Ubuntu Studio 18.10 To Offer A KDE Plasma Desktop Option

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Ubuntu Studio 18.10 To Offer A KDE Plasma Desktop Option

The multimedia-focused Ubuntu Studio Linux distribution has used GNOME since its inception and while that is continuing for now, a sign of a possible shift is coming with Ubuntu Studio 18.10 to offer a KDE Plasma desktop option...

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Ubuntu-Studio-KDE-Option

[edwaleni]

I read the posters rant on the use of Gnome on Studio.

I agree with some of his remarks, but I don't think his suggestions will necessarily change what is happening in the real world.

He was correct on everyone's desire to conform to CAM in the DE in the past. It was about productivity in the workplace. With the shift to entertainment software, the GUI approach of the day is in force. Who gives a rip about CAM from their perspective? All these home users don't know jack about how to do things, so we think we know how to show them. When MSFT finally abandoned CAM in Office, you knew the gig was up.

Measuring ones productivity in a DE is a much debated item. The rant referred to here was more about productivity gains done around customization and inconsistency in title bars depending on the application involved. That seems to be an immaturity on the part of Gnome and should be taken up to them directly, not via Ubuntu Studio.

Inconsistency in a DE or UI is more of a user killer than its detailed feature set. FWIW: I hate Apple OS UI approach, but at least it is consistent most of time, so i can tolerate it. MSFT Windows used to be consistent, but now with every app designer coming up with their own specific UI for their app, its a hit or miss proposition and becoming less tolerable. In Linux, we have how many distros? that all carry some DE or tweak of a DE to fit their preferred UI usage patterns. The ones that have been consistent across their use case tend to be more desirable than the ones that aren't.

All that said, I don't think changing the DE for a particular flavor of Ubuntu will create any great waves of productivity increases in Studio. Some of those apps included in Studio are clearly in a "roll your own" UI mode. They will look and behave the same in K or G.

[Awesomeness]

In Linux, we have how many distros? that all carry some DE or tweak of a DE to fit their preferred UI usage patterns.

That doesn't affect application UX at all.

[edwaleni]

That doesn't affect application UX at all.

According to the posters rant on Ubuntu Studio, he said it does.

He is claiming G does interfere in some apps UX, interfering with productivity, hence his request to move it over to K.

[Luke]

What I use with my media (and now also software development) apps over MATE descended from an old UbuntuStudio Hardy install way back in 2008 that was never reinstalled, only updated except foronce. That reinstall with the same packages was to transition from 32 to 64 bit back in 2011-2012 when Ubuntu Precise was in alpha.

DE's changed from GNOME 2 to early GNOME 3 to early Unity, back to GNOME 3 with the Frippery extensions while GNOME was still GNOME 3.0. Switched from gnome-shell frippery to Cinnamon in 2012, both to get to one panel on the bottom and avoid the then every new version extension breakage, In Fall 2014 switched to MATE after seeing how slow a wobbly windows plugin ran on Cinnamon while it had worked fine in compiz/GNOME 2 on much less powerful machines. MATE didn't have the ability to support the theming I was used to in Cinnamon so I started hacking on it.

Also over the years my media making apps became mostly Audacity, Kdenlive, Avidemux, and Gimp plus various things they need or are useful with them. Kdenlive I build myself, sometimes from git master or even branches if experimenting. I moved from an Ubuntu base to a Debian base in 2015 as Debian Unstable is a true rolling release, and probably to be preferred for hacking purposes.

Here's the kicker: I have been able (with a heck of a lot of work) to keep my DE looking mostly like it did back in 2008, when I had the UbuntuStudio theme and icons (with the rest of it) and slightly modified it. I had to port the GTK theme to GTK3, a rough port back in 2011, updates for GTK changes, a fine detail port for 3.14, and then having to remake that for 3.20 nearly from scratch. Working on the theme and MATE together I was able to get the same early (circa 2011) GNOME 3 style panel menu theme (slightly transparent black menus with rounded silver borders) that I had used in Cinnamon.

I haven't reinstalled from an UbuntuStudio installer since 2008, but I am still always interested in how the distro has evolved over time. My setup has diverged a long way from it, but that was its origin and if you used in in 2008 you would be right at home with what I have kept.

[slalomsk8er]

I read the posters rant on the use of Gnome on Studio.

I agree with some of his remarks, but I don't think his suggestions will necessarily change what is happening in the real world.

He was correct on everyone's desire to conform to CAM in the DE in the past. It was about productivity in the workplace. With the shift to entertainment software, the GUI approach of the day is in force. Who gives a rip about CAM from their perspective? All these home users don't know jack about how to do things, so we think we know how to show them. When MSFT finally abandoned CAM in Office, you knew the gig was up.

...

What do you mean by CAM? In computing

• CAM Table, to find where to forward a data packet
• Categorical abstract machine in applicative computing.
• Computer-aided manufacturing
• Computer aided mural, by digital printing
• Conditional-access module, to access scrambled TV programs
• Content-addressable memory
• Content Assembly Mechanism, for information exchange

[Awesomeness]

He is claiming G does interfere in some apps UX, interfering with productivity, hence his request to move it over to K.

YOU wrote each distribution would modify "UI usage patterns" which is BS for applications. Gimp is Gimp, no matter if launched from Plasma, Gnome, Xfce, or whatever. Same with Audacity, Rosegarden, Kdenlive,…

The workflow how to switch between windows and applications is different in among DEs but to claim that an application themselves (= the window contents) have different usage patterns in each distribution is either trolling or an admission that you have absolutely no clue what you are talking about.

[profoundWHALE]

I'm just glad that they are changing from Xfce. It has never worked well for me.

[edwaleni]

What do you mean by CAM? In computing

• CAM Table, to find where to forward a data packet
• Categorical abstract machine in applicative computing.
• Computer-aided manufacturing
• Computer aided mural, by digital printing
• Conditional-access module, to access scrambled TV programs
• Content-addressable memory
• Content Assembly Mechanism, for information exchange

CAM - Common Access Method

It was a loose agreement way back when to use File, Edit and some other original menu items in the menu bar.

Awesomeness

UI = User Interface
UX = User Experience

Not the same. Parse away!

[slalomsk8er]

CAM - Common Access Method

It was a loose agreement way back when to use File, Edit and some other original menu items in the menu bar.

Are you sure? Common Access Method pointed me more towards driver stuff: https://www.tu-chemnitz.de/informati.../scsi/cam.html
The closest to what you describe and I could find: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Common_User_Access

Anyway thanks for the nostalgic read.