changing graphical interface?
 

hello, im new to linux. and im about to install either Slackware or Ubuntu. Which would you reccommend? Or if not whichever other distro that would be suitable and stable... I am wondering when i have it installed; and if i chose KDE would i be able to switch to GNOME or FLUXBOX anytime?

Slackware is considered mostly by advanced linux users. ( gnome desktop ) Kubuntu ( K desktop ) or Xubuntu ( XFCE desktop ) is a good choice for a beginner.

Other common choices are Mandriva, one of the nicest installers, and easy to maintain, Fedora Core 5.

Yes you can install any other desktop you want. A lot depends on personal preference. The best thing is pick one, try it. Consider the harware you are using. If it is a newer system, then either K or Gnome are good choices. Get a light weight desktop for an older machine, say 500Mhz or slower.

When you boot up Ubuntu , or most other Linux distros you get a log-in screen where you can select the window manager. I have Fluxbox runnning on a 600mhz box because the performance is faster than with Gnome. Adding anything except Gnome and KDE is not hard. Adding Gnome or KDE can be harder because they are so big, with allot of files. Also, the file manager cans slow the operation down too: Gnome's Nautilus and KDE's Konqueror are resource hogs on an old system. There are usually a few other file managers installed that are simpler.

Have fun.

C

I only have a slackware cd with me now; but if you say ubuntu is better for beginners, should i get a copy of it? im hearing a lot how KDE is good for beginners, but if you say fluxbox is much faster which is a better choice?

in ubuntu, you said in the login screen you can choose which window manager to boot in. does that mean there will be a list like this for each startup?
-KDE
-GNOME
-FLUXBOX
etc.

If you want to learn linux, then install slackware. The slackware installation is easy as in any distro. Problem for newbies is the package manager, in slackware you need to manually download packages and install them yourself.
Slackware has 'easy' appearance on the configuration files, all files are commented so you understand what you are doing in there.

But for desktop use and all I'd suggest Ubuntu or it's variants.

Distros basicly differ only in package manager and installer, otherwise they are pretty same. Some newbie-friendlier distros make their own modifications which personally annoy me so I have chosen a distro where I have the control. That's why I am using slackware, gentoo and debian instead of SuSE, Fedora and others.
All and all, linux is all about choice. Test and see what feels your distro.

If you install the latest version of Slackware, keep in mind that it doesn't include Gnome, but it does have KDE, Windowmaker, Blackbox, etc.
I'm new to linux :newbie: as well, but I've been working on computers since the early 80's. Slackware wasn't too bad once I got the hang of it.:study: The people here at LQ are very helpful no matter what distro you go with.
I boot into a GUI and can select whatever interface I want from a pull-down menu. If I want to change, I just log out and pick a different one.:D

The choice of distro partly depends on the hardware you run it on. The light weight desktops are better on older and slower machines, and less memory. I run KDE on a 128Meg 500Mhz machine, and that gives me good enough response. I have an old Compaq laptop, 333MHz and I went with Xubuntu. It comes with XFCE, a lightrer weight desktop. Not as good looking as KDE, but it is faster on an slower machine.

The three current Ubuntu CD's differ in desktop mostly. No, you won't have multiple choices, unless you install extra desktops after the initial install. That is not hard to do with Ubuntu, it has a nice graphical installer called Synamptic Package Manager.

BTW, my first linux distro was Slackware. I got it going, but it took me some time to get a graphical desktop, since I had to edit x86config and at first I had no idea what I was doing. With time and effort you learn.

Hope this helps.