Debian: A noob query

[Art Edwards]

On 11/29/2011 01:11 PM, Colin Law wrote:
> On 29 November 2011 17:39, LinuxIsOne <linuxisone at gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Tue, Nov 29, 2011 at 11:58 AM, Rob Owens <rowens at ptd.net> wrote:
>>
>>> So I don't know what to recommend to new users other than
>>> GNOME 2 since it probably has the greatest number of users as of right
>>> now -- and for new users there is safety (and support) in numbers.
>>
>> So at this point of time, is it best for  newbies?
> The down side is that they have the pain of the learning curve on the
> Classic i/f and no sooner have they got the hang of it than they have
> to move to something different.  I would say go with Unity so they
> won't have to change again for a few years at least.
>
> Colin
>
I respectfully, but categorically, disagree. First, the point of Gnome 2
is that there really isn't a large learning curve. It is pretty
intuitive. Second, it would not be surprising if the MATE fork were
successful, and that Gnome 2 has a much longer life than predicted by
some on this list. Third, Gnome2 has a very nice continuity in Xfce. If
someone (maybe even if I) were to post a how-to about making Xfce as
gnome 2-like as possible, there would be absolutely no reason to
recommend Unity alone, if at all. Many people regard Unity (Gnome 3) as
a huge mistake. I know this has been discussed ad-nauseum, but it seems
particularly tone-deaf to act as if there is agreement about the utility
of the new interface, when there are very large threads to the contrary.
If you want the list to stay on technical topics, then at least
acknowledge the controversy. If I were to make a suggestion I think the
rational path would be to recognize that there are two sets of users.

I. If you use the computer primarily for reading email and surfing the
web (including watching videos) then Unity is probably fine.

II. If you have had a lot of experience computing using either windows
or Mac OS, and you do a lot of work (code writing, science, etc.), then
I would recommend unequivocally, that you start with Gnome 2.

Make recommendations based on this understanding.


Art Edwards