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Pro Low system resource consumption
For users with netbooks, tablets and older computers where not a lot of system resources are available.
Pro Highly Customizable
XFCE offers plenty of settings, and even things like theming XFWM is a simple task (it's just a handful of images.) Many possible permutations of window colors, borders, fonts, etc.
Pro Classic and Familiar
Xfce works very much like the classic Gnome & Windows desktops, taskbars (panels) and desktop icons, letting you get your work done without being frustrated. Xfce embodies the traditional UNIX philosophy of modularity and re-usability. It consists of a number of components that provide the fu...
Con Very slow developement
XFCE tends to be extremely slow in it's development. The last release was Xfce 4.12 on Febuary 28, 2015, a little over a year ago, with the next release still remaining unknown.
Con Outdated default UI
The default theme that comes with XFCE looks like something you would expect to find on Windows 98. Many PC users do not possess the necessary skills to configure XFCE in a way to look more modern.
Pro Energy saving and extremely fast
LXDE is a simple desktop without a lot of bells and whistles, this allows it to remain lightweight which helps conserve battery power and maintain its speed of use.
Pro Crazy light resource management
Ideal for older hardware,fast execution,conservative look.
Con Development has slowed
LXDE is slowly reaching End of Life, but will still receive new updates as long as GTK +2 is in use. LXQT could be a natural alternative.
Con No compositor
In order to keep the system light weight and CPU/GPU non intensive LXDE forgoes a compositing program, because of this there will be screen tearing. Though a compositor like Compton can be added for those that want it.
Pro Designed for traditional desktops
Intended for large-screen, non-touch devices that extend traditional concepts with functionality and good looking aesthetic.
Pro Fast, elegant and stable interface
Cinnamon uses a traditional desktop userflow that most computer users are familiar with.
Con Crashes
Despite Cinnamon being on its stable second version it still crashes a lot, ranging from plugins all the way to drivers.
Pro Extremely stable
Solid as a rock linux desktop, just works.
Pro Works great on old machines
Because it's older codebase is based on Gnome 2 which was the champion for desktop environments for a long time, it's very stable and has plenty of features which work perfectly for old machines.
Con Not very likely to have new features
Since it's basically a fork of Gnome 2, and it's created to satisfy Gnome 'purists' it's very unlikely for it to add new features more in line with modern DEs. But It doesn't mean that it doesn't/won't support modern apps.
Pro Lightweight emphasis
With a focus on being "light-weight", it is to KDE Plasma what XFCE is to GNOME: a familiar enough looking lighter alternative to the more fully featured environment that may work better on lower-end devices and for people who want as lean a system as possible.
Pro Modular
By taking advantage of the modular KDE Frameworks, LXQT is able to offer a modular architecture that allows the user to easily swap components.
Know any negative aspects of this option?
Pro Highly flexible
There are many customization options and possibilities to tweak the desktop, including widgets.
Pro Has a file manager that provides a good balance between power and simplicity
Included file manager provides several icon, list and detail views to choose from along with features such as tabs, bookmarks, tagging, previews and metadata, network file access, bluetooth file transfers to/from devices and excellent removable storage integration while remaining fast and easy to u...
Con Stability problems
Under certain conditions, most of KDE's components can be highly sensitive to race conditions, which leads to KDE applications frequently crashing, and, on rare occasion, kdeinit itself locking up.
Con Interfaces are inconsistent and ugly
While parts of KDE can be very good looking, a common opinion is that the style is too hobbled together with inconsistent icons and styles clashing with each other.
Pro Clean UI
Every aspect of GNOME 3 has been crafted to fit together as a harmonious whole, so that it offers a consistent and integrated experience.
Pro Extensible
Gnome Extensions offers an easy way to extend the built-in functionality.
Con Some areas are unpolished and lack features
Some aspects are still unpolished and lack features - the Gnome design team works well, but seems to not be taking input from the outside world.
Con Laggy and bad UI
The user interface is too dark and not user friendly.
Pro Lightweight
Pantheon is light on system resources, giving it the advantage of being able run well on a multitude of setups.
Pro Smooth, subtle animations
Nearly everything is animated, but it's not over the top.
Con Lack of portability
Pantheon is working well in Elementary OS but installing it in most distribution will be a manual process requiring some tuning and fixes.
Con Not ideal for enterprise environments
As it has no set release date, and no set support and/or EOL dates, that makes it a not so good choice for enterprises managing a number of machines where such dates are important to know before hand.
Pro Very stable
It runs for weeks on end without noticeably increasing its memory footprint. It continues running smoothly over extended periods of time. Applications that used to crash in gnome-shell (skype-for-linux, wire, firefox) give me absolutely no problems here.
Know any negative aspects of this option?
Pro Easy access launcher
That is always accessible on the left side.
Con Files Manager lacks many features
The files manager based on gnome nautilus lacks too many features! With the removal of features such as compact view and split screen, newer versions of Nautilus File Manager are not as useful as they once were.
Pro Get all of the stuff that you need
If all you want is a file manager, a terminal emulator, and a text editor; then all you need is that stuff, a DM and a WM
Con Your computer may get random stuff that you don't use by trying out different things
Although you can uninstall it... e.g. getting three different app launchers, but only using one, or having four different WM .
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