[arguesalot]

The reason i prefer xubuntu is the fact that Kubuntu is going the way of ubuntu by investing heavily on eyecandy, touch-like interfaces and excessive UI bloat. KDE seems to be the best overall platform for development, but the interface is trying too much to be everything. I think they should reconsider falling back to a simple clean default desktop, because they are doing a disservice to the developers of thousands of great KDE apps.

[mike-cardwell]

I'm on Ubuntu 11.04 atm. I plan to upgrade to 12.04 in July (after its had a few months to bed in), but I'm weary of what to expect from their next UI update, given their recent history. Unless I hear good things, I'll be moving over to Xubuntu.

[johnmmurray]

Alternatively, you could go with XMonad! I made the jump after experiencing Canonical's Unity and proceeding to search for alternatives. Once you make the switch, you won't want to use anything else. :-)

[VMG]

Or maybe he will switch back. Like I did.

[bergie]

My current approach is Android ICS on a Transformer Prime, with an Ubuntu chroot for running server-side apps when developing (with vim, git, etc), and VNC connection if I need to run full desktop apps.

If only Firefox Mobile included development tools I could mostly ditch the VNC part.

[manuletroll]

Some ideas seem kind of interesting, like the HUD thingy, but I very much doubt it will be enough to bring disappointed users back to using Ubuntu. Xubuntu is quite good if you're looking for something close to the gnome 2 experience.

[mike-cardwell]

The desktop is just there to launch and switch between applications. I want it to stay simple and to keep out of my way. I've not tried Xubuntu yet, but it sounds/looks like it will be better at satisfying these requirements for me.

[a_a_r_o_n]

"The desktop is just there to launch and switch between applications."

If that's how you look at the desktop, then you should definitely look at Lubuntu. It's just windows and a panel. When you look at an Xfce desktop, it looks like Xfce. When you look at Lubuntu, it's just windows and a panel.

[mike-cardwell]

I was unaware of Lubuntu. I will keep it in mind. Thanks.

[malnourish]

I'm using Elementary OS, which is based off Ubuntu. It's simple, clean, and works very well for my purposes.

[geoffw8]

Or do what I did, and install your own window manager :) Got awesome running and very happy at the moment.

[RyanMcGreal]

I'm holding out for Gnome3 to get good enough for day-to-day production use. In the meantime, I'm running 11.10 with gnome-session-fallback &c.