I had tried out all these distributions again last week (during spring break) and this week, but I didn't think that each of them warranted their own posts (and this is also why there were no posts last week), so I have decided to combine them all into a short summary of my experiences. I'm doing this because I'm seriously trying to figure out what I should start using after Linux Mint 9 LTS "Isadora" GNOME. I tested the 64-bit (because my computer has 64-bit hardware) live USB sessions of all of these using MultiSystem. Follow the jump to see what each is like.
One thing that I haven't tried yet is the latest version of Debian-based Linux Mint, and I will surely try that when the latest spins come out. If I can get either Marlin or Nautilus Elementary to work on that and get a working Compiz desktop cube, along with all the other basic things I mentioned, I will be a very happy camper. And if I can get Compiz 0.8.6 to work with MATE in Ubuntu/Ubuntu-based Linux Mint, I will be quite happy. Otherwise, I think I will go with the power of KDE combined with the familiarity and stability of Ubuntu-based Linux Mint.
Linux Mint 12 "Lisa" KDE
I was able to get the desktop to look and feel exactly the way I wanted, with my preferred keyboard shortcuts to change desktops (and the desktop cube effect enabled), tabbed windows, et cetera. Mozilla Firefox is already installed, which is quite nice. The Google Talk plugin worked very well, which is great. I was able to use the GUI version of Mupen64Plus, which I do use fairly often on my installed system, on Linux Mint with KDE, and I was able to configure it the way I wanted using the GUI. I was also able to install and use the GUI version of F.lux, which is quite nice. KRunner was a fine substitute for GNOME-Do, which I use regularly. The only thing that didn't work initially was Skype, as I was using the 64-bit version of the distribution, but I was able to follow some instructions on the forums to get it to work, and that worked well.Chakra 2012.02 "Archimedes"
Here, too, I was able to meld the KDE desktop exactly the way I wanted. I was able to install Mozilla Firefox and Skype through the Bundle Manager, and here Skype actually worked (although it crashed the first few times I tried to open it). The Google Talk plugin was also installable through the default repositories, which is great. The only things I missed were GUI versions of Mupen64Plus and F.lux, and configuring the text files by hand didn't work because every time I tried running the programs afterwards the configured settings would revert to the defaults. That's kind of annoying.Fuduntu 2012.2
This seemed the most promising to me, because rather than using MATE, Fuduntu sticks with actual GNOME 2. It can do this because it is an independently-developed distribution now, so there is essentially no chance of conflict with GNOME 3 packages now. I was able to install Mozilla Firefox, and that worked fine. I was happy to see that I could install and use the Linux Mint Menu as well, as it appears that Fuduntu is maintaining and packaging its own version of that menu, which is great. Unfortunately, neither Skype nor Google Talk worked due to sound-related issues, and looking through the forums did not provide any solutions for me (as other people were experiencing the same unresolved issues). That's unfortunately basically a deal-breaker for me.One thing that I haven't tried yet is the latest version of Debian-based Linux Mint, and I will surely try that when the latest spins come out. If I can get either Marlin or Nautilus Elementary to work on that and get a working Compiz desktop cube, along with all the other basic things I mentioned, I will be a very happy camper. And if I can get Compiz 0.8.6 to work with MATE in Ubuntu/Ubuntu-based Linux Mint, I will be quite happy. Otherwise, I think I will go with the power of KDE combined with the familiarity and stability of Ubuntu-based Linux Mint.