What are you folks doing with Ubuntu-MATE?

Hi, i’ve been here (in this forum) for a while, long enough to get kind of a feel for things. And what i’ve read here gives me the idea that what folks are mostly doing with Ubuntu-MATE is asking how to get this or that working properly.

Okay, so once you get everything working properly, what are you going to actually do with it?

I’m trying to use it to build software. Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and segmented-storage was a new idea, things were simpler. There were a few instructions, like 8 on the PDP-11. And they all worked with bytes. Sometimes words, sometimes just bytes. Assembler language was basically all there was, and OMG it was so much simpler than things are today. Call it nostalgia, call it failure-to-adapt, call it senile-dementia, but i want to write simple code again, so i can actually get things done with the code i’m writing, instead of continually adding all the syntactic fluff that languages like C or C++ require just to give you permission do twiddle some bytes. So i’m building a simple machine architecture, that i hope to use to do some fun stuff.

But hey, my idea of “fun” is probably demented, what are you doing with Ubuntu-MATE?

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Hallo

In my case, everything that other people use Redmond or Cupertino products for. I use Linux and only Linux for everyday private computing requirements. :penguin:

See this list of software for some idea of what I might need to use on a daily basis:

I’m not a programmer.

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I use Ubuntu-Mate for everything: office productivity, digital photography processing, and software development. I have found that I can do whatever I need to do very well with Ubuntu-Mate (or even just regular Ubuntu). I have not found any restrictions or limitations that would require me to use Windows.

I will admit that I do have a Mac for some MacOS support only that cannot be done with Linux. I can do most of my development in Linux then port it to the Mac, make the few necessary changes, and recompile my code. If I didn’t have the MacOS support requirement, I would be completely Linux.

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I do everything i need to be done with Linux since 8 years now. I use to have a little windows 7 partition to play Fifa, but now i have a daughter and it is much better to play “soccer” with her.
According to a teaching job demands (Fine Art, drawing/painting) what i do mostly :
Prepare courses :

  • Libre office, Mypaint, Gimp, Krita
    Internet :

  • mostly sharing, getting help, give some help with :

  • french Ubuntu community

  • here as much as my computing incompetence allow me to do

  • Reading News

  • Manage pictures

  • Drawing / Painting

  • Custom My desktops and share screen shots :joy:

  • Watching movies with my wife ( no tv )

  • Trying to understand (FREE) computing

  • Trying “educating” some folks to Free Software and reason why UM, Debian based and some others can replace windows and MacOSX

  • Others political reasons

  • Being free to modify things easily …

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I’m using ubuntu mate for everything, is my main system (and the only one). I use it for the university, now im programming with python for geoscience (geophysics). Also i’m using GIS for geology, i dont play too much, and with the linux softwares im ok, so i dont need windows or other OS. I’m very happy with UM.

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I’m using it both as a media server (Subsonic, Emby, etc) and a desktop system for accessing my multimedia content. I have it hooked up to a television and use it for watching netflix (I never thought I would see the day that I could use Netflix on Linux!), youtube, etc.

I really like Mate because it takes me back to the good old days of when I first discovered Ubuntu. I bailed on Ubuntu once they introduced Unity, but Mate is just like Gnome in appearance, so I love it. It’s simple, functional and aesthetically pleasing.

I installed the Mate desktop environment over an Ubuntu Server install, and I have had very few issues with it. Multiple monitors worked really well with very little tweaking (unlike using LXDE, which worked, but was inconsistent and difficult with multiple monitors). I still love Lubuntu, but it just didn’t work well for hooking it up to a television. I’m currently having some issues with the greeter window in lightdm, but other than that Mate has been great!

I read recently that Ubuntu will be returning to Gnome for the default DE, so I don’t know whether that means Mate will become redundant. I haven’t really followed what has happened with Gnome. For now I’m just happy that I found a DE that at least looks and functions a lot like Ubuntu 9.10. It was really exciting when I first found Ubuntu back in 2009, and I was very pleased to find out about Mate.

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I work in Angola as a software developer and project manager for the private and public sectors. At home I use Ubuntu MATE for all computing tasks, from working to entertainment. At my job, on the side, I’m trying to introduce free software to the public sector, using Ubuntu and Ubuntu MATE as a server/client platform. Without much success.

EDIT: Well, that’s pertaining to the question. To clarify however, I’m did not come to Angola as a software engineer. But as a teacher. I teach high school Math and Physics. Just felt the need to clarify, because I may have mentioned this before and just now noticed that the above would seem to contradict it.

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Ditto. I’ve used Linux for my desktop needs since 1999, gave up Windows in 2003, used a Mac on the side till 2010 (mainly for Photoshop) and since then it’s been 100% Linux.

The only thing I’ve needed Windows for is my stepdad’s stupid TomTom navigator that uses their own MyDrive Connect software for updates. No LInux support (just Windows + Macs). Luckily I have a friend who helps me out on that one.

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I use Ubuntu Mate as a daily driver for all the usual stuff. Additionally, it is the basis for all of my audiovisual devices (including TV) in my home. That is to say, all my TV and radio is Internet based.

I also use it to mess around with the following:

Music - in particular keyboard stuff

3D modeling including photogrammetry

Left MS Windows in 2007. Never ever felt the need to return. In fact, now, it’s just a distant memory in terms of home usage

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I’m using Ubuntu MATE as my only OS for 2 years now, doing all the basic stuff, like browsing the net with Firefox, writing stuff with LibreOffice Writer, editing photos with either Shotwell (simple) or Gimp (more advance), splitting audio files with Oceanaudio, screen casts with Kazam, downloading video&audio with Youtube Downloader, playing music and podcasts with Clementine and many more.

I also designed book for print all in UM too using LO Writer, Scribus, Gimp and PDF-Shuffler.

I really like the way Ubuntu MATE works and it’s great to be able to find stuff/programs for everything you need to do and don’t have to worry about installing some crap along with it or bad/limiting programs to begin with.

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Hi,

I’m evaluating Ubuntu-MATE 17.04 as a replacement for Ubuntu 14.04 LTS as the base distro for Bio-Linux . We already use the MATE desktop for remote Bio-Linux desktops on terminal servers and VM’s running Bio-Linux in the ‘cloud’ via the “x2go” client - The “x2go” server is pre-installed in Bio-Linux. We’ve previously based Bio-Linux on 64-bit Ubuntu LTS releases, but now that Canonical have ceased development of Unity I’m considering the benefits of supporting only the MATE desktop for Bio-Linux because many people want to use it on old and low-spec. computers. My first impressions of Ubuntu-MATE 17.04 are very good and the next release of Bio-Linux may well be based on Ubuntu-MATE 18.04 LTS.

Bye,

Tony.

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I’m a novice 100% linux user (been DB for some time). It’s been 2 months of using only UM and apart from everyday computer chores I use it for gaming. Yes, that’s right, GAMING ON LINUX.

At this moment I have Diablo 3, Starcraft 2, Path of Exile, Witcher 1 and 2, Bastion, This War of Mine, Civilization 6, Total War Warhammer, Divinity: Original Sin and EVE Online installed so far, looking good and running smoothly with no major problems. Some of them from Steam (linux client), some from Play on Linux, EVE Online working with linux launcher made by their dev’s as an unofficial side project.

I cannot believe how easy gaming on linux is nowadays and with a permanent disbelief I’m still waiting for a major error burning everything down along with all my files and a new coffee machine… and waiting… and waiting.

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[quote=“crankypuss, post:1, topic:12713”]what are you doing with Ubuntu-MATE?[/quote]Most of the time, playing videogames (by means of Wine Staging). Currently Blizzard’s Heroes of the Storm. This is interrupted regularly by keeping up with developments in the world (who needs TV anyhow, can just get more info in a quicker fashion by opening a news site) and watching TV shows/movies (again, who needs a TV subscription), currently rewatching Battlestar Galactica (the 2004 series, not the 1970s series).

But, I’m also considering developing some software as well. It’s just an idea I’m toying with for the time being but I’m thinking about developing a new kind of MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena; think LoL, DOTA2, HOTS, etc).

And when I’m doing none of that, I’m tinkering with it. Ubuntu MATE, that is. Trying different kernels, different graphics stacks PPAs, running benchmarks. So, ultimately, Ubuntu MATE is seeing a lot of work here. Very random stuff going on. :wink:

Software used daily:

  • SMPlayer
  • Google Chrome
  • my own password manager (coded in C#, coded it while still on Windows, switching to Linux actually made it faster, Mono is faster than native .NET for my password manager)
  • Wine Staging
  • aptitude (I’m more of a CLI kind of guy when it comes to tinkering with Ubuntu)

Might end up using daily:

  • Visual Studio Code
  • rustup/cargo (Rust language)
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