Survey says: KDE Plasma is the most popular desktop Linux environment

The KDE community has created some of the best of the breed open source software and they continue to win user’s hearts, according to a new LinuxQuestions survey.

The easiest way to start a flamewar within the Linux community is by asking what’s the best OS or application. You can then lean back in your chair and enjoy the fireworks.
We all know full well that there is no best, or right solution for everyone; what works for me may not work for someone else. The best tool is the one that works for you. Period.
But that political correctness doesn't stop us from trying to find which are the most popular open source projects; what other people use and love. It gives us an idea of what works for most people. LinuxQuestions is one of the most reputed user driven Q&A site and they run an annual survey (for over a decade now) to find the most popular open source applications and distributions.
They just concluded their latest survey and the results are not that surprising.

The top distro

The results didn't surprise me. What surprised me was that there was no clear winner. It was a tie with three players squeezed in - Ubuntu, Linux Mint and Slackware.
Ubuntu is the undisputed leader in the desktop Linux space thanks to the resources Canonical invested in marketing the desktop Linux. Ubuntu is also known for one of the most civilized online communities, which adheres to very strict code of conduct. The third factor that contributes to Ubuntu's popularity is its focus on ease of use.
Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu and benefits from some of the work done by Ubuntu developers. Linux Mint rose to popularity after the arrival of Gnome 3 Shell and Unity because the developer identified what a majority of users wanted and offered alternatives to Gnome and Unity.
I never used Slackware, I did try once but it did not last that long. But I have heard great things about it from hard core users.

The top desktop environment

The winner in the category didn't surprise me at all. And that's KDE's Plasma desktop. It received over 34% of the votes.


Source:
http://www.itworld.com/article/2881172/survey-says-kde-plasma-is-the-most-popular-desktop-linux-environment.html

Linux Mint 17.1 finally makes MATE's fancy Compiz graphics easy to use

Linux Mint isn’t chasing touch interfaces, rethinking the way we use the desktop, or enacting any other grand experiment. It’s just a polished, modern Linux desktop system—and that’s why people love it. Linux Mint 17.1 (codenamed “Rebecca”) is on the brink of being released, and it continues the Linux Mint mission of refining the interface we use every day.




Technically, Linux Mint 17.1 is out in “RC” or “Release Candidate” form, which just means “this exact image will become the final release unless we find any huge bugs.” You can snag the RC images now or wait for a stable release, which should out soon. Installers with either the MATE or Cinnamon desktop environments are available. If you’re already using Linux Mint 17, you’ll soon receive a notification asking if you want to perform an upgrade to the new version.

Got it? Good. Let’s dig in!





Easy Compiz effects in MATE, finally!

Source:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2851078/linux-mint-171-finally-makes-mates-fancy-compiz-graphics-easy-to-use.html

The Perfect Desktop – Linux Mint 17.1 (Qiana)

The Perfect Desktop – Linux Mint 17.1 (Qiana) This tutorial shows how you can set up a Linux Mint 17.1 (Qiana) desktop that is a full-fledged replacement for a Windows desktop, i.e.that has all the software that people need to do the things they do on their Windows desktops. The advantages are clear: you get a securesystem without DRM restrictions that works even on old hardware, and the best thing is: all software comes free of charge. Linux Mint 17.1 is a Linux distribution based on Ubuntu that has lots of packages in its repositories (like multimedia codecs, Adobe Flash, Adobe Reader, Skype,Google Earth, etc.) that are relatively hard to install on other distributions; it therefore provides a user-friendly desktop experience even for Linux newbies.
Howtoforge Linux Howtos und Tutorials

Source:

http://www.linuxnews.pro/the-perfect-desktop-linux-mint-17-1-qiana-3/