This is just a message of thanks to the Ubuntu MATE team really. I’ve been using Ubuntu for a long time, and have always stuck with it. I had a brief affair with mint, but it didn’t last.
Honestly, I like unity enough that I never thought I would switch, but when I saw how many customizable desktop options the MATE team have included by default I thought I would give it a try, and I’m impressed!
Unlike ubuntu, I don’t have to install a bunch of extra things just to get a fully functional desktop. Some examples:
Installing .debs with Gdebi, rather than launching the oil-tanker-slow Ubuntu software centre
The default file manager doesn’t have to be replaced
The notification bubbles can be closed!
Unlike mint, the kernel is much more up to date and more compatible with newer graphics hardware. Also the new mutiny layout is more similar to unity, which I prefer.
I was initially worried that MATE would look super old, but with a modern icon theme and gtk theme it looks as clean and modern as anything else really.
I also want to say that it is super fast, the performance is noticeably better, even on my high-end machine, and I have come across no bugs. Zero. Nothing. Ubuntu would give me the odd compiz glitch or application hanging, but this simply hasn’t happened with MATE.
So, keep up the good work ubuntu MATE team! You have won another user and (in a few minutes when I get my wallet) donator
If you think 15.10 (or 14.04) is already great, then 16.04 LTS next month will only get better with the many nibbles of bug fixes and under the hood optimisations.
Welcome. I too dabbled with Mint and Unity and for a long time before that was a xubuntu user, but Ubuntu-mate changed all that!
Question for lah7, great to hear about 16.04 , will this be best recommended with a fresh install, or will a distro-upgrade be “good enough”? Please bear in mind I fresh installed 15.10 yesterday
I wouldn’t say there’s a recommended route. I have successfully upgraded across versions 3-4 times in the past, Ubuntu is quite good at replacing the old and putting in the new.
A handful users may be unlucky to experience serious problems after an upgrade, it depends on the system. Some users who desire stable systems may wait a few days to iron out any kinks.
I would always suggest backing up first whichever route you take.
Thanks both for the welcomes! As it happens I am running the 16.04 beta, and it’s flawless so far!
In response to Andy’s question, obviously it will differ between hardware, but for me a fresh install of 15.10 seamlessly upgraded to the 16.04 beta. So I would guess the upgrade to 16.04 proper should be fine. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this on something you need for critical work, but if you have time to troubleshoot should anything not work it can be worth the (very small ) risk.
I’m glad to hear that you like it! I use Ubuntu MATE 14.04 LTS on an old laptop that I have. Because of the low resource consumption of the operating system, I can play cool video games like Minecraft almost flawlessly on a 14-year-old computer! Welcome to the community!
