Simon Bridge

[Log in to get rid of this advertisement]

Did you update metacity or install compiz before you threw your hands in the air and gave up?
How about restarting the gnome-panel?

To mac or not to mac...
It seems self-defeating to abandon the entire OS because of being unable to get the exact gui config you want only to adopt one which also does not give it to you - especially one which is so expensive and restrictive.

Looks like one of your requirements is ease of maintenance to go with stability - the Apples will give you that at the expense of your freedom but you may not care about that. They also will only give you the one panel-equivalent and you said you preferred to have two.

If you are prepared to live with an apple-style gui, then remove the top panel of your existing install... you have already observed that this lets you work. You can even install an apple-style widget bar thing instead of using gnome panels, though, setting the panels to autohide is probably all you need to keep two panels like you want.

You can also go to Debian deriveratives instead. I changed off fedora to ubuntu over upgrade issues and the LTS editions emphasise stability. At the risk of starting a "my distro is best" war, there are others too.

All these options are much much more cost-effective than buying a whole new mac.

archtoad6

This may be OT, but I'm still not clear if you prefer KDE 3 to Gnome. If the former, we can advise on how to get it. If the later, please be explicit so that I can shut up & let the folks advise you on fixing Gnome.

Simon's point: ought to be listened to. It sounds to me as if you are about to throw the baby out w/ the bath water.

drakebasher

Thanks for caring, guys. Here's what I'm thinking:

My system is useable for now, with Gnome, so I can do stuff and my wife can log in to check email. Sometime soon, I'm going to set her up with a Mac (I'm thinking Mac Mini for several reasons).

Once she is set, I'll try installing Compiz or Metacity 2.27. I'm disappointed in Debian that they only have 2.26, even in unstable (I use testing) and they've seen and apparently fixed some problems with that, but I guess not the one I'm having. I do prefer KDE over Gnome: I used that for maybe 5 years and I've been very happy with the features and applications. But KDE4 is too heavy and broken and that doesn't sit well with me, even in principle.

(I use a dual PIII/500MHz with 970Mb ram which can easily do everything and much more than I want as long as I don't have to drag a busload of glitz with me.)

I'm thinking that (once my wife is settled in) I should try getting away from both Gnome and KDE and use Fluxbox or XFCE (or other?) and then load the applications I like and use.

I can't see getting away from Linux. It's a great idea that needs to be supported and I've gotten an awful lot out of it. But I'm not good enough to keep it working for a "regular user" the way it should be, for a regular user.

Just in case the Fluxbox/XFCE option is too spartan, I'd really like to hear a brief outline of what it would take to back out of KDE4 and into KDE3, archtoad6

Again: Thanks~

archtoad6

I am sure there is more than one way for you to get back to KDE 3; the one I would use for me, not necessarily right for you, is quick & easy: Install SimplyMEPIS 8.

I would start w/ the live CD; then maybe try a separate install; finally, a replacement install using the "Preserve /home" option.

Why? -- Reasons for me:

• I've used SimplyMEPIS exclusively as my primary desktop since ver. 2004.06.
• FWIW, AFAIK SimplyMEPIS pioneered the combination live/install CD.
• I know of no easier installer.

Reasons for you:

• I know of no easier installer.
• It's new -- went gold in February.
• There is a sub-forum here.
• The designer(s) consciously chose KDE 3 not 4.
• It's based primarily on Debian lenny
• Read a quick sketch here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mepis#Current_variants for other features that might appeal to you.

If I go on, I'll sound too much like the fanboys I detest; but then my chosen title at MepisLovers.org is: "MEPIS Partisan-LQ Senior".

drakebasher

Thanks for that, archtoad6. I had a SimplyMEPIS LiveCD a few years ago and I was really impressed with how quickly it came up in not just one but every machine I tried it in. It's good to know the distro is alive and well.

But reinstallation is not really appealing to me right now. The reality of a new install is always more time consuming than it seems at first. But if that changes, I'll definitely consider SimplyMEPHIS.

Thanks-