Best X interface for new Linux users.

kres · Last edited by kres on Mon Feb 17, 2003 8:09 pm; edited 1 time in total

Hey all, I'm not trying to re-kindle the Gnome Vs. KDE holy war, but trying to get the group view on what X interface would be the best for new linux users. (Desktops, windows managers, the whole 9 yards)

Feel free to say depends. For example, I'm trying to get the Java Devlopers in my shop to look at running linux as thier dev platform - due to the fact that my operations equipment will be running linux and solaris. What do you think thier best introduction to X windows and linux would be?

Enlightenment .16 looks good to me, cause of it's ease of use and sparten setup... but it is soooo different from windows...

Anybody have .02 to add on this?
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Kres

Mindstab · Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2003 7:48 pm Post subject: tough

For newbies who aren't used to consoles or text conf files, probably most wm are out of the question to begin with
I love E to the death, but i dunno about it for newbies...
so prolly one of the DEs... I kind of like the look of kde more, but in my few attempts to use it, I've found its configuration abilities confusing and its ass hard to find somethings...
so even though i really wouldnt use it myself, gnome might be best for noobs... also, definatly decently familair to windows if you want it to be

kraylus · l33t Joined: 07 Jun 2002 Posts: 648 Location: ft.worth.tx

FLUXBOX FLUXBOX FLUXBOX!

the reason for this is because it's spartan, easy to use, and easy to setup. super duper fast and highly stable.

i made the mistake of introducing my wife to kde and she hated it. she's a long time windows user (never touched linux before) and she clung to fluxbox more than kde or gnome. she feels that gnome and kde were too mickey mouse. too duh duh.

flux/open/blackbox are nice and simple and very powerful. i would recommend these to any newbie. if a person cant figure out how to right click to access menus, give them idesk. if they *NEED* a start button, use icewm.

those are my recommendations. and my wife the complete linux newbie agrees.

ryan
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Lovechild · Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2003 10:08 pm Post subject:

KDE... it has no equal.

But maybe you should look into xpde if it's windows converting

kres · Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2003 10:39 pm Post subject:

Hmmm.. wasn't expecting a reccommendation for FluxBox... I'll poke at that one again.

The objective isn't so much Windows converting, but introducing a new computer user (or someone who just used the thing to get thier work done, secreataries, accountants, in some part devlopers)

KDE has come a long way, as has Gnome, but they have an edge to them that makes them seem too Microsoft wanna-be. (I KNOW that that is FAR from the case, but we are talking about new/newbie/simple tool users here)

Even with that rather damning opinion in tow, I am emerging the new KDE to give it a go, as well as soliciting the opinions of my fellow Gentoo'ers. I intend to give KDE another close look, Gnome will be harder for me to take a long look at though... It might be just me, but I HATE metacity, and even though I could use Sawfish... it's a preference thing.
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Kres

kraylus · l33t Joined: 07 Jun 2002 Posts: 648 Location: ft.worth.tx

if you give a *computer* newbie something like kde, with all them options and pretty pictures, something's liable to break. if this is something for programmers who aren't so dumb that they can't figure things out, maybe they'll like it, maybe not (less liable to break it though). but for newbies, give em flux. no way they can break it. plus, it's lean. lean! i cant imagine ANY developer NOT wanting to use a nice, clean, minimalistic gui.
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slougi · Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2003 11:05 pm Post subject:

How about windowmaker? It is lean, it is mean

And it is certainly not like windows

darktux · Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2003 11:21 pm Post subject:

icewm!

You can always put the windows theme if they're feeling a little scared :wink:

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pheelay · Posted: Tue Feb 18, 2003 1:33 am Post subject:

My vote would be fluxbox. Its incredibly light, as powerful as any other WM and a doddle to set up and use.

Altho KDE might be a windows lookalike, does that make it a good thing for newbies to linux? Theres a liitle too much going on in KDE for my liking and there's nothing worse than having a load of stuff on your screen in front of you that you dont understand.

Particularly if you're setting these systems up yourself for people new to linux, fluxbox's simplicity would probably make everyone's life easier.

kres · Posted: Tue Feb 18, 2003 11:19 pm Post subject: KDE 3.1... wow... Very 'Apple'

Wow... KDE 3.1 is soo much different than earlier versions. Just as an FYI, there is a Kisok configuration that you can lock down functions... this will add points to this Desktop in my scoring.

Windowmaker is cool, but some of the dock behavior is kind hard to explain to newbies.

Oddly, E is still leading the pack. The auto menu generation and the ability to severly limit the types of changes to the system that a normal user can make are very handy. I'm TRYING to emerge .17 to give it a gander.

fluxbox is also a good suggestion.. I'm looking at it a bit closer now.

Havn't got to play with icewm any yet... my system is still groaning after the KDE emerge from hell. 3.1 is pretty, but AMAZINGLY bloated. Wow.
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DuF · Advocate Joined: 09 Dec 2002 Posts: 2687 Location: Paris

I think Fluxbox could be a good Idea for a new linux users !

AkiAki007 · Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2003 3:02 pm Post subject:

I'll say the window manager that i used when i first switched to linux, and am still using (until yesterday when i switched to fluxbox).

Window Maker. It's highly configurable, easy to use, excellent keybindings (I changed all of Flux's keybindings to the ones in Window Maker), and the dock apps are nice and easy to use. I like the Menu better in WM than in Flux (able to stick easy and close easier).

Anyway, I would definitely suggest this as it is excellent regarding performance and usability and it's rather lite

really · Guru Joined: 27 Aug 2002 Posts: 430 Location: nowhere

kde3.1
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jief · Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2003 2:28 am Post subject:

fluxbox !!!!!!

snakattak3 · Guru Joined: 11 Dec 2002 Posts: 468 Location: Seattle

You guys will probably hate me for giving anohter vote to kde, but i am. The new kde would probably be the easiest thing to use. If they are just going to use it to get work done, kde can be a no nonsense window manager. Yeah, its bloated as hell, but it also has everything i need. From an IDE to little sticky notes in your system tray. The only things i really use that theres no kde version is xchat2, and gimp of course, well there are kde versions but nothing that compares. My girlfreind uses windows on her laptop at home, but she'll come over here and act like she's been using kde for years. She uses the internet, checks her mail, looks at all my pictures. She can do everything here that she can on her windows desktop at home. Thats just an example of how easy it is for new linux users to use. So my vote is for kde. I hope you can come up with something, good luck.

EDIT:
Not to offend all you gentoo girls out there, but i meant to say that my girlfriend is no computer wizz as well.

really · Guru Joined: 27 Aug 2002 Posts: 430 Location: nowhere

ahm, the reason for my vote for kde3.1:

a person who has never used a compjuter before, never used a mouse, after 10 minutes of pushing around started sufring the web, play music and handle his files and even reconfigure the desktop and change background!...
i was amazed.

becouse of that i just laugh when somebode says "but linux is so harder" pfffft!

like, when someone switches from a bike to a car, they say "but uuh this is so hard, look i dont have a bell and i cant feel the wind against my hair. all the extra unecesery stuff i can push... yack. it sux, im going back to my bike"

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crichards · n00b Joined: 01 Jan 2003 Posts: 32

I used to run Window Maker, Flux/Openbox, and an odd combination of Oroborus and a few other tools. Also ran wm2 for a while there. I've run GNOME 1.4 (SuSE) and GNOME 2.0, KDE 2.2, 3.0, and 3.1, and early on I hated KDE, but as I learned more, I began to like the "bloated" desktop.

I don't feel its bloated, since its not a window manager. It is everything, from libraries to daemons, configuration tools, and dozens of applications. And they all run fast and start fast for me.

Fluxbox is not much faster, and neither is Window Maker (at least on my system).

I don't see a problem with KDE at all.
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pheelay · Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2003 2:17 am Post subject:

crichards · n00b Joined: 01 Jan 2003 Posts: 32

Well, I do understand running a lightweight window manager on older hardware, since you will notice a difference there.

But on a newer machine, there isn't any difference (to me at least).
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