From: ronb02NOSPAM@gmail.com   
      
   On 2026-01-30, rbowman  wrote:   
   > On Fri, 30 Jan 2026 08:28:09 -0000 (UTC), RonB wrote:   
   >   
   >> Cinnamon is Linux Mint's own so, I'm guessing, it's probably got the   
   >> best integration. But I like what Linux Mint has done with Mate and Xfce   
   >> — all three look and feel pretty much the same. A lot of people use Xfce   
   >> for older machines because it's lighter. But it's not hard to move from   
   >> one to the others. I think this is rare in the Linux distribution world.   
   >> It may only be Linux Mint that does this with three different desktops.   
   >   
   > My original LM install was MATE. The library laptops used Cinnamon and I   
   > wanted to see the difference. I didn't use either as daily drivers but   
   > from casual use they were pretty much the same.   
   >   
   > I added Xfce and that was a bit of a surprise. My Debian box had Xfce but   
   > LM definitely tweaked it a lot. I didn't thing Xfce was that much lighter   
   > on a netbook with 4GB.   
   >   
   > When I replaced the HDD with a SSD I did the Cinnamon install. It works   
   > okay. I also have i3 and that's what I use for Arduino along with   
   > arduino_cli, Vim, and minicom.   
   >   
   > Most distros can support different DEs although it can get weird when   
   > updating or mix'n'matching between GUIs. I stick to i3 or sway as an   
   > alternate. Even then it's best not to launch some of the Cinnamon GUIs   
   > from i3 or you get stuck in some half-assed world that needs a reboot.   
   >   
   > The EndeavourOS installer does it right. If you select the offline   
   > installation you get the default KDE. The online installation allows you   
   > to select the DE. That seems more sensible than the 4 different LM isos,   
   > the various Fedora spins, and the *buntu derivatives.   
   >   
   > I'd previously had Lubuntu on the netbook, which is LXQt. That's another   
   > long story. Originally it used LXDE which was based on Gtk 2. The   
   > developer didn't like Gtk 3  and started using the Qt toolkit. Both   
   > projects coexisted for a while but eventually split and Lubuntu went with   
   > LXQt. LXDE is still around as an alternate on Debian, Fedora, and Arch.   
   >   
   >   
   > Just as well Mint doesn't have a LMDE LXDE flavor.   
      
   It looks like the LXDE desktop meta is in the repository but not the   
   LMDE(?). That's odd.   
      
   --   
   "Not just insane... Trump insane."   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)