On Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:22:05 -0500, Big_Al wrote:

> I've now loaded Cinnamon desktop so I have Cinnamon, Gnome, Gnome 2,

> Gnome classic, MATE all on the login menu.

For that old school look 'n' feel

$ sudo apt-get install ratpoison ratmenu wmaker wmaker-data wmakerconf 

wmakerconf-data

> And they ALL have some twist about them that is different.   The problem

> I'm having is, not one is the way I want.  Example: in cinnamon and

> others I get a very large annoying window header above a browser. Unlike

> others that simply put the close window and minimize buttons in the

> upper right of the program window, cinnamon wants to have its own (IMHO

> ugly) bar at the top just to let me know what program it is, and where

> to go to close it.

They all need a point of difference in a crowded market place. Personally 

I prefer KDE although I'm using Gnome 3 at the moment.

> 

> There are other items, but is there any "tweakers guide to mint" around

> to help with this stuff?  I've used *nix for some 40 years, and not much

> in the last 15-20, so the GUI systems now are a whole new animal.   To

> me, there does not seem to be a standard, or maybe I keep looking at so

> many, there really is and I can't tell.  I like MATE the most.

> 

> Thanks.

For what it's worth, Gnome 3, MATE, and Cinnamon and are eminently 

untweakable at the moment because they are 'works in progress'. By 

komparison KDE is a ktweakers paradise.

There's a bit of a Mint 12 form guide here:

http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=86813

that may point you along the path you want to follow, however be aware of 

the caveats.

-- 

Q: What's an Australian kiss? A: Just like a French kiss, but down under.