The Linux Desktop is currently a mess with a plethora of options available. Unity as on Ubuntu 11.10 and GNOME 3 as on Fedora 16 are cluttered and in my opinion not suitable for use on a production machine. I need a Desktop Environment that has stability and allows me to just get things done with minimal fuss. This is where the older Gnome 2 Desktop Environment excels
http://lifehacker.com/5853099/linux-desktop-faceoff-gnome-3-vs-ubuntu-unity
If stability is of the utmost importance I thoroughly recommend Linux Mint Debian Edition 201101
Linux Mint Debian Edition 201101 Download
http://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=66
Linux Mint Debian Edition Manual Partitioning Guide
http://www.linuxbsdos.com/2010/12/28/manual-disk-partitioning-guide-for-linux-mint-debian-edition/
You download the ISO. then you need to create a Bootable LiveDVD
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BurningIsoHowto
Linux Mint Debian Edition 201101 comes with the Gnome 2 Desktop Environment. Linux Mint Debian Edition is based on Debian Testing. To avoid the less stable GNOME 3 Desktop Environment I recommend switching sources to the Debian Stable Repository
Open the Terminal and submit the following commands
su
sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
Delete all sources and replace with these
deb http://ftp.uk.debian.org/debian/ squeeze main contrib non-free
deb-src http://ftp.uk.debian.org/debian/ squeeze main contrib non-free
deb http://security.debian.org/ squeeze/updates main contrib non-free
deb-src http://security.debian.org/ squeeze/updates main contrib non-free
deb ftp://ftp.debian-multimedia.org/ squeeze main
Save and Close
Back in the Terminal
sudo apt-get update
Apply updates using Mint Update then remaining updates using Synaptic
REBOOT
Enable Debian Squeeze Backport repositories
su
sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
deb http://backports.debian.org/debian-backp… squeeze-backports main
sudo apt-get update
Point to backports in Synaptic and apply updates
REBOOT
LUg.