Hi folks,
I am currently looking into UM and would love to see a document that highlights advantages of UM over Xubuntu. On first sight they seem pretty similar from a user’s perspective (classic desktop without too much fancy stuff). Does such a document exist? I tried to search and looked at the FAQ but could not exactly find anything related. Can you point me to such a document (or even list advantages that you see here)?
Thanks a lot!
Kind regards
robert
Hi Robert,
the main reason I have chosen to use UM over the other Ubuntu family is for the simple reason that it all just works!.
It has the good old Gnome 2 look & feel, you can right click menu items and add them to the desktop with ease, you can add icons to the top panel with equal ease, the Control Center is well equipped for all occasions and all levels of user stages.
There isn’t anything wrong with Xubuntu, I have used it several times over the years, I just prefer the Gnome 2 look!.
When push comes to shove, its just personal preference!. 
I would recommend throwing Ubuntu Mate 14.04.2 onto a usb Live Disc and giving it try. I would bet money it would convince you in no time. 
Does it work better or even significantly better than Xubuntu? I mean, in order to switch I would need some real value for me to justify my spare time investment. 
But where does it shine compared to Xubuntu?
Kind regards
robert
To compare desktops is like comparing clothes with someone else. Its really up to the individual as to what shines and what doesnt. You really need to try it on yourself to see how you like it. But as far as what the Desktop has to offer, out of the box the amount of applications really shine for me. I can get right to work after installing. Everything I could need is already installed. The latest version of Libreoffice, shotwell for my photos etc etc… The amount of control and flexability in the control center and the easy to navagate menu system just shines for me. On top of it, its Mate, meaning its rock solid. Go ahead, throw your worst at it and it still runs happily without stutter. Plus its just a beautiful desktop. Its got that old school look, but it does hold its own against todays flash and sparkles desktops (which I really dont care for myself). It does all of this using very little resources, so even computers from ten years ago can run it smoothly.
With that said, you should really check it out on a Live USB. It wont hurt your system and in the end, its up to you to decide.
Xubuntu screen saver and screen lock is basically broken
Xubuntu main menu editor is unpleasant to use
Networking is pretty flakey on Xubuntu
From my own experience of using Xubuntu, post Unity and prior to adopting Ubuntu Mate, is that it is suffering from little active development and it shows.
Finally, one of the main claims of Xubuntu has been its lightness compared to other distros. However, again from personal experience, I can say that as soon as you start installing various programs, it becomes as slow as any other distros with the same software installed.
If pushed to rank my top three Linux distros for out of the box usability, I would rank them as:
Ubuntu Mate
Mint Mate
Mint Cinnamon
Xubuntu
all others
The last time I tried Xubuntu, it wasn’t stable despite being an LTS release!, that was X14.04 and I had a few problems with it, I cannot remember now what exactly was wrong with it but it didn’t work 100% as it should have done being a final release!.
Like I said before, it is also my personal preference to use Ubuntu Mate over Xubuntu, my other main Linux OS is Zorin OS 9 Core 32 bit.
Yes, but the differences do not depend on the individual - only the judgement.
[quote=“tbellas3rd, post:5, topic:968, full:true”]You really need to try it on yourself to see how you like it. But as far as what the Desktop has to offer, out of the box the amount of applications really shine for me.
[/quote]
OK, that is at least one item - even though it’s not about the DE but rather the distribution. For me this is less important as I am used to installing what I need myself.
[quote=“tbellas3rd, post:5, topic:968, full:true”]The amount of control and flexability in the control center and the easy to navagate menu system just shines for me.
[/quote]
I never had to issues with that in Xubuntu.
OK, the only issue I had with XFCE on Xubuntu so far is screen locking. I deliberately uninstalled light locker and went back to Xscreensaver - works like a charm.
Actually I have installed it in a VM already but not used much yet. So far it seemed pretty similar to Xubuntu, that’s why I asked. I suspect I am missing something.
Thank you for sharing your view on this!
Cheers
robert
Ah, now we’re cooking. 
OK, here I agree:
Here I’m neutral:
)This I never experienced:
Thank you!
robert
It might be far easier if you just try running Ubuntu Mate and see for yourself!. Then you can decide which of the two you personally think is better suited for your needs!.
I honestly do not think one DE has an advantage over any other. They all use the same ubuntu base (in this family ofc), all can have any app you want and all do every task in the same no matter what you are running. What it boils down to is your own personal tastes as to what you want to look at and more or less what your computer is capable of running. I’m not a fan of KDE so I dont use it, I dislike gnome 3 desktops and hate the unity menu, but many others would disagree. Yet in all of those distros, you can pretty much do the same. Ofc each DE may have a bug here or there, but thats life. Nothing is bug free. To add to that, you may encounter a bug in a distro, but I would bet you a thousand other users wouldn’t even see that bug, manly due to different hardware specs and what not. So network in Xubuntu might be flakey to you, but not for others (I myself as well, as I never had any issues on the network when I was running Xubuntu).
I guess what I am trying to say is there isnt one key point that I would say that this is THE distro for everyone to use. Thats like saying AC/DC is the only band you should be listening to. Were all using the same kernel, source code, same apps (mostly) and connect to the same internet. So it just boils down to what catches you the most, what desktop makes you feel “at home”. It took me many, many distro hops to get where I am today. I went through many a USB stick in that process, but in the end I’m using Ubuntu mate 14.04.2 and loving it or at least until 15.04 comes along… 
Ubuntu MATE has more features and is just as lightweight. But it boils down to personal preferences. They are both good in my opinion but I think MATE is a better environment with a brighter future.
Yes, in the end, it comes down to preference. The wonderful world of Linux means every taste is catered for.
If you are a high rolling hipster, go for Arch Linux.
If you want a distro that will be much more hand-holding and make most decisions for you, go for Ubuntu Unity.
If you want a distro that has the perfect balance of stability, customisability, usability and aesthetic appeal, then go For Ubuntu Mate (not that I am biased, of course… 
).
I guess that’s what I am trying to find out: which are the distinguishing features between the two? I probably should have picked a different title that makes it more clear. It’s obvious that everybody decides for themselves how they weight individual factors to come to their version of “advantages”. But I really should have picked a title like “Ubuntu MATE Features that Xubuntu doesn’t have”
That’s the second time someone mentions that XFCE does not have enough resources for maintenance and future developments. That may be a good reason to switch.
I agree. Light Locker just doesn’t work well at all. I think it has been combined with the power manager in 15.04 but for some reason I still have issues suspending on Xubuntu. I don’t have these problems on Ubuntu MATE.
Hi 
Is there anything like Whisker Menu for the Mate edition?
I love Ubuntu Mate, but I love the XFCE Whisker menu more.