GNOME 3 is a default Ubuntu 18.04 desktop environment but this does not stop you to install and use some other desktop environments as there are many to choose from.
I regularly use GNOME 3, but sometimes it freezes and there is no way I can revert it except shutting it down and booting again. It is so annoying.
I’m thinking in switching to a more stable desktop with similar functionality. For example, I love the Win key to start an application, the highly customizable desktop, the way everything is well integrated (widgets, sys tray icons, etc.) and the Alt-Ctrl-Arrow to move between virtual desktops.
I would like to have your opinion assuming that I will use Plasma on top of Ubuntu 18.
Which would it be your advise for a frustated GNOME fan?
For me gnome 3 just lost it. The person that decided to remove icons from the desktop should be fired. And no shell extensions are not a solution: 1. names are cut of so impossible to see what file I need to click to watch the next episiode 2. no automatic alignment.
deepin and kde-plasma are two that I have installed along with gnome
also I like to use i3 windows manager
Words of truth.
I hope Gnome people read this and design their messed up system.
Hi, @dlwilson88
Can you elaborate a little longer about i3 window manager?
I am unaware of it and I would like to know if it’s sort of replacement for GNOME3 (and their very useful shortcuts to perform desktop tasks, specially the Win key).
Hello @LobaLuna
Sorry for the delay in responding to your question,
i3 —is a built-from-scratch window manager, it is based on wmii (window manager improved²).
It has vi-like keybindings, and treats extra monitors as extra workspaces, meaning that windows can be moved between monitors easily.
Allows vertical and horizontal splits, and parent containers.
It can be controlled entirely from the keyboard, but a mouse can also be used.
i3 is configured via a plain text file, so i3 can be customized without knowledge of programming.
Contrary to other popular tiling window managers, such as dvm,awesome, and xmonad, window management is left to the user in i3.
Windows are held inside containers, which can be split vertically or horizontally.
They can also optionally be resized.
There are also options for stacking the windows, as well as tabbing them (similar to the interface that web browsers now use).
Even though i3 is a tiling window manager, specific windows such as password pop-ups are not displayed as new tiles by default: they are stacked in front of tiled windows. These floating windows can be moved and resized freely, just like in popular desktop environments like GNOME or KDE
I hope this helps , Window Managers are very useful programs once you learn how to use them and can make for a very user specific desktop environment.
No problem at all.
Coincidentally, I’m about to test it in Antergos in both an old machine and VirtualBox.
Thanks for the response ;D
I use pantheon and JWM and XFCE in Ubuntu 1804. So I start with elementaryOS, rips all their apps, put in ones that work in JWM and switch to Thunar file manager for automated scripting. Life is good. Looks great, I get a full desktop, and if I want to save memory for development jump into JWM and my desktop uses less then 200MB Ram!