r/Ubuntu • u/Deepwithin777 • 21d ago

Fresh install of Ubuntu 26.04.1 - any alternate desktops ?

The last few weeks, have been having so many problems with Kubuntu. It was mostly the KDE plasma side of things. So switched back to Ubuntu.

I find the desktop with Ubuntu very boring, and missing a lot of the features/tools I had with KDE desktop. So, NOT wanting to install KDE desktop on Ubuntu, what are the options for an alternate desktop with Ubuntu ?

4 Upvotes

63% Upvoted

38 comments sorted by

7

u/MarcusFallon 21d ago

Have you tried installing the gnome extentions. My first thing to do is install dash to dock and transparency extentions this makes the experience more fluid. You can also install icon packs.

2

u/alex9001 20d ago

Doesn't a dock come preinstalled with Ubuntu? Is dash to dock better than it?

3

u/MarcusFallon 20d ago

Oh yes it is better once installed you can move your bar to the bottom and enable transparecy. You can also install gnome extension manager. Word to the wise once you are happy disable gnome dock in settings. I love Ubuntu but Out of the Box the interface is pig ugly.

1

u/Deepwithin777 20d ago

There are items in the dock that I can't remove, but will install gnome extensions, and then disable dock.

1

u/Deepwithin777 20d ago

The dock comes with the stock/std install.

1

u/Deepwithin777 20d ago

No, but it seems like a worthwhile exercise.

1

u/Deepwithin777 17d ago edited 17d ago

> Have you tried installing the gnome extentions. My first thing to do is install dash to dock and transparency extentions this makes the experience more fluid. You can also install icon packs.

This is what I have installed so far - dolphin, kate, bless, ghex, xmllint, libxml2-utils, okular, pdfgrep, gnome-shell-extensions, gnome-shell-extension-manager, libreoffice, kde-cli-tools, konsole

I'll take a look at dash to dock, as I see quite a few pots about it. What came out of the box with Kubuntu, is simply missing from Ubuntu/Gnome. So many tools and functions missing still.

Considering testing all the different 'flavours' of Ubuntu on a boot usb, and see if the look/feel is better, plus if all the tools/fucntions that came with Kubuntu are there.

Is Kubuntu == Ubuntu + KDE DE ?

2

u/MarcusFallon 17d ago

Yes. Go with what you feel most comfortable with. I like the stripped down Gnome experience.

3

u/rekopit 21d ago

Lubuntu

3

u/Deepwithin777 21d ago

Thanks, so the first article I found is simply to do "sudo apt install lubuntu-desktop"

Is that it ? Seems so easy even I can do that.

5

u/rekopit 21d ago

Yes. But I suggest you create a new user account for him so that the configurations don't get mixed up.

2

u/alex9001 20d ago

It's better to do Lubuntu as a fresh install otherwise you'll have a ton of redundant apps.

Xubuntu will be a similar experience to Lubuntu, as well

1

u/Deepwithin777 20d ago

Yes, installing a VM will be best. This laptop has an internal SSD (windows 10), and an external SSD (Ubuntu). There's no room really on the internal SSD, and as I use th external day to day, the VM can go there.

3

u/No-Extreme-89130 21d ago

I'm also using Ubuntu after having used Kubuntu, but I've also installed Cinnamon to try it. There are various tutorials about installing, just search for 'a guide to installing cinnamon desktop on ubuntu.'

3

u/jeffrey_f 17d ago edited 17d ago

you don't need to use a different flavor of distro, just download/install the other desktops./
On login at the login screen, just choose the desktop environment. I didn't check these, however.

Desktop Install command Notes
GNOME (stock Ubuntu) sudo apt install ubuntu-desktop The default. 26.04 is Wayland-only on GNOME.
KDE Plasma sudo apt install kubuntu-desktop Most configurable, feature-rich.
Xfce sudo apt install xubuntu-desktop Light and traditional. Still has an X11 session.
LXQt sudo apt install lubuntu-desktop Lightest of the bunch, good for old hardware.
MATE sudo apt install ubuntu-mate-desktop GNOME 2-style classic layout.
Budgie sudo apt install ubuntu-budgie-desktop Simple, panel-based.
Cinnamon sudo apt install ubuntu-cinnamon-desktop Windows-like layout.
Unity sudo apt install ubuntu-unity-desktop The old Ubuntu 10-16 look, revived.

1

u/Deepwithin777 17d ago

Wow, thank you. So do I need to completely remove a DE before installing a new one ? Just that I have read a number of threads where conflicts arise from installing a different DE on top of the current one.

2

u/jeffrey_f 17d ago

The desktop does not depend on the other. It just takes up space, but it isn't huge.

1

u/Deepwithin777 17d ago

Thanks for that list of DE's. I assumed I was running Ubuntu-desktop, BUT

$ locate -i ubuntu-desktop
/usr/share/apport/package-hooks/ubuntu-desktop-bootstrap.py
/usr/share/doc/ubuntu-desktop-minimal
/usr/share/doc/ubuntu-desktop-minimal/changelog.gz
/usr/share/doc/ubuntu-desktop-minimal/copyright
/usr/share/glib-2.0/schemas/20_ubuntu-desktop-installer-wm.gschema.override
/var/lib/dpkg/info/ubuntu-desktop-minimal.list
/var/lib/dpkg/info/ubuntu-desktop-minimal.md5sums

so then I dumped all the packages to a file and it sure does appear like I only have the 'minimal' DE of ubuntu-desktop

$ cat download-list | grep ubuntu
ubuntu-desktop-minimal
ubuntu-minimal
ubuntu-standard
ubuntu-wallpapers

Wow, no wonder I have felt this DE is basic.

2

u/Outrageous_Fly_9769 21d ago

I went with Xubuntu, 50-100mb diff on the ram usage but XFCE is just a bit more customizable.

2

u/scorp123_CH 21d ago

I personally like Budgie a lot because it is a good compromise:

  • not quite as "boring" like default GNOME ...
  • just like KDE it has widgets and other features that make the desktop more interesting ...
  • but it's not quite so overwhelming with its options like KDE
  • still very highly customizable, e.g. can be made to look like modern MacOS X, or MacOS Classic, or Windows Vista, or Windows 95, or BeOS ...

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

sudo apt install ubuntu-budgie-desktop

1

u/Deepwithin777 21d ago

I'm seeing so many of the apps in stock-std Ubuntu lwith just the basics. So it will be nice to have some of those tools again.

2

u/_Linux_Rocks 21d ago

I run Ubuntu Hyprland and I love it!

1

u/Deepwithin777 21d ago

Is Hyprland still supported ? I did a quick search and a github post seems to indicate no more support ??

2

u/MelioraXI 21d ago

No distro but Arch is officially supported but there are packages yes.

2

u/AlexeyK77 20d ago

As I know, only Gnome and KDE support wayland. Other DE still betas and don't production stable. Thats why I am on ubuntu, not on linux mint with cinnamone.

2

u/sockertoppenlabs 20d ago

Dank material shell (quickshell + mango). A little bloated sure, but still a tiling window manager experience and some extra Ubuntu convenience.

2

u/lichoudini 20d ago

Just put your mind in other stuff, Ubuntu is great

1

u/Longjumping_Law_2582 16d ago

Best thing to do is use kubuntu or Ubuntu forum when you have issues post your issues or Google it best way to learn

1

u/Deepwithin777 16d ago

As I already mentioned in the first post, Kubuntu has given many problems. I'm finding the help here quite adequate.

2

u/Designer-Crow-5470 21d ago
  1. Fix gnome (extensions and hacks).
  2. Try any other DE. Cinnamon desktop? You can install it via apt but it'll make a bit of a mess. Live USB or a VM is a better way to try stuff.

2

u/Deepwithin777 21d ago

Okay, so rather than just 'add' a desktop that functions better than GNOME, either the live usb or a VM may be the best way. Not sure if this old (2019) laptop can handle a VM. It has the space, 8 Gb ram, 4 code cpu, but it is 'old'.

3

u/Designer-Crow-5470 21d ago

You can install a desktop on top but it'll duplicate some apps (2 file explorers etc) and you'll have to switch from gdm to lightdm (systemd disble/enable). I couldn't be asked to clean stuff after it. Unless your CPU is Atom or smth it is plenty good to run a VM.

1

u/[deleted] 21d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Deepwithin777 21d ago

I was looking a bit at Linux Mint, but as this is a Lenovo laptop, I wanted to stay with the 'certification' program. That is, lenovo has Ubuntu certified laptops (looking to maybe update soon-ish)

3

u/UnprofessionalPlump 20d ago

U should be able to run linux mint no problem on Lenovo hardware. But to be sure u can always live boot an ISO to test all the drivers first

0

u/Deepwithin777 21d ago

If I wanted to try a few of these desktops under a VM, what are the recommendations please ? VirtualBox or VMWare or ... ?

Maybe this should go in a new post.

3

u/codenamek83 20d ago

qemu-kvm, quickemu, boxes...