long time xubuntu user, now on 24.04.
debian comes with embedded programs like libreoffice, which I use, but versions are very old and I like using the newest versions available. with debian 12.5 I could use flatpak to get the newest version, but could I then get rid of the pre installed old version?
debian’s default graphics look also prehistoric. Can I change that installing other styles? (that’s what they’re called in xubuntu: adwaita, greybird…)
with debian you are asked to choose the environment: xfce, mate… how troublesome is to change those after installation?
Surprising that debian 12.5 is 0.7 GiB large, whereas the xubuntu 24.04 is 4 GiB. This doesn’t mean that xubuntu has bloatware, but simply much more pre installed packages, right?
I tried several other desktops on debian before settling on xfce. Never had a problem switching between them. A choice of a dozen or so gtk themes is available (try “apt list | grep theme”) including adwaita and greybird.
Please learn the basics of APT
The installer installs a ton of bloat, but of course you can uninstall everything you want.
Thats what I usually do on Debian.
I could use flatpak to get the newest version, but could I then get rid of the pre installed old version?
Of course you can and if you decide to go down this route you should take a look at Flatseal that can help you with flatpak permissions and theming.
debian’s default graphics look also prehistoric. Can I change that installing other styles?
Debian installs Desktop Environments without any theming, just plain vanilla DEs and in most cases, expecially with XFCE, they are not that pretty out of the box. You can still theme it to look and work the way you prefer.
with debian you are asked to choose the environment: xfce, mate… how troublesome is to change those after installation?
sudo apt install new-desktop-environment, log out and log back in selecting a different desktop in the display manager: piece of cake
This doesn’t mean that xubuntu has bloatware, but simply much more pre installed packages, right?
Keep in mind that the 0.7gb debian image is the “netinstall”, which pulls software from repository instead of installing it directly. There are also debian “DVD” images that can be up to 4gb as well. And yes, Xubuntu has more bloatware but not as much as you might believe
I’m not sure, but i wouldn’t be surprised if they have a dpkg-reconfigure script for window manager (desktop environment) switching.
But even if not, it’s no trouble at all. You can have multiple DE at the same time. Your display manager (login mask) should let you switch between them.
And yeah, packages are named gtk-<name>-theme in Arch, i think it was similiar in Debian. Then change via xfce4-appearance-settings (“Appearance” in menu). Or just download and drop a theme in ~/.local/share/themes, as long as it is a gtk-theme. Though for window borders, it needs a folder “xfwm4” in it.
Why do you not switch from Xubuntu to Linux Mint ? Mint is a derivate of Ubuntu but without Snap.
