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Originally posted by macondo
Fluxbox is the most popular wm, voted the most intuitive wm by Slashdot or was it Newsforge?
And it was voted window manager of the year 2003 here in linuxquestions.org
ps: my 0.5 cends about distro shuffling: I also install all major distributions I can find, just to check them out. You can't really have an opinion about a distribution if you haven't installed/configured it at least once. And it's always nice to see how other distros have evolved.
I started out with dual booting Fedora and Windows. When I learnt that it wasn't the smartest idea in the world I decided to just have Fedora in a nice sized external HDD instead and connected it up when I wanted to use Fedora.
When I wanted something more adventurous I replaced Fedora with Debian and I switched from KDE to Gnome. I'm just starting to get used to Gnome which means that when I start to get used to something I get bored. And when I get bored I start to fiddle.
I think I'll be moving onto WM once I know my way about the command line enough to do stuff on there
Newbie installs Debian/Linux and KDE because it's pretty, because it has programs that do things he doesn't know how to do, nor he wants to understand. Because EVERYBODY he knows uses KDE.
Newbie becomes radical, moves to GNOME, that's where is at, the articles he reads say so, maybe somebody he admires uses GNOME, etc.
More like because newbie is used to an overweight/bloated desktop and notices virtually no difference in speed between Windows and KDE/Gnome....
Newbie installs Debian/Linux and KDE because it's pretty, because it has programs that do things he doesn't know how to do, nor he wants to understand. Because EVERYBODY he knows uses KDE.
Newbie becomes radical, moves to GNOME, that's where is at, the articles he reads say so, maybe somebody he admires uses GNOME, etc.
Newbie comes to the realization, the above mentioned are crap, all show and no speed. Newbie installs XFCE4, pretty, fast, light. Newbie becomes a revolutionary.
By now, he/she learned to use the CLI and finds out that:
#dpkg -i <first word of downloaded program> + TAB + Enter
is faster than kpackage, and discovered he/she needs no icons on the taskbar with IceWM, because Ctrl + Alt + <letter he/she chooses> will give him/her an xterm, or Xchat or Mozilla, or OOo, or whatever he wants.
It's fast as lightning and saves him/her 100+ MB of space, it never gives you any problem no matter what new version comes out.
Newbie becomes a guerilla, he wants to get to his apps fast, he can't care less about eye candy or desklets, because it doesn't matter if he is running an old box with 64 MB of memory or 256, he is flying. Newbie starts reinstalling Debian several times a month, doing minimal installs, choosing his apps based on light weight and speed, always looking for an edge, he wants his Debian lean and mean, newbie is growing up. Newbie starts RTFM, for the sport of it, learning, reading for the hell of it.
Newbie begins to understand Gnu/Debian.
hey "macondo", this is EXACTLY how i did, i traveled the same path. it is BIGGY-BIG surprise to me that you knew 3 years ago, in 2003, what a newbie like me *will* do in 2006 with GNU distro :-). the only difference is i used lots of distros rather than just one, Debian is the only one that remained for 1 year on my system. now i have reached the RTFM stage. so what next a newbie you will do ?
i am asking because i am facing a trouble :-( i am installing/removing lots of distros, everyday 6 times a week. i want to settle on one distro and use it. i just want these things in my distro:
1.) it must be simple from inside. (though simplicity has lots of meanings. i mean its design must be extensible and simple like GNU software)
2.) reliable and stable
3.) excellent package management system
only 2 distros satisfy all 3 needs: Gentoo and Debian.
Arch, CRUX and Slackware are simplicity based distros but Arch is unstable (yes, i have tried its 3 different releases), CRUX and Slackware lack good package management systems. i am confused.
can you help, i want to understand the GNU (or UNIX way, for that matters). Gentoo or Debian ?
please help me "macondo", i am confused and wasting lots of time :-(
1.) it must be simple from inside. (though simplicity has lots of meanings. i mean its design must be extensible and simple like GNU software)
2.) reliable and stable
3.) excellent package management system
only 2 distros satisfy all 3 needs: Gentoo and Debian.
I would add Slackware to your list. Slackware meets all three of your criteria. Slackware has many excellent pre-built packages that are available. You can also compile your own packages.
Also, Slackware is a very lean, fast OS without a lot of services turned on by default.
My two favourite distros are Slackware and Debian.
I have Slackware running on two units and Debian running on seven work stations.
now i have reached the RTFM stage. so what next a newbie you will do ?
Next you start reading the LFS books after realising there is no such thing as a perfect distro and there never will be (although Debian comes pretty close IMO).
Next you start reading the LFS books after realising there is no such thing as a perfect distro and there never will be (although Debian comes pretty close IMO).
Agreed.
Debian does indeed come close to being a perfect distro.
I would add Slackware to your list. Slackware meets all three of your criteria. Slackware has many excellent pre-built packages that are available. You can also compile your own packages.
Also, Slackware is a very lean, fast OS without a lot of services turned on by default.
My two favourite distros are Slackware and Debian.
I have Slackware running on two units and Debian running on seven work stations.
i meant "good dependency handling" when i said an excellent package management system. Slapt-get does not provide dependency handling and manual dependency handling is PITA (YES, i have tried that).
i meant "good dependency handling" when i said an excellent package management system. Slapt-get does not provide dependency handling and manual dependency handling is PITA (YES, i have tried that).
I personally don't have a problem with checking for dependencies in Slackware. Okay. We will agree to disagree on that one:-)
I also on occasion run FreeBSD and it does have good dependency checking and a superior package management system in ports.
Good luck in your hunt for the perfect distro, arnuld:-)
I have found my two favourite distros: Slackware, Debian.
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