Ubuntu's GUI is bloated and unusable for anyone with a functioning brain that's used a computer in the last 20 years. It's where the avant-garde UX designers went to die.
Unfortunately swapping out desktops is not nearly as easy as it is with stock Debian.
Debian is no better. Setting a static IP if you install a graphical environment is broken and takes much research to resolve, because somehow it's considered normal to install multiple hidden, poorly documented network managers by default that conflict with each other and override with DHCP in this hodgepodge of an OS.
The best way to swap desktops is to install the correct Ubuntu flavour from the start, i.e. Kubuntu, Xubuntu or Lubuntu to avoid those problems.
I am quite happy with Regolith Desktop [0] installed on top of standard Ubuntu. Gives you a nice tilling window manager based desktop without fiddling with config files for hours.
> Unfortunately swapping out desktops is not nearly as easy as it is with stock Debian.
...why not? It's been a while, but I'm 90% sure I started from a stock GNOME install and one `apt-get install i3wm` later I could pick i3 from the login screen and it worked.
Ah, that could be; I admit I never bothered to try and remove the original DE. I kinda thought you could remove the metapackage, but I wouldn't be shocked if it left some cruft. I'm pretty sure the "not install it in the first place" path is possible, though, if less obvious; I seem to recall that the minimalist setups I've seen actually started with the server ISO and then added Xorg to it. Regardless, I'm happy to agree that Ubuntu doesn't lend itself to this use as well as some alternatives.
> started with the server ISO and then added Xorg to it
That is a clever idea.
Unfortunately removing GNOME from standard Ubuntu is like trying to put the genie back in the bottle. They have built up too much around it with hard dependencies.
Unfortunately swapping out desktops is not nearly as easy as it is with stock Debian.
Debian is no better. Setting a static IP if you install a graphical environment is broken and takes much research to resolve, because somehow it's considered normal to install multiple hidden, poorly documented network managers by default that conflict with each other and override with DHCP in this hodgepodge of an OS.