which desktop

wkethman · n00b Joined: 05 Jul 2005 Posts: 71

i am installing for my first time and before I get to app installing and installing a desktop environment I would like the take on what I should do
I am a beginning user and I will be viewing files off of a server and i will be running a web server. i need an everyday use computer
which environment is best
X
kde
gnome
please get back asap thanks

dgaffuri · Advocate Joined: 05 Jun 2005 Posts: 2078 Location: Italy

X apart, that is the graphical environment and is required by gnome and KDE, I prefer KDE. Just my opinion.

Galeno · Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2005 11:33 pm Post subject:

HI:

You should try xfce4. Gnome is advisible also.

Galeno

johntramp · Guru Joined: 03 Feb 2004 Posts: 457 Location: New Zealand

This has been asked hundreds of times and there is no correct answer. You just have to try them and find out for your self what you prefer.

ph03n1x · l33t Joined: 06 Feb 2003 Posts: 756

Hello

It depends on what you want. If u want speed and lightweight, xfce or similar is the choice.

If u have a newer powerful machine and want all the nice stuff and features u should stick to gnome or kde which are easier to deal with.

I suggest you have a look at a few screenshots and choose then

Pithlit · l33t Joined: 27 Dec 2003 Posts: 887 Location: fuhen

You should first ask yourself what you want from a desktop environment... if you want a full blown desktop environment go with KDE or Gnome (same thing...) as they have all you need and don't need. If you want to spend some time installing only things you need go with a window manager of your choice and add apps onto it.

If you'll be using FireFox as your browser, ThunderBird as your mailer and OpenOffice as your office suite, then there is little point in getting KDE or Gnome since they have their own implementations of browsers, mailers, office apps, multimedia apps... But then again, being a begginer usualy means you want it all and you want it now

Give it a little thought before installing things. KDE or Gnome won't hurt tho.
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dwblas · Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2005 12:59 am Post subject:

You can have as many installed as you want, providing that you have enough disk space. The window manager is started from your ~.xinitrc file and can be changed whenever you want.

russianpirate · Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2005 2:17 am Post subject:

Pithlit · l33t Joined: 27 Dec 2003 Posts: 887 Location: fuhen

You _can_ use gnome... all I said was there's no point in doing so since you're just ignoring most of the stuff it comes with

same with KDE. And thus you have bloat.

rant: This is exactly why people say KDE and Gnome are bloated - they install them and completely ignore all the stuff that comes with them by installing all sorts of apps which are mostly already included with the DE of choice. Of course they are bloated if you don't use their solutions! Even if they sometimes work better than the ones installed afterwards. /rant

But I should stop saying this... do whatever is best for you. I hope you find the right balance.

/me crosses his fingers
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mark_alec · Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2005 7:19 am Post subject:

You should try a few of them out on livecds.
For KDE: knoppix
For GNOME: gnoppix
For XFCE: xfld

Personally I prefer xfce but each to his own preference :twisted:

russianpirate · Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2005 8:26 am Post subject:

For KDE livecd I would recommend Slax, it looks better, simplier and doesnt have as much junk installed as knoppix.

chrisbs · n00b Joined: 16 Jan 2004 Posts: 13

If you are looking for something more lightweight ... you could also install one of the 'boxes .... blackbox / fluxbox / openbox. Has a bit of a steaper learning curve, but well worth it if you ask me.

--Chrisbs

wkethman · n00b Joined: 05 Jul 2005 Posts: 71

thank you for the recommendations, I think i will go with the xfce now I have questions
I tried installing KDE by doing
emerge --search KDE
emerge KDE
when it went to install some files form online it messed up because my eth0 wasnt configured correctly, so I now have im guessing a half installation of KDE so what I want to know now is how do i remove what I have installed completely
unemerge i am guessing but i really need more specific uninstall instructions and i need to know where I can find xfce and how I install it...thank you so much for everyones help.
i am dealing with the eth0 problem and I should have this fixed but I also have another computer available if i can't get the eth0 fixed so that I can install xfce from a burned cd, i just need to know where i can get it and what commands i should run...
I am very new at gentoo so please be specifc, thank you again
prompt reply appreciated

dmartin · Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2005 7:19 pm Post subject:

No, just emerge KDE again. You don't need to unmerge it. Gentoo will take care of you, fear not. And hopefully it will teach you to use punctuation and capital letters.

johntramp · Guru Joined: 03 Feb 2004 Posts: 457 Location: New Zealand

If you dont want KDE then forget about it. Chances are that later on you will want something like k3b and that will depend on the first few apps as kde.
Just emerge xfce4 and enjoy

russianpirate · Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2005 2:23 am Post subject:

I would go in /var/db/pkg/kde-* and unmerge (not delete the folders) all except arts, kde-env, kdebase-pam (if you have pam), and kdelibs. That is enough to run most kde-dependant apps like K3b, Krusader, etc.