This article was updated for Ubuntu 12.04. It can be found here. A basic Unity tutorial can be found here. NOTE: Unity in Ubuntu 12.04 is more complete and useful than Unity in Ubuntu 11.10 – the main advantage being the HUD interface.

This tutorial shows how to install an alternative desktop environment in place of Unity. It is aimed at the typical non-geek user. For those comfortable with messing around with Linux, it may seem like too much work when a simple sudo apt-get install <package-name> would do.

Ubuntu 11.10 comes with the Unity interface. Either the full blown Unity or Unity 2D for systems that don’t support 3D acceleration. If the install / upgrade went well, this is the only interface available to you.

Unfortunately, many people hate the interface. The interface itself is not that bad – it is a new way of doing things and anything new is usually met with a lot of resistance because users are comfortable with the old way of doing things. Unity changes the way we interact with the computer from icons and menus to a browser like interface (called Dash) where the user types in what application they want to run.

A more serious problem with Unity is that it is sluggish. Very sluggish. It takes two seconds from pressing the Window key to getting the Dash interface. It is no faster pressing the Dash icon.

There are alternatives to Unity, but it is not obvious what they might be.

I spent 3 days installing and testing 22 different window managers and desktop environments available via the Ubuntu Software Center.

I did not consider any window managers or environments that had to be installed via command line or required me to add additional Software Sources to the Ubuntu Software Center.

Setup

Ubuntu 11.10 was installed in a VirtualBox (version 4.1.2r73507) virtual machine. The virtual machine was configured to have 1 cpu, 512Mb memory, 12Mb video memory, 8Gb hard disk.

Ubuntu 11.10 was installed as an upgrade to a fresh Ubuntu 11.04 install.

Guest Additions were not installed.

Each replacement environment was tested on a fresh Ubuntu 11.10. This was to avoid any possible interactions / conflicts / dependencies between installed environments.

Testing

Basically, I tested it for usability:

Did it work? Was it easy to navigate? Could I find what I was looking for?

I also (crudely) tested performance:

How long it took from login to the desktop? This was tested from a freshly booted machine. How long did it take to launch FireFox? Only the first launch time is recorded since subsequent launches were faster. How long did it take to launch LibreOffice Writer? Only the first launch time is recorded since subsequent launches are faster.

A number of factors can affect launch and startup times, so take them with a generous pinch of salt – especially since I was not terribly rigorous about it. I found that the few seconds difference in time to launch is not that important compared to the responsiveness of the environment.

Notable Absence

KDE, the rival to GNOME, is absent from this list because Ubuntu Software Center fails to run correctly under it – it will launch, but you cannot install or remove any packages using it.

KDE provides its own software center called Muon Software Center, but it doesn’t work either. You can click the Install or Remove button and it will start doing something, but after a few seconds it will pop up the error message: This operation cannot continue since proper authorization was not provided. (this bug was reported on 16-Oct-2011). This happens because Ubuntu requires administrator priviledges (that’s why you’re asked for a password) when installing or removing software. If you are running as root thn this would not be a problem.

You could always use the Synaptic Package Manager or apt-get from the command line, but I think most Ubuntu user’s want to use the easy and familiar way.

Caveat

From the Latin cavere meaning beware.

My comments aren’t full fledged reviews. They reflect my impressions and observations to help guide you in picking a replacement for Unity.

Any one of these environments is a good replacement for the Unity Desktop.

If I said something negative about an environment, well, it was something I noticed and considered negative. It may be something you don’t notice or care about.

Most images can be clicked for the full sized version.

GNOME Shell

The Good

If you like the classic Ubuntu interface and want to go back to it, then installing GNOME will give you most of that. But there are differences (listed in The Bad)

The Bad

You only get two menu entries on the desktop instead of three.

There is no quick launch icon for FireFox

The menus are slightly different from the classic interface

The interface is sluggish, but not as sluggish as Unity.

There are no options available for configuring the look of the interface (you need to download additional packages Advanced Settings , extra themes for the GNOME desktop , and GNOME Color Chooser . Even then, you don’t have as many configuration options as LXDE or XFCE.

The Timings

From Login to Desktop: 35-45 seconds

Launch FireFox: 11-19 seconds

Launch LibreOffice Writer: 25 seconds

Installing GNOME Shell

NOTE: there is a larger package call The GNOME Desktop Environment, with extra components . I did not see any difference between GNOME Shell and that package. Since GNOME Shell is much smaller, I see no need to install The GNOME Desktop Environment, with extra components (this might be a better package for a Linux distro that doesn’t come with GNOME or ships with KDE instead of GNOME).

If you are comfortable with Linux and know how to use the command line and apt-get then the one-liner is: sudo apt-get install gnome-shell otherwise, follow the step by step instructions below: Note: while I believe the installation via one liner and Ubuntu Software Center is identical, they report different values for the amount of software to be downloaded and installed. The Ubuntu Software Center reports 12.4 MB needs to be downloaded and 42.5 MB of hard disk space will be used for installation. The command line reports 15.4 MB and 42.5 MB, respectively. These differences may reflect the command line not including software that has already been downloaded, it may reflect differences in the way apt-get and Ubuntu Software Center calculate sizes, or it may be some other reason. The reported sizes for XFCE were different as well. The reported sizes were the same for LXDE.

1) Launch the Ubuntu Software Center by clicking on the icon:

2) Enter gnome shell into the search field. This will bring up a number of related entries. Click on the entry GNOME Shell – this will highlight it in orange:

4) Click on Install:

5) Enter your password and click on Authenticate :

6) After the install is finished, Logout of Ubuntu.

7) Click on the icon in the top right of the Login box and select one of the first 3 GNOME entries. I saw difference in the behaviour or performance of the different versions of GNOME. If you are worried about performance, select GNOME classic (No effects). I selected GNOME:

8) Enter your password and login.

This is the default desktop:





As you see, the environment looks very similar to the original Ubuntu classic desktop: there is a status and navigation bar at the top (green); menus look familiar (red); and applications look the same (blue):

LXDE

The Good

The lightest weight desktop

Many configuration options.

Snappy and responsive.

The Bad

While the LXDE logo is pretty cool, I don’t like it as my Start Menu launcher (ok, so that is a small gripe and is probably customizable somewhere).

launcher (ok, so that is a small gripe and is probably customizable somewhere). I found too many applications were put into the Other menu option (XFCE did a slightly better job at grouping menu items, but XFCE placed some applications in multiple menus, LDXE did not duplicate applications across menus).

menu option (XFCE did a slightly better job at grouping menu items, but XFCE placed some applications in multiple menus, LDXE did not duplicate applications across menus). The are two (apparently conflicting) look and feel configuration managers: LXAppearance and Openbox Configuration Manager .

The Timings

From Login to Desktop: 11 seconds

Launch FireFox: 3 seconds

Launch LibreOffice Writer: 19 seconds

Installing LXDE

If you are comfortable with Linux and know how to use the command line and apt-get then the one-liner is: sudo apt-get install lxde otherwise, follow the step by step instructions below: Note: while I believe the installation via one liner and Ubuntu Software Center is identical – they report the same amount of software to be downloaded and installed; however, the reported sizes differed for GNOME Shell and XFCE.

1) Launch the Ubuntu Software Center by clicking on the icon:

2) Enter lxde into the search field. This will bring up a number of related entries. Click on the entry LXDE (The Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment) – this will highlight it in orange:

4) Click on Install:

5) Enter your password and click on Authenticate :

6) After the install is finished, Logout of Ubuntu.

7) Click on the icon in the top right of the Login box and select Lxde . Note: there will also be entries for GNOME / Openbox and Openbox. Selecting GNOME/ Openbox will get you the Unity desktop; selecting Openbox will get you a very barebones environment (just a grey screen) you can right click on the desktop to get a menu):

8) Enter your password and login.

This is the default desktop:

As you see, it is a fairly standard windowing type desktop. You can configure the look and feel through either the LXAppearance application or the Openbox Configuration Manager . Unfortunately, they both overlap and Openbox Configuration Manager seems to override LXAppearance in many cases. I found it a little confusing to have two configuration utilities that do pretty much the same thing (and conflict with one another):

Where Things Are

Ubuntu Software Center , Update Manager , and Ubuntu One can be found in the Preferences menu entry.

XFCE

The Good

Coolest looking desktop (ok, your preference might be different)

Many configuration look and feel configurations options available (the most of the three packages).

Snappy and responsive.

It is my favourite (again, that is purely subjective)

The Bad

It’s the largest of the packages (but not a behemoth).

Multiple applications are used for configuring the look and feel (but unlike LXDE, their functionality does not overlap)

A lot of applications end up in the Settings menu. There is also some duplication of entries between the Accessories , Settings and System menu (depending on your point of view, this may not be a problem if you feel an application fits in multiple categories).

The Timings

From Login to Desktop: 20 seconds

Launch FireFox: 6 seconds

Launch LibreOffice Writer: 27 seconds

Installing XFCE

If you are comfortable with Linux and know how to use the command line and apt-get then the one-liner is: sudo apt-get install xfce4 otherwise, follow the step by step instructions below: Note: while I believe the installation via one liner and Ubuntu Software Center is identical, they report different values for the amount of software to be downloaded and installed. The Ubuntu Software Center reports 22.7 MB needs to be downloaded and 92.8 MB of hard disk space will be used for installation. The command line reports 22.4 MB and 91.7 MB, respectively. These differences may reflect the command line not including software that has already been downloaded, it may reflect differences in the way apt-get and Ubuntu Software Center calculate sizes, or it may be some other reason. The reported sizes differed for GNOME Shell as well. The reported sizes were the same for LXDE.

1) Launch the Ubuntu Software Center by clicking on the icon:

2) Enter xfce4 into the search field. This will bring up a number of related entries. Click on the entry Meta-package for the Xfce Lightweight Desktop Environment – this will highlight it in orange:

4) Click on Install:

5) Enter your password and click on Authenticate :

6) After the install is finished, Logout of Ubuntu.

7) Click on the icon in the top right of the Login box and select Xfce Session .

8) Enter your password and login.

9) The first time you start XFCE, it will prompt you use the default configuration or to create an empty panel. Select Use default config :



This is the default desktop:

As you see, a fairly standard windowing environment. The Desktop application allows you to change the background The Window Manager application allows you to change the look of the windows. The Windows Manager Tweaks application allows you to configure the behaviour of your windows and desktop:

Conclusion

Aside from being a lot of work to test, this experience has shown me is that Ubuntu has done a fantastic job in packaging and laying out a Linux distribution for the masses.

Unfortunately, in trying to differentiate itself and trying to set a direction, Ubuntu is alienating a lot of users who would normally be drawn to this (formerly) user friendly distro.

Unity is a tablet style interface for Linux. It might be good, but it should be an option for users – not enforced on them.

As well, Unity and, it seems, GNOME 3 (and KDE Plasma) demand a lot of graphics horsepower. Their performance on my system is pretty much unacceptable.