Gnome is great for this usecase. I only use emacs and libewolf, and gnome is the best desktop experience I've had.
I used i3/bspwm/etc for years before, and was convinced it was better until I had to use Gnome at work for a bit. Now I use Gnome everywhere.
The UI polish is nice. Stuff like wifi and bluetooth just work well without having to dig into wpa_supplicant or w/e. I can plug in external monitors and easily rearrange displays.
Sure you can set all this up in a bespoke custom environment, but you have to set it all up, and predict future needs. Its nice not having to dig into or install something whenever I realize I need to do something I didn't account for. I use my PC for getting stuff done, not to get on the top of r/unixporn.
I could not (respectfully) disagree more. It's true that you can get a (seemingly) working system out of the gate, but that's rarely where I experience issues with Gnome or KDE. My issues usually happen after errant updates.
To address all of the issues you are listing, I just use NixOS and call it a day. I have snapshot support, I can change channels on a whim, swap out kernels on a whim and rebuild everything on a whim. If I want to nuke everything, I can have a new system up and running in under an hour because I just build on my meticulously configured configuration.nix and various flakes.
My point is that I don't want my DE to dictate how my system works. I mainly use CLI tools and configs, but also use Gnome and XFCE tools for select things. In the past 2 years I've never had a build issue and I run on bleeding edge versions.
You stating that you use your PC to get work done (and not r/unixporn notoriety) insinuates that those that don't agree with you are obsessed with superficial things. I can just as easily say you lack the knowledge of how your computer works so you lash out to mask your ignorance. Remember, this isn't Reddit, some of us here know what we are talking about.
I also use NixOS. It does not solve the problems I am mentioning. It also does solve issues due to updates, so not sure what you mean there. Changing system configuration is the easy part. Finding out which program fits your needs is the hard part.
The problems I've had on i3/bspwm/etc before are like the following:
- Client asks me to share my screen on projector. Since I'd never configured an external monitor on my laptop as I never thought I would need it, it of course did not work with just plugging in HDMI. Did not have time to go figure out how to create a desktop on another monitor with i3.
- I need to connect to a wifi network that has a weird config that needs weird config with wpa_supplicant though cli/config. Though NetworkManager just works.
- I'm sent an image which doesn't render right in feh, so I have to find another image viewer.
- I'm navigating a PDF that uses a feature I don't know the zathura command for.
- After laptop shuts down without notice, realize dunst hasn't been showing my low battery notifications for some time.
These are all common problems with a custom minimal setup, that are solved by using a full DE, such as Gnome or KDE.
> My point is that I don't want my DE to dictate how my system works...
Thats fine. Thats not everybody though.
> You stating that you use your PC to get work done (and not r/unixporn notoriety) insinuates that those that don't agree with you are obsessed with superficial things
I apologize for the wording if it came across as offensive. I intended to convey that not everyone cares about a "beautiful minimal setup". Sure, if you do, more power to you. Though these setups are not the path of least resistance for people who do not care about being minimal. For people who do not want to tinker with their DE, I would not recommend such setups, and would recommend Gnome. Back when I had more time, I loved tinkering with my DE, but I have limited time now and I'd rather tinker with implementing Lisp interpreters than with my DE.
I used i3/bspwm/etc for years before, and was convinced it was better until I had to use Gnome at work for a bit. Now I use Gnome everywhere.
The UI polish is nice. Stuff like wifi and bluetooth just work well without having to dig into wpa_supplicant or w/e. I can plug in external monitors and easily rearrange displays.
Sure you can set all this up in a bespoke custom environment, but you have to set it all up, and predict future needs. Its nice not having to dig into or install something whenever I realize I need to do something I didn't account for. I use my PC for getting stuff done, not to get on the top of r/unixporn.