yea, gnome is “more popular”. doesn’t mean it’s “better”, just that it’s the default environment for some of the most widely-used distributions.
But not SteamOS which has the numbers on its side. Not that Gnome is unpopular but Steam Deck single-handedly pulled in millions of users who at least occasionally switch from game mode to desktop mode (=Plasma) to install emulators and stuff.
I’m not sure there are more Steam OS installs than RHEL/SUSE/Ubuntu installs.
Of course not, if you phrase it like that. According to your phrasing non-desktop container setups also count but they don’t.
Distributions like Ubuntu also ship Plasma. The preconfigured disk image is called Kubuntu but that’s still Ubuntu and counts as that in Steam’s surveys which I consider the most reliable source of what actual GUI Linux users actually use.
Couple things there are many computer users that don’t play games like for example me.
And in which credible statistic are those?
Enterprise Linux is not the same as a container
Of course not but you didn’t specifically say desktop-only Ubuntu/… installs and Ubuntu is still very popular in containers that never see any desktop. Ubuntu also ships Plasma, flagship DE or not.
Gnome is more stable in my experience. The base Gnome without any extensions is rock solid and just works without a hitch. Problem is that it’s bland as hell and not very practical. Most of the popular extensions to make the DE are also pretty solid and reliable, as gnome’s extension API doesn’t really allow them to break anything in any spectacular way. Plasma allows better and more powerful extensions, but they also tend to have a bigger effect on the DE’s stability.
That said, I fucking hate how Gnome devs handle the extension API. Every update to Gnome disables all the extensions even if there’s no breaking changes that would cause them to stop working. You gotta either manually edit their manifest files to trick Gnome into thinking they’ve been updated to the latest DE version, or you gotta wait for the devs to update. Every now and then they do release a breaking change that does break things too, and things get annoying. I used to maintain a relatively popular-ish, very simple Gnome extension. But eventually I got sick and abandoned because nobody’s got time to deal with Gnome’s extension API. I had to rewrite some basic shit for no good reason one too many times.
It really isn’t. Starting from only having a close button on every window, windows behaving differently, not having a panel with currently running programs, etc.
I mean yeah there are windows and you can interact with them, but that’s where similarities end.
So it’s really not the same workflow at all? Just this month I’ve explained to really smart people how to use corner tiling in windows and hotkeys, most people today don’t even own a PC. For me, personally, the difference is negligible, for a lot of people it’s really alien.
Idk what your mean, i literally use the exact same way to launch programms in win and gnome. Also counter anecdote, I installed ubuntu on my 65year old moms pc and she just straight up used it as well as windows. But whatever
Is it really most popular?
It’s not more stable than plasma surely, at least when user does any customization.
Simplicity is questionable, unless simple means ‘unlearn everything and do it our way’.
yea, gnome is “more popular”. doesn’t mean it’s “better”, just that it’s the default environment for some of the most widely-used distributions.
But not SteamOS which has the numbers on its side. Not that Gnome is unpopular but Steam Deck single-handedly pulled in millions of users who at least occasionally switch from game mode to desktop mode (=Plasma) to install emulators and stuff.
I’m not sure there are more Steam OS installs than RHEL/SUSE/Ubuntu installs.
Of course not, if you phrase it like that. According to your phrasing non-desktop container setups also count but they don’t.
Distributions like Ubuntu also ship Plasma. The preconfigured disk image is called Kubuntu but that’s still Ubuntu and counts as that in Steam’s surveys which I consider the most reliable source of what actual GUI Linux users actually use.
Couple things there are many computer users that don’t play games like for example me.
Enterprise Linux is not the same as a container and Gnome is flagship for all three of those enterprise flavors.
And in which credible statistic are those?
Of course not but you didn’t specifically say desktop-only Ubuntu/… installs and Ubuntu is still very popular in containers that never see any desktop. Ubuntu also ships Plasma, flagship DE or not.
Gnome is more stable in my experience. The base Gnome without any extensions is rock solid and just works without a hitch. Problem is that it’s bland as hell and not very practical. Most of the popular extensions to make the DE are also pretty solid and reliable, as gnome’s extension API doesn’t really allow them to break anything in any spectacular way. Plasma allows better and more powerful extensions, but they also tend to have a bigger effect on the DE’s stability.
That said, I fucking hate how Gnome devs handle the extension API. Every update to Gnome disables all the extensions even if there’s no breaking changes that would cause them to stop working. You gotta either manually edit their manifest files to trick Gnome into thinking they’ve been updated to the latest DE version, or you gotta wait for the devs to update. Every now and then they do release a breaking change that does break things too, and things get annoying. I used to maintain a relatively popular-ish, very simple Gnome extension. But eventually I got sick and abandoned because nobody’s got time to deal with Gnome’s extension API. I had to rewrite some basic shit for no good reason one too many times.
Forget opinions, just look at the most popular distros, which one do they ship with by default?
I prefer Gnome’s UX/UI, but I use KDE because they are faster to implement gaming related stuff.
I’m not sure which are the most popular distros. Mint, Fedora, some arch derivative of the day?
Ubuntu and Debian.
Agreed on debian general popularity but how many people install it on desktop/laptop? Ubuntu is hard to believe tbh, maybe ten years ago.
Really? I can’t find a source that suggests anything other than Ubuntu.
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What do you mean, the workflow for opening programs and arranging windows is the same as in Windows
It really isn’t. Starting from only having a close button on every window, windows behaving differently, not having a panel with currently running programs, etc.
I mean yeah there are windows and you can interact with them, but that’s where similarities end.
super/win+name+enter to open a program, super+arrow key to arrange or minimize, alt+tab to switch. Dragging windows to the edge is the same too
There is literally a panel with running programs, its just set to hide by default, kinda like when you set windows taskbar to auto hide
So it’s really not the same workflow at all? Just this month I’ve explained to really smart people how to use corner tiling in windows and hotkeys, most people today don’t even own a PC. For me, personally, the difference is negligible, for a lot of people it’s really alien.
Idk what your mean, i literally use the exact same way to launch programms in win and gnome. Also counter anecdote, I installed ubuntu on my 65year old moms pc and she just straight up used it as well as windows. But whatever