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Ask Slashdot: Assembling a Linux Desktop Environment From Parts?

Posted by timothy on from the gnome-panel-and-thunar dept.

paxcoder writes "Gnome Shell ... is different. Very much so. The fallback was inadequate. I suspect that many people, like me, turned to the alternatives. My choice was LXDE, which worked ok, until (lx-)panel broke in the unstable branch of the distro that I use. Tired of using the terminal to run stuff, I replaced the standard panel with the one from Xfce. That made me realize that we really don't need a packaged desktop environment, there are pieces ready for assembly. If you customize your graphical environment, what elements do you use? Which window manager, file manager, panel(etc.) would you recommend? Do you have a panel with a hardware usage monitors, how do you switch between workspaces? Anything cool we might not know about?"

6 of 357 comments (clear)

  1. KDE. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    'Nuff said.

    Please, no WAAA KDE IS BLOATED AND BROKEN AND INCOMPLETE AND THIS AND THAT AND THE OTHER arguments because they've been proven wrong time and again.

    It's sad that I have to post AC to defend KDE, currently one of the best desktops (okay, the best desktop) for GNU/Linux.

    1. Re:KDE. by Hatta · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Using a custom desktop is not about being lightweight. It's about customizing your workflow.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    2. Re:KDE. by Hatta · · Score: 5, Insightful

      If only desktop environments would stick to the desktop and leave any non-gui related features to be implemented at other levels. Then we could use whatever virtual file system we want on any desktop, or without any desktop at all.

      Desktop environments run directly counter to the "do one thing, and do it well" philosphy that has served UNIX for so many years. Is it any surprise that they're a clusterfuck?

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
  2. Re:Haw. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Yeah, how dare he try to use software that he likes! What a fucking asshole. Everyone knows that you just take whatever piece of shit Microsoft shoves down your throat and then you say "Thank you sir, may I have another?"

  3. Re:Haw. by The+MAZZTer · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Back up a few steps. He's asking for suggestions on apps and configurations... how is that an "everybody else is wrong" mentality? You, on the other hand, are immediately leaping to the conclusion that HE is wrong.

    It also sounds like he is experimenting just for his own personal use, not for creating a distro. His own personal configuration would hardly affect public perception of Linux.

  4. Re:Haw. by Tsingi · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So we have an aspie here who would admittedly and uncompromisingly rather use an unstable mess of cobbed-together parts(including the distro itself), because that's the way baby likes it and everybody else is wrong.

    That mentality is everything that's wrong with fostering acceptance of the Linux desktop.

    It's Linux, you can have it the way you want it. When he gets up tomorrow morning he will have a desktop that he likes. And you'll still be a flaming asshole.