Who needs X?

lurid · Guru Joined: 12 Mar 2003 Posts: 595 Location: Florida

Ok, so we've all heard the hardcore Unix/Linux people with their "I don't even have X installed!", but lately I've been playing with the command line more and I have to say.. Who needs X? Links has a fullscreen graphical browser that runs on the framebuffer and even has mouse support (though the mouse is a bit ugly). BitchX for IRC. mp123 works like a charm, even reads XMMS playlists. naim is an ncurses based AIM client. And of course the many command line email programs.

I love the Gnome/Fluxbox combo and I've been using it for a long time now, but I'm getting more and more used to using the command line and really liking it. The main problem I've always had with doing things from the command line was that lynx sucked. Links though, being fully graphical, fills that gap in a big way.

Do I get to call myself hardc0re now? :lol:

hook · Posted: Thu May 15, 2003 6:14 pm Post subject:

try installing bootsplash also ...and you're in for a treat

...aaxine can play movies perfectly in the console ...and do try to change the font to default8x9 (or was it 9x8) ...you're in for a REAL treat
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lurid · Guru Joined: 12 Mar 2003 Posts: 595 Location: Florida

Yup, I've got bootspash installed. Well, I patched a 2.4.20 kernel with it, I'm using 2.5.69 at the moment and I don't know if its safe to use with that yet.. but yes, the background image on the framebuffer is sweet. I don't have Xine installed, but I remember reading some where that mplayer will work on a framebuffer as well. I haven't tried it yet, though.

I read about a CLI WM the other day and I'll be damned if I can remember the name of it. It was fairly basic, but it looked like it could be some what functional.

Mystilleef · Guru Joined: 27 Apr 2003 Posts: 561 Location: Earth

Hello Gents,

That will mean I'm unable to use KDE. Lord, life will be pretty boring without it. I call myself a modern hypbrid Linux user. A CLI-GUI gunkie; you see I need the graphics and sha-bang! to make the environment cosy and more me. There is just something about dark screen that make me sleepy. Besides, I like to hear my compare cry once in while, or else it will get lazy if I go resource minimal.

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pjp · Administrator Joined: 16 Apr 2002 Posts: 20067

I generally have numerous windows open on several desktops. I've not seen a non-GUI window manager do that nicely. ION isn't useable IMO.
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pilla · Posted: Thu May 15, 2003 7:08 pm Post subject:

Can you read PDF files in the console?
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lurid · Guru Joined: 12 Mar 2003 Posts: 595 Location: Florida

I found it. Its called Twin. Like I said, its fairly basic and I've yet to try it. It seriously looks like a multitasking DOS program. Hehe.

Anyway.. so I'm feeling all l33t in my CLI enviroment with my brower, BitchX and mpg123 going with a various combo of backgrounded processes and screen.. but I can't figure out how to change the console font. I tried Googling and I can't find jack. Well, it was nice to feel l33t for a few minutes anyways. :cry:

Ari Rahikkala · Guru Joined: 02 Oct 2002 Posts: 370 Location: Finland

Ari Rahikkala · Guru Joined: 02 Oct 2002 Posts: 370 Location: Finland

PowerFactor · Posted: Thu May 15, 2003 7:45 pm Post subject:

nrl · Guru Joined: 27 Mar 2003 Posts: 446 Location: Glasgow, UK

The console is useful and although you can survive without X what is the point if you are on modern hardware? Another thing I am not a bg fan of the background images in the console - I use framebuffer so I have a high resolution console but I prefer the good old white on black.
One thing I do love though is if I want to check email I can quickly boot, log in and start mutt - no need to wait on some bloated (OK I use pekwm but you get the point) GUI to load.

The Khan Artist · Posted: Thu May 15, 2003 8:15 pm Post subject:

zenlunatic · Guru Joined: 09 Apr 2003 Posts: 312

Lurid, it's good that you are taking this approach, but you need Emacs in your life, honestly. Specifly gnuserv, emacs, screen, gnus, and ditch BX. Try irssi, zenirc, or erc. They are far superior. Zenirc/gnuserv is great combo from what I hear.

lurid · Guru Joined: 12 Mar 2003 Posts: 595 Location: Florida

Ah, well seeing as how its The Gentoo Way (tm) I don't feel so bad for not having been able to figure it out. ;) I've never used emacs before (gasp) but I'm installing it as I type this. Its huge! 20 megs. So, I suppose I'll now show my emacs ignorance and say "Whats so great about Emacs? And why is there an IRC client for a text editor?" O.o

|Quantum| · Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2005 10:57 am Post subject:

It should be possible with Ghostview!

placeholder · Advocate Joined: 07 Feb 2004 Posts: 2500

Evangelion · Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2005 1:29 pm Post subject:

I sometimes go without X. For example I sometimes use my old 350Mhz Laptop in the CLI. I use it quite often to write text, and why would I need X for that?
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apeitheo · Apprentice Joined: 09 Jan 2004 Posts: 222

I don't understand why someone would want to browse the web (unless they must) using a non-graphical browser. Using the CLI for everything may make you '0h s0 l33t!1!!!!1!1!' but it most certainly does NOT make you an expert. Same thing with using a minimalistic window manager, I don't understand... I have a 2.7Ghz processor, with 512Mb of ram, why the hell would I want to run something that only consumes 0.01% of my CPU/RAM? For an older computer, perhaps... but why for a new?

Athas · Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2005 2:18 pm Post subject:

Evangelion · Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2005 2:31 pm Post subject:

motub · Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2005 3:10 pm Post subject:

castorilo · Apprentice Joined: 25 Dec 2002 Posts: 157

Who needs portage?
Who needs bash?
Who needs vi or emacs?
Who needs a compiler?
...

Anything can be done without those tools, instead of bash, you could use C, instead of portage you can install things yourself, instead of vi or emacs, you can use ed, cat, sed. Instead of using a compiler, you could write assembler code. ...

Just like with those tools, you can do a lot of things withought X. But certanly those tools make many people lifes easier. X allows you to run programs with GUIs that really cut down on user's time. Burning a cd is just a couple clicks away instead of browsing the man pages for several minutes or even hours and typing an imposible to remember command line. Same for watching dvd, viewing pdfs, browsing the web, sending emails, etc... They can all be done withought X, but it takes much longer to figure out and use.

So strictly speaking, YOU DO NOT NEED X. But it is so damn usefull I would not want to live without it.

Athas · Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2005 3:53 pm Post subject:

deathdruid · Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2005 4:02 pm Post subject:

doom3 on the console? Call me back when you have that. I'll be the one blasting imps into oblivion.

castorilo · Apprentice Joined: 25 Dec 2002 Posts: 157