php, sql, python, shell script, smalltalk, haskell, prolog, occam, etc...), and general stuff, like browsing, watching movies, listening to music.

Thanks in advance!

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

It is different to everyone. I use Gnome, when the next person may like KDE. You will have to find out for yourself, and you can install both desktop environments on Ubuntu.

[briangw]

I wish you had an option for both. I use Gnome at home but Kubuntu at work. Basically, so I can get used to both environments.

[Xilo]

I really like gnome-shell. So I voted for that. It's a lot better than Unity and the Gnome team took it in the right direction as far as usability is concerned.

[ViperAFK]

I'd try both on liveusb and see what you like better

[fusi0n]

I used a slimmed down version of 13.02 Ubuntu with Classic Gnome

[Growled Member]

I love KDE. Once, not many years ago I was a big Gnome fan but the KDE apps won me over. They are the biggest reason I love KDE.

[Max Norris]

Between those two choices, for me it's KDE hands down, so Kubuntu. KDE 4 was a bit rocky at its first release but it's quite a solid desktop now... probably my only complaint is just getting a consistent look between GTK and QT apps (not a fan of the stock KDE theme and getting both toolkits to look consistent can be a challenge sometimes), and that's obviously a minor gripe. Personally the Gnome developers have gone off the deep end, makes some of the design decisions in Windows 8 look good, and they just seem to be ramping up the stupidification with each release. I personally would probably use a different distro myself, but if you want a ginormous amount of community support, you can't go wrong with the Buntu's.

KDE throws everything at you as far as options/features go, no holds barred.. it's not a proper KDE app if there isn't at least 5 ways to do one thing. Gnome hides/removes a majority of the useful functionality beyond the basics. KDE's more of a "traditional" desktop as far as layout and usability goes, Gnome feels like a tablet OS now, in my opinion, and the "simplifcation" seems to have actually made things less productive for me. Not a big Unity fan either but at least that one still feels like a desktop OS.. This is out of the box mind you, it can be tweaked of course if you put a little bit of effort into it, pretty much the first order of business for me on any OS really regardless of it's *Nix or Windows based anyway, but something to keep in mind if you don't want to put a lot of time into customizing things. For Gnome I'd replace Nautilus, add some extensions, replace the menu, etc. But that's just opinion.

That aside it really doesn't matter.. you can run QT and GTK apps under both desktops after dependencies get pulled in. You can mix and match whatever you like as long as you got room for everything, or even install both desktops on one install if you're in the mood to fiddle with it. May want to look at Cinnamon, Mate and XFCE as well, also pretty solid with different ways of doing things, lightweight vs full featured, etc. Pick whatever one does it for you the best, don't let random forum people tell you what to use. (Me, I find the Windows 7 desktop much more productive over any of the *Nix desktops. See? Don't listen to forums.) Best bet, toy with the live CD's or get busy with a virtual machine, you're the one that has to work with it.. one man's killer desktop may be utter crap to someone else.

[(Account no longer active)]

Lubuntu (not listed). LXDE is my choice of GUI on Linux. I like things fast with low memory usage.

[jaroli.tamas]

Thanks for all your answers. Well, I only wanna use *buntu, because now I use my sister's laptop (mine is at a repairing service). Mainly I use Arch on my own laptop. Actually I'd rather wanted to know about GNOME shell, because I used it a long time ago, but I used KDE a few months ago. So I think I will chose Kubuntu.

@68k I don't like Lubuntu (LXDE). Low memory usage isn't a big point for me.

[GreenMartian]

I used to not like the KDE/QT look & feel (yeah the looks can be customized, but I can still 'feel' it).

Then GNOME starts culling options, and released Shell with nearly no settings whatsoever, and with massive space-wasting controls.

Got sick of switching between the two, and had a chance to rebuild my environment, and decided to tinker. Ended up with a barebones Arch with a tiling WM (xmonad, which just happens to be the first I tried, and already fulfills my needs, so I stuck with it). Now I'm free from all the distractions of a full-blown DE.