[someperson]

Really exciting that people still yearn for classic GNOME2 desktop environments! I know quite a few people who jumped ship from Ubuntu when Unity starting being forced on everybody by default.

Lubuntu (LXDE) has always been a bit buggy for me, but still makes for great systems (especially on older laptops).

Though I for one think the "halcyon" days of Ubuntu didn't just include a snappy/stable user interface, it also included as default the warmest colour themes ever, which somehow made even the dreariest night fun: https://www.google.com.au/search?q=ubuntu&biw=1527&bih=779&s...

Not all software has to be cold and icy!

[thejdude]

Hell, I even switched to Windows 7 for a while, back when Fedora came only with Gnome3. It didn't help, that at the time the Linux kernel also had some general problems with power consumption.

By now, Gnome 3 is actually quite good, but still uses more power than MATE.

Cinnamon is slow and buggy as hell. Unity is just slow.

XFCE has become quite good, but still can't handle docking (or un/plugging an external monitor) correctly. KDE neither (plus I don't like the IMHO horrible interface).

So even after many years and years, Gnome2/MATE is still - IMHO - the best desktop in Linuxland (and I also like it more than Windows 7, and a lot more than Mac OS; back in the day I switched from Mac OS 10.4 to Ubuntu). It's not about classic - it's about functionality, stability, performance, configurability. But mostly that it just works and does everything the way you expect.

Interesting that you liked the old Ubuntu colors. I liked them much better than the current ones, but still considered them quite ugly compared to the typical blue desktops of Windows, Mac OS or Fedora.

[keithpeter]

For those that really prefer Gnome 2 there is always CentOS/Springdale Linux/Scientific Linux/Oracle Linux version 6.x. Most projects providing support until 2020.

Be prepared for the usual Enterprise Linux repository waggle dance (multiple repositories required for a reasonable range of software and media codecs). But it works rather well.

[higherpurpose]

I've just put Linux Lite (XFCE) on an old netbook, and it works great, better than Windows 7 did, with 1/3 RAM usage. Make sure you upgrade after you install or Chrome won't work. I think the upgrade even installs Chrome itself.

https://www.linuxliteos.com/

I also liked Zorin Lite, which is LXDE based, but 7.1 was very buggy for me. Maybe 8.0 will be better, and should come out this fall. But I'm happy with Linux Lite for now.

I've never liked the default Lubuntu UI and set-up. It looks too much like it was designed in the early 2000.

[thejdude]

I agree, LXDE has never looked very sophisticated. I'm curious what the merger brings (LXDE+RazorQt -> LXQt).

If you're not too starved on memory, I found MATE a better alternative compared to XFCE, almost the same performance, but worked a bit better. But YMMV. MATE doesn't seem to have a working window-snap (Winkey+left/right), but XFCE doesn't really work with hot-plugging external monitors.

[crdoconnor]

XFCE/Xubuntu has been the solution (for me) to pining for 10.04 days.

I tried Lubuntu first on the presupposition that lighter was better, but it really was too buggy and lacked some necessary features.

[marktangotango]

XUbuntu on a 2008 Dell laptop with ssd here, boots in 10 seconds, login in 15. UI is fast, no stupid eye candy animations (gimmicks imo). Couldn't be happier.

[nitrogen]

Regarding eye candy animations, I find that enabling Wobbly Windows makes my work feel more "natural". Moving windows on other systems feels stiff and unpleasant now.

[scrollaway]

LXDE has been doing some fantastic efforts in polishing with LXQt. They recently finished porting everything to Qt 5. You might want to check them out - though most distros don't have packages from git.

[higherpurpose]

Unfortunately, they haven't changed the design much.

[scrollaway]

Are you joking? The design is completely different to LXDE. It's a rewrite from scratch.