Using Gnome

brent

Original-Syn wow this is exactly the stuff I am interested in knowing, thank you!

Original-Syn

brent Happy to help.

diagnostics0

I found vanilla GNOME to be disorienting at first. Once I bought in to the '1 app for 1 workspace' I found it very, very convenient and easy to use. The design philosophy is something you really have to be onboard with. I'm also a big fan of the theming and color choices that are used and applications that are built on GTK4 are beautiful. Many users don't like GNOME because of the extension ecosystem but the same can be said about Plasma Widgets and Cinnamon Applets.

I use a small amount of extensions to add some functionality:

Refine to change the system font sizes
TilingShell when I need multiple windows in one workspace
Blur my Shell default settings
Clipboard Indicator for copy/paste history
AppIndicator and KStatusNotifierItem Support for tray icons

All-in-all GNOME is what I am most comfortable using. Once Budgie 11 is release with Wayland support I will be trying it out. Budgie is my favorite "traditional" desktop environment.

AlphaElwedritsch

diagnostics0 Many users don't like GNOME because of the extension ecosystem

If you don't use extensions, it's not a problem...
I only use app indicator extension. All the rest is vanilla.
In that setup, I'm sure, I will have minimal impact when upgrading to a new major version.

But that's my philosophy. normally I'm changing almost nothing after install.
I'm using the OS and apps as they are.

Original-Syn

AlphaElwedritsch Yep, everyone has what works best for them. That is why I don't get into the tribalism between KDE, which I, personally, prefer, and Gnome, which I also like. Many different preferences, and the great thing is that we have the freedom and options to choose something that fits our preference.

brent

AlphaElwedritsch But that's my philosophy. normally I'm changing almost nothing after install.
I'm using the OS and apps as they are.

that's what I do with budgie mostly. you dont' do the bells and whistles with gnome, and that's interesting too

AlphaElwedritsch

This also has to do with the fact that, as I've gotten older, I've become too lazy to spend hours on every device, gadget, car, etc., wasting my time. You can configure every little damn thing these days. You can't get away from it anymore. So I've gotten used to just taking most things as they are.

Original-Syn

AlphaElwedritsch I hear you on that. I started on Linux back in 92, so I am not young anymore and unfortunately have much less hair. Although that does mean less to pull out as well. I have my setups scripted these days outside of wallpaper as I get bored on that side.

Axios

brent Hmm to me gnome is for like people that want something simple and for it to work.
without modification.
On that note gnome gave me more grief I couldnt get out of and had to reinstall alot it turns out good
using extensions but they can become outdated in blink of eye.
After I gave up and Covid I read that they said disable extensions before updating which might have been source of my issues.
But all thats been awhile back things may have changed alot.

brent

Axios Hmm to me gnome is for like people that want something simple and for it to work.
without modification.

I can dig that.

Axios On that note gnome gave me more grief I couldnt get out of and had to reinstall alot it turns out good
using extensions but they can become outdated in blink of eye.
After I gave up and Covid I read that they said disable extensions before updating which might have been source of my issues.

It seems like a world of pain (for newbs like me) and my patience to develop a learning curve is lacking lately.
Installing BSPWM, and writing the config file for every separate component so it would function was probably the high-water mark in my Linux education. Don't need to do that again 🙂.

Gnome is probably not that hard but maybe it is 😉

beevomit

typecraft posted a video about his Gnome setup about a month ago that is close to both how and why I just recently started using Gnome daily myself. I'll let him explain it better than I can:

@Original-Syn stated earlier in the thread what I enjoy the most about Gnome... "keyboard centric". It reduces having to move between the keyboard and my mouse (I can't stand trackpads, btw). Staying keyboard focused has refined my workflow, and I'm not a dev, just a sysadmin who appreciates the time savings and minimalism that Gnome offers. 👍️

brent

beevomit osted a video about his Gnome setup about a month ago that is close to both how and why I just recently started using Gnome daily myself.

I really appreciate anecdotes like this. Will watch this in an hour with a cold one.