Who Needs XFree86?

An anonymous reader writes "With this review Linux and Main says it is kicking off a project to put together a Linux machine that operates entirely in the console, including applications, without the user ever having to enter anything at a command prompt. The review is of Twin, the very cool windowing environment for the console. Applications will be added over time, and readers are invited to nominate their favorite little-known console applications."

Comments

Just like windows

[alephnull42]

Linux machine that operates entirely in the console, including applications, without the user ever having to enter anything at a command prompt

Sounds like Windows NT/XP/ to me.

OMG, there will be nothing stopping normal people using Linux if this comes true...

AA support?

[Libor Vanek]

Does it support AA and alpha chanell? .-)

Re:AA support?

[listen]

Yep, full ascii art support.

Also with a hardware radio tuner and the right country of residence you can get
alpha channel!

Re:X (and other Window systems) reduce productivit

[ahknight]

In years past, I knew of someone who used emacs as his login shell :-)

I don't know what's more frightening, that he did or that you can.

Step futher?

[Libor Vanek]

Why not directly boot up Emacs? .-)

Any Pascal coders here?

[markov_chain]

Count the flashbacks to Turbovision!

Re:X (and other Window systems) reduce productivit

[arvindn]

Obligatory:

The only thing he found wanting in emacs was a good text editor :)

No network transparency

[lpontiac]

Last time I looked at it, TWIN needed an X server or a pure Linux console - as in literally sitting in front of a machine running Linux on the keyboard. Telnetting or SSHing in wouldn't work.

Obviously, TWIN is so much faster than X because X can work over a network, and TWIN can't. How many people use network transparency anyway? Down with X!

Hint: this was a joke

Re:X (and other Window systems) reduce productivit

[yanestra]

In years past, I knew of someone who used emacs as his login shell :-)

It's a silly idea to use an operating system as a login shell. Why doesn't he boot Emacs directly?

Re:X (and other Window systems) reduce productivit

[edgrale]

Obligatory: (also)

So did he end up using Vi? :)

Re:X (and other Window systems) reduce productivit

[Anonymous Coward]

M-X viper

Re:Two questions

[Dark Lord Seth]

2. If I am going to use the box as a workstation, why do I want to use something ugly that makes my eyes bleed?

Sorry, that's just the way they make those Mac cases... *ducks*

Re:Who Needs XFree86?

[khuber]

Graphics displays are a crutch. I edit PNM ASCII files and Gimp C-Source graphics in a terminal with ed.

-Kevin

In related news

[SpaghettiPattern]

MS is launching a strategic project to allow fully text based operation of their famous desktop environment.

An MS spokesman commented: We knew very well but came to realize only too late that the command line interface is the mother of human/computer interface. Much like MS-Dos is the mother of mainframe computers.

The following is a sample of fully text based operation commands (TM) that have leaked from the MS laboratories:
- drag-mouse-imps2-to-point [X, Y] # Defaults to middle of "Start" button
- click-mouse-imps2
- click-click-mouse-imps2
- control-alt-delete [USER-NAME/PASSWORD] # Defaults to administrator's credentials
- start-application [APPLICATION_NAME] # Defaults to IE

Re:X (and other Window systems) reduce productivit

[JimDabell]

Are you kidding? There's a great editor for EMACS!

Excellent

[Hard_Code]

Wow...welcome to 1993.

Xine & Mplayer

[Anonymous Coward]

Makes it kind of hard or watch videos doesn't it?

I guess I'll be watching the ascii version of Star Wars from now on.

Re:Xine & Mplayer

[Nachtfalke]

Actually, you can link mplayer with aalib and have ASCII output. It really works, especially with the framebuffer.

Now THAT's ASCII-pr0n.

Re:Who Needs XFree86?

[Anonymous Coward]

well, I need X for example.. I'm using X right now from diskless HP X terminal that would never work with some framebuffer thingy.. so if you have money to buy 2 19" monitors, and run framebuffer in them feel free, but I'll stick with my X terminals and spend the money on faster cpu and larger raid instead

Re: My Pick

[Black Parrot]

> I move around a lot, and use SSH to log into my machine at home to continue working where I left off. The apps I use: ... centericq ... mp3blaster ... dcd ... cdrecord ... abcde ...

'Work'?

Re:X (and other Window systems) reduce productivit

[maelstrom]

You are all pussies. I patched my kernel thusly:

-- main.c Sun Jun 3 22:02:34 2001
+++ main.c~ Tue Jul 10 16:05:26 2001
@@ -789,9 +789,9 @@

if (execute_command) execve(execute_command,argv_init,envp_init);
&nbs p; - execve("/sbin/init",argv_init,envp_init);
- execve("/etc/init",argv_init,envp_init);
- execve("/bin/init",argv_init,envp_init);
- execve("/bin/sh",argv_init,envp_init);
- panic("No init found. Try passing init= option to kernel.");
+ execve("/usr/bin/emacs",argv_init,envp_init);
&nb sp; + execve("/usr/local/bin/emacs",argv_init,envp_init) ;
+ execve("/bin/emacs",argv_init,envp_init);
+ execve("/usr/bin/xemacs",argv_init,envp_init);
&n bsp; + panic("No emacs found. Are you sure this is GNU/Linux?");
}

Copyright

Re:Who Needs XFree86?

[KillerHamster]

And Tux Racer! Don't forget Tux Racer!

Re:X (and other Window systems) reduce productivit

[MrHanky]

Yes, that's a good one. Now do the same thing with the Mach kernel, and GNU/Hurd will be finished.

Don't forget porn

[Ilan Volow]

One picture is worth a thousand words.

Literally.