Linux Mint 17.1 and the question of the “best” Linux desktop

Is Linux Mint 17.1 the best desktop distro?

Linux Mint 17.1 continues to get lots of positive attention in the media. ZDNet recently published an article that proclaimed it to be the “best desktop of 2014.”

ZDNet

SJVN at ZDNet on Linux Mint 17.1:

I’ve really liked Linux Mint as a desktop for years. Now, with the latest version, Linux Mint 17.1 “Rebecca”, I think I may love Mint. That’s because Mint has finally corrected its one shortcoming: The inability to easily upgrade from one version to another.

The one bug I’ve seen to date is that some desktop icons, such as the computer, can’t have their names changed. So, for example, I can’t rename “Computer” to “Blitz”, my Dell desktop’s real name. Overall, though, that’s like complaining about a scratch on a 1955 Mercedes 300 SLR Racer: Mint’s still the best available desktop today.

More at ZDNet

I disagreed with Steven over on my own blog:

…I’m not sure I’d call it the best available desktop today for the simple reason that no matter how good a distribution or desktop is, there are bound to be people out there who need something different. Linux Mint is a fine choice for many or even most desktop Linux users, but it’s not right for everybody.

…we should probably beware of labeling any of them as “the best” lest we forget that in the world of Linux – and in just about everything else – one size usually does not fit all.

More at Jim Lynch

KDE or GNOME in Fedora 21?

Fedora 21 is out now, and a Redditor asked whether he should use GNOME or KDE as his desktop environment.

Notrends asks which desktop he should use:

“I’ve been running Fedora in the Gnome environment on my work laptop, but recently I started playing with KDE (Fedora 21) on my test machine. What am I missing in Gnome that I should be sure to check out in KDE? Or why do you prefer Gnome to KDE?”

More at Reddit

LyndonSlewidge responds by pointing out problems with KDE’s defaults:

“Being able to configure every little Window Manager action using khotkeys is pretty damn sweet. Customizable Activities are also awesome, and can be used as a more powerful option to additional workspaces (which is also available). “

“KDE, while highly configurable, tends to have very ugly defaults. I tend to spend a lot of time when installing KDE beautifying it (especially font rendering). I’m not sure how Fedora handles the defaults, but vanilla KDE is pretty bad.”

More at Reddit

Manypops prefers GNOME because of its minimalism:

I prefer Gnome to KDE because it’s minimalist. KDE is great if you want a million options, but I just want something that is solid and sensible straight away.

My problem with KDE is that it shows you everything at once.

More at Reddit

Windows 10 users crave features that are already available in Linux

Microsoft is still working on Windows 10, but it seems that many Windows users are hoping that the company will add features to Windows 10 that are already in Linux.

Silviu Stahie at Softpedia reports on Windows 10 users and Linux features:

Windows 10 brought some new features for its fans, but it’s still under development. Its users already have a list of features they would like implemented, but it’s funny to see how most of those features are already present in Linux installations.

1. The ability to add a label to each desktop would help distinguish between them

2. I would love to see a completely Modern UI/flat design for everything in the desktop

3. It would be nice to be able to have separate desktop backgrounds

4. Animated wallpapers/video as wallpapers

5. 4k screens are here, but all background pics are low-resolution

6. New themes with the option of live wallpapers

7. Features to add tiles to the desktop (similar to gadgets)

8. Bring back Windows Gadgets

9. Add Windows Glass theme

10. Make a keyboard shortcut to show/hide desktop icons

More at Softpedia

What’s your take on all this? Tell me in the comments below.