[Solved] Linux Mint lightweight desktop roadmap

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sfrun

[Solved] Linux Mint lightweight desktop roadmap

Post by sfrun »

Hello,

using Linux Mint Cinnamon for myself on recent hardware I want to install Linux Mint at family that have older boxes. Therefore I want to use a more lightweight desktop.
XFCE is an option, however looking on the web and listening to several podcasts I heard a lot about LXDE and LXQT. I installed the "unofficial" LXDE desktop and liked it a lot.
I also installed the latest Beta off LXQT but have some background issues that I could not yet solve. Before to install a desktop at family I want to be sure I do not need to change it again in some years. What is the Mint roadmap for light weight desktop for the next year or two? Will it stay XFCE? Any plans for a LXQT version?
I am too new to Linux to judge why SW developper activity has moved from XFCE to LXDE to LXQT but I assume they have valid technical reasons so I would prefer to take the latest lightweight desktop available.
Looking forward to comments and feedback.
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MartyMint
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Re: Linux Mint lightweight desktop roadmap

Post by MartyMint »

Official Mint support is Cinnamon and MATE.
Other desktops should work, but you're on your own in that regard.
altair4
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Re: Linux Mint lightweight desktop roadmap

Post by altair4 »

MartyMint wrote:Official Mint support is Cinnamon and MATE.
Other desktops should work, but you're on your own in that regard.
XFCE isn't supported? Although not of my concern but KDE isn't supported either?
Please add a [SOLVED] at the end of your original subject header if your question has been answered and solved.
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MartyMint
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Re: Linux Mint lightweight desktop roadmap

Post by MartyMint »

altair4 wrote:
MartyMint wrote:Official Mint support is Cinnamon and MATE.
Other desktops should work, but you're on your own in that regard.
XFCE isn't supported? Although not of my concern but KDE isn't supported either?

Who said it's not?
altair4
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Re: Linux Mint lightweight desktop roadmap

Post by altair4 »

Um ... You did?
MartyMint wrote:Official Mint support is Cinnamon and MATE.
Other desktops should work, but you're on your own in that regard.
Please add a [SOLVED] at the end of your original subject header if your question has been answered and solved.
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MartyMint
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Re: Linux Mint lightweight desktop roadmap

Post by MartyMint »

altair4 wrote:Um ... You did?
MartyMint wrote:Official Mint support is Cinnamon and MATE.
Other desktops should work, but you're on your own in that regard.

I said Cinnamon and MATE were officially supported by the Mint team.

I didn't say other DE's weren't.
MtnDewManiac
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Re: Linux Mint lightweight desktop roadmap

Post by MtnDewManiac »

Yeah, but the OP was discussing lightweight DEs being supported in/by Mint, and you replied that the two heavy ones were supported. I can see why your comment caused concern.

Regards,
MDM
Mint 18 Xfce 4.12.

If guns kill people, then pencils misspell words, cars make people drive drunk, and spoons made Rosie O'Donnell fat.
altair4
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Re: Linux Mint lightweight desktop roadmap

Post by altair4 »

If my interpretation of the meaning of the word "official" is correct there are only two ( three? ) DE's that are "officially" supported by any distro maker since both of these were created by them:

Cinnamon by Linux Mint
Unity by Ubuntu
Don't know anything about the origin of MATE so I will take your word for it that Mint officially supports it.

None of the other DE's are officially supported by any distro maker.

If you think about it and forgetting about MATE for the moment Cinnamon and whatever other utilities that are offered here are the only things Mint does support. If I submit a bug report about Samba to Mint it will be ignored unless I can tie it to something Mint is doing uniquely. They may pass it on to Ubuntu or maybe even to Samba directly but I haven't seen that happen lately.
Please add a [SOLVED] at the end of your original subject header if your question has been answered and solved.
gold_finger

Re: Linux Mint lightweight desktop roadmap

Post by gold_finger »

sfrun,

Getting back to original question. I can't speak for Mint devs, so don't know what their plans are. However, I doubt they'll move from producing an Xfce variant to Lxde (or other). I use Xfce myself and am not worried about it. In any event, absolute worst case scenario is that if you install Mint 13 it will be supported with updates until April, 2017. If you install Mint 17, it will be supported until April, 2019. So, even if Mint discontinues an Xfce variant, you're covered for quite some time without worrying about having to switch to another environment.

Aside from software updates, the main source of support is here in the forums and I don't see that disappearing anytime soon.

I'd recommend testing Mint Xfce 17 first. If the older systems work with that, keep it and you're good for quite a while. If run into hardware issues that can not be solved easily with forum help, then you can try Mint Xfce 13, which might have older drivers that work better on the older computers. But definitely try 17 first and ask for help in forum before assuming that any problem encountered is unsolvable.
usbtux

Re: [Solved] Linux Mint lightweight desktop roadmap

Post by usbtux »

Mint discontinued lxde after Mint 12 LXDE - although there were/are some unofficial mintlxde iso's available, Last one I know of was from the Polish Linux Mint community.
Also see http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.p ... 7&t=168188
MtnDewManiac
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Re: Linux Mint lightweight desktop roadmap

Post by MtnDewManiac »

altair4 wrote:If my interpretation of the meaning of the word "official" is correct there are only two ( three? ) DE's that are "officially" supported by any distro maker since both of these were created by them:

Cinnamon by Linux Mint
Unity by Ubuntu
Don't know anything about the origin of MATE so I will take your word for it that Mint officially supports it.

None of the other DE's are officially supported by any distro maker.
So... If someone downloads/installs an official distro such as Linux Mint XFCE 17.1, and discovers a bug... The developer (Clem) isn't going to attempt to get it fixed? Interesting....

Regards,
MDM
Mint 18 Xfce 4.12.

If guns kill people, then pencils misspell words, cars make people drive drunk, and spoons made Rosie O'Donnell fat.
altair4
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Re: Linux Mint lightweight desktop roadmap

Post by altair4 »

MtnDewManiac wrote:
altair4 wrote:If my interpretation of the meaning of the word "official" is correct there are only two ( three? ) DE's that are "officially" supported by any distro maker since both of these were created by them:

Cinnamon by Linux Mint
Unity by Ubuntu
Don't know anything about the origin of MATE so I will take your word for it that Mint officially supports it.

None of the other DE's are officially supported by any distro maker.
So... If someone downloads/installs an official distro such as Linux Mint XFCE 17.1, and discovers a bug... The developer (Clem) isn't going to attempt to get it fixed? Interesting....

Regards,
MDM
This gets into a much bigger question of what "support" means in Linux outside of what you can pay for from RedHat but .....

If there is a problem with a given package in XFCE AND the problem is not something that Mint caused somehow then why would you expect Mint to fix it? They may pass the bug report over to Ubuntu or perhaps to XFCE itself but if they were to even try to fix it they would own it and have to maintain it in perpetuity.
Please add a [SOLVED] at the end of your original subject header if your question has been answered and solved.
markfilipak
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Re: Linux Mint lightweight desktop roadmap

Post by markfilipak »

altair4 wrote:This gets into a much bigger question of what "support" means in Linux outside of what you can pay for from RedHat but .....
What a mother-lovin' mess. You see, this is why so many people shy away from Linux. If a problem comes up the 1st response is "Not my job."

You want stuff done? Forget donations. Crowd-source Mint. If a lot of people want a particular feature, crowd-source its development. If the money is obtained up-front, I guarantee the development will happen. I have the Topic here: 'http://forum.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=152&t=187502'.
MtnDewManiac
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Re: Linux Mint lightweight desktop roadmap

Post by MtnDewManiac »

markfilipak wrote:What a mother-lovin' mess. You see, this is why so many people shy away from Linux. If a problem comes up the 1st response is "Not my job."
I have never received this response to any question I have asked regarding linux (and I have asked some pretty dumb questions).

I have seen an answer that, paraphrased, amounted to, "That question has been asked and answered many, many times. Please try {searching / reading the sticky threads / viewing the three other threads asking the same question on the same top forum page as yours}," but I found that to be entirely acceptable under the circumstances.

Regards,
MDM
Mint 18 Xfce 4.12.

If guns kill people, then pencils misspell words, cars make people drive drunk, and spoons made Rosie O'Donnell fat.
markfilipak
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Re: Linux Mint lightweight desktop roadmap

Post by markfilipak »

MtnDewManiac wrote:
markfilipak wrote:What a mother-lovin' mess. You see, this is why so many people shy away from Linux. If a problem comes up the 1st response is "Not my job."
I have never received this response to any question I have asked regarding linux (and I have asked some pretty dumb questions).
Dear MDM,

You've misinterpreted my response. I have no problem with what you wrote. I was responding to altair4. I trimmed altair4's post just for brevity. Perhaps that's why you thought I was responding to your writing. Here, I'll quote altair4's comment in its entirety.
altair4 wrote:This gets into a much bigger question of what "support" means in Linux outside of what you can pay for from RedHat but .....

If there is a problem with a given package in XFCE AND the problem is not something that Mint caused somehow then why would you expect Mint to fix it? They may pass the bug report over to Ubuntu or perhaps to XFCE itself but if they were to even try to fix it they would own it and have to maintain it in perpetuity.
I hope this now provides adequate context for my "Not my job" comment, that without the kind of integration done by Red Hat et al, application developers & widget developers run amok. This makes Linux look bad and discourages people from trying it.

Kindly let me know if you're still upset. Feel free to PM me.
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