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Midnight Commander VS Ubuntu Unity

Compare Midnight Commander VS Ubuntu Unity and see what are their differences

Midnight Commander logo Midnight Commander

GNU Midnight Commander is a visual file manager, licensed under GNU General Public License and...

Ubuntu Unity logo Ubuntu Unity

A powerful blend of Ubuntu and Unity - to give you the most complete and cohesive Linux Desktop Experience.
  • Midnight Commander Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-09-29
  • Ubuntu Unity Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-05

Midnight Commander features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Midnight Commander provides a text-based user interface that is relatively easy to navigate, unlike traditional command-line interfaces, which can be intimidating for new users.
  • Two-pane File Manager
    The dual-pane layout allows users to perform file operations such as moving and copying files between two locations effortlessly.
  • Built-in Editor
    Midnight Commander includes a built-in text editor (mcedit) that can be handy for quickly editing configuration files or scripts.
  • Connectivity Options
    It supports various network protocols like FTP, SFTP, and Samba, enabling users to manage files on remote systems as easily as on local drives.
  • Customizability
    Users can customize key bindings, color schemes, and panels to better suit their needs and workflow preferences.
  • Cross-Platform
    Midnight Commander is available on multiple operating systems, including Linux, macOS, and Windows, offering a consistent experience across platforms.
  • Search Capabilities
    Advanced search options make it easy to find files and text within files, which is useful for a variety of tasks, from coding to administration.

Possible disadvantages of Midnight Commander

  • Limited GUI Features
    Being a text-based application, it lacks some of the graphical features and mouse interactions available in graphical file managers.
  • Learning Curve
    While more user-friendly than the command line, it still requires some time to learn and get accustomed to the various key bindings and functionalities.
  • Dependency on Terminal
    As a terminal-based application, it requires a terminal emulator, which might not be as efficient or convenient as using a native graphical application for some users.
  • Limited Advanced Features
    For complex file management tasks, it may not offer the advanced features or plugins available in more robust file managers.
  • No Built-in Preview
    Unlike some graphical file managers, it doesn't provide a built-in preview of files (like images or PDFs), which can be a drawback for certain use cases.
  • Dependency on Configuration Files
    Customization often necessitates editing configuration files manually, which could be a deterrent for users who are not comfortable with text-based configurations.

Ubuntu Unity features and specs

  • User Experience
    Ubuntu Unity offers an intuitive and streamlined desktop experience with a focus on simplifying navigation and operation, which can enhance productivity for some users.
  • Dash and HUD Features
    The Dash provides a powerful search function to quickly find applications and files, while the Heads-Up Display (HUD) allows for searching through application menus, which can save time for experienced users.
  • Visual Consistency
    Unity provides a consistent visual and user interface design across applications, which contributes to a cohesive and attractive desktop environment.
  • Customization Options
    Users can customize various aspects of their Unity desktop experience, such as the launcher and themes, allowing for a tailored user interface.

Possible disadvantages of Ubuntu Unity

  • Resource Usage
    Compared to some other lightweight desktop environments, Ubuntu Unity may consume more system resources, which could affect performance on older or less powerful hardware.
  • Learning Curve
    Users accustomed to different desktop environments may experience a learning curve when adjusting to Unity's unique design and features.
  • Limited Official Support
    As Ubuntu Unity is developed as a community-driven project, it may lack the same level of official support and frequent updates that other desktop environments supported directly by Canonical might receive.
  • Compatibility Issues
    Some users might encounter compatibility issues with certain applications or hardware configurations due to Unity's unique integration and design.

Analysis of Midnight Commander

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Midnight Commander is considered a good tool by many users, especially those who frequently work in command-line environments. Its efficiency and robustness make it a favorite among system administrators and developers.

Why this product is good

  • Midnight Commander is a popular and powerful file manager for Unix-like systems. It features a text user interface, making it suitable for command-line environments. It provides all essential file management functionalities, including copying, moving, renaming, and even supports accessing and browsing through FTP or SSH, making it versatile for various tasks.

Recommended for

    Midnight Commander is highly recommended for users who are comfortable working in command-line environments. It is particularly suitable for system administrators, developers, and power users who need a reliable and efficient file management tool with advanced features like remote file system browsing.

Midnight Commander videos

EzeeLinux Show 18.15 | GNU Midnight Commander

More videos:

  • Review - 16 - Midnight Commander, Part 1 of 3
  • Review - Midnight Commander || Installation and short review || Ubuntu || Fedora

Ubuntu Unity videos

Ubuntu Unity 23.10 - A Great Linux Distro - Review !

More videos:

  • Review - What happened to Ubuntu Unity??
  • Review - Ubuntu Unity: Ubuntu's Biggest Regret? (First Impressions)

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Midnight Commander and Ubuntu Unity)
File Manager
88 88%
12% 12
FTP Client
90 90%
10% 10
Linux
0 0%
100% 100
File Explorer
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Midnight Commander should be more popular than Ubuntu Unity. It has been mentiond 28 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Midnight Commander mentions (28)

  • Emacs 2024 Changes
    Dired as a cross-platform file manager. I used to use Midnight Commander but I found it buggy in the end (on MacOS). Since investing time in learning dired it's good enough. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • OpenBSD Desktop
    Midnight Commander is a good TUI file manager. https://midnight-commander.org/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Antonmedv/walk: Terminal file manager
    Was there something before https://midnight-commander.org/ or was that the OG? - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
  • How to move a directory to ../ if there is a directory with same name?
    Just use mc (midnight commander) it not only is a terminal based file manager but it will give you the command lines used to do so GNU MIDNIGHT COMMANDER. Source: over 2 years ago
  • What's that email client doing here?
    Given that you can run shells in Emacs since those are text too, Emacs ends up becoming almost like a Lisp-powered tmux or mc. Source: over 2 years ago
View more

Ubuntu Unity mentions (5)

  • Omakub โ€“ Opinionated Ubuntu Setup
    > Ubuntu out of the box is not a great experience. I personally went with Linux Mint, because it doesn't try to push snaps and honestly the Cinnamon desktop is lovely and gets out of the way, a bit like XFCE but in some ways more polished: https://www.linuxmint.com/ It's nice that I don't even need custom scripts, it's pretty good out of the box. That said, contrary to popular opinion, I actually liked back when... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • The KDE desktop gets an overhaul with Plasma 6
    Unity is back. An enthusiast resurrected it and now it's an official Ubuntu flavour again: https://ubuntuunity.org/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Rethinking Window Management in Gnome
    > I wish Unity didn't die Hi from Unity on Ubuntu 23.04. I am running the Unity flavour: https://ubuntuunity.org/ It uses the latest Unity 7.7, released earlier this year: https://gitlab.com/ubuntu-unity/unity-x/unityx I run it on 3 or 4 machines, one of which has 2 screens and one of which has 3. Works great, scales well, handles modern Ubuntu just fine. I use it with the Waterfox browser, which integrates... - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
  • Rolling release between Arch and Rhino(Ubuntu based)
    I'm sorry, but Ubuntu Unity takes the cake for the best distro website https://ubuntuunity.org/. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Question about changing desktop environments
    Canonical dropped development of Unity in 2017 (if I remember correctly), but there is https://ubuntuunity.org/ which is not affiliated with Canonical. Source: over 2 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Midnight Commander and Ubuntu Unity, you can also consider the following products

Double Commander - Double Commander is a cross-platform open source file manager with two panels side by side.

nnn - Fast and resource-sensitive file manager for the terminal

FreeCommander - FreeCommander is an easy-to-use alternative to the standard windows file manager. The program helps you with daily work in Windows. Here you can find all the necessary functions to manage your data stock.

lf (file manager) - Terminal file manager written in Go (programming language).

Total Commander - A Shareware file manager for Windowsยฎ 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP/Vista/7, and Windowsยฎ 3.1.

jFileProcessor - A developers file manager.