Debian Changes Default Desktop From GNOME To XFCE 328
An anonymous reader writes "The default desktop within Debian 7.0 'Wheezy' has changed from GNOME to Xfce. GNOME, KDE, and LXDE will continue to be available, but the decision was made to default to Xfce. The reported reasoning comes down to size constraints in fitting GNOME on a single CD."
Excellent news (Score:5, Informative)
Re:The what? (Score:5, Informative)
I think it's the one you get if you choose "Desktop Environment" in the newbie software selection dialog.
Re:Of all the priorities... (Score:5, Informative)
Why is a CD's capacity the deciding factor for a component with such broad repercussions throughout the OS? It's 2012, folks. How many new installations are really made or broken on what works from a 700MB CD when a 4.7GB DVD is an incredibly common substitute?
I'm not ridiculing this decision, despite my surprised tone. I'm actually interested in learning more about the reasoning behind it, if anyone has some more background.
Believe it or not, not all of us have ultra-high speed Internet connections. Or a desire to install the world at one go, for that matter.
Re:I've been uxing Xubuntu (Score:5, Informative)
Your first bug is a Xubuntu bug dealing with their implementation. It is not an XFCE bug. Ubuntu or the Xubuntu volunteer team need to fix this.
The second is an XFCE, or more specifically a Thunar (the xfce file manager) bug. Judging by the thread, it looks like it has already been fixed in Thunar. I do not know if Xubuntu has updated to used the fixed version yet.
XFCE definitely has an active development team. The biggest complaint is that there are not enough features or bling. Of course, part of the XFCE philosophy is to have fewer features and bling, but still be fully configurable so potential new users should keep that in mind.
XFCE is not shooting for the bleeding edge.
Re:The what? (Score:5, Informative)
Correct. However you have the choice of which desktop WILL be installed as an earlier option selected from the CD boot menu. The installer requires an active internet connection to install other desktop options, the default option is what CAN be installed from the CD WITHOUT an active internet connection.
Re:The what? (Score:5, Informative)
http://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/6.0.5/i386/iso-cd/ [debian.org]
Re:The what? (Score:5, Informative)
I'll just leave here that the smallest usable installer ISO for Debian is a whopping 50mb [debian.org].
The reason it takes a full CD, is that the (full 8 single-layer DVDs worth) whole Stable repository is huge, so they cram as much of the most popular stuff on that first disk, so you only need the one disk to "get started". Once installed, you can use the network to install more.
Great call! XFCE has been fantastic for years. (Score:4, Informative)
XFCE is a fantastic DE that is very flexible, customizable, easy-to-use, and mature. It runs great on old and new hardware. It runs better over NFS than Gnome ever has, it works great over NX or VNC.
I've used it on-and-off since the very beginning. It has always been a stable DE that has managed to evolve over time without every significantly alienating its user base.
Every year or two I upgrade or replace the Linux side of our Linux dual-boot lab machines at work. Since at least 2006 I've been defaulting to XFCE (early 4.0 and newer.)
Not once have the students complained about the desktop. True, it isn't super-flashy but it works like a charm.
(And, as an added bonus, I can still make it look like BeOS if I want to.)