KDE or GNOME

[cowboybebop1]

well which is better?

 

[poorboy]

The best one is which ever one you like best. Really. They'll both give you a desktop, draw your windows, and look good doing it. I prefer Gnome, but IIRC most users prefer KDE. Whatever floats your boat.

<i>Knock Knock, Neo</i>

 

[silverpig]

Another vote for gnome

Some day I'll be rich and famous for inventing a device that allows you to stab people in the face over the internet.

 

[Dev]

I switch between them. Right now I think Gnome is best, but with the soon to be released KDE it will probably have some nifty features. Gnome tends to be a little faster and no-frills and KDE is usually prettier and easier. They can of course be adjusted to look and feel nearly identical, and both have the same basic features.

---
My new years resolution is 1280 x 1024

 

[TKS]

kde 3.2 KICKS ARSE! I was a gnome guy too until 3.2...now everything kicks in in about 5 seconds...it's graphically superior IMO to gnome. Plus, there are many more applications geared toward it. However, I really don't use xwindows much at all (preferring to stay command line with slackware)...so I don't get to explore as much as I'd like. I think though that after seeing gnome and kde...I'd have to stick with kde.

----------
<b>It is always brave to say what everyone thinks. </b> <i>Georges Duhamel</i>

TKS

 

[Rob423]

Ok sorry to be a sick NEWB but i know NOTHING about linux, i just started chatting to a friend and he asked me if i would try linux cause it ROCKS he said. I said well i heard it was pretty complicating to use. He's been using Gentoo with KDE and he loves it. So i finally decided to give it a shot, My choice my friend thinks are chosing between GENTOO or Slackware those are what he used and he thinks there 2 of the best distros out. Are they? ok One thing im alittle confused on is the Desktop environments. From reading around i seen that KDE and GNOME are basically what every one is using. Im not really sure what these programs do. Are they in a sense KDE to linux as StyleXP is to windows? As far as adding eyecandy to your desktop what does it do? Also i know alot of people say Linux is hard and blah blah. What exactly is the hardpart? i mean i know you might have to do alittle more work to move files around or rename stuff or do you?

Any Help would be appreciated thanks a bunch.

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[poorboy]

Those distros are OK, but if you know NOTHING about Linux, get your feet wet with Mandrake or something more user friendly first. There's quite a few distros to start with now... Knoppix has a lot of good noise around it. Gentoo and Slackware are relatively hard core and hands on.

KDE and Gnome are the biggest players in the desktop scene. They draw your windows, manage your desktop, provide libraries for applications to run with. It's much more than just a desktop, but that's the bit you see. They are individually themable (like StyleXP there?), but they are like the Windows Desktop is to Windows. In fact, to illustrate that, you can try LiteStep for Windows, and swap out your desktop shell for something quite different.

As for eyecandy, they can add the usual stuff. Transparency, fades, backgrounds, window decorations, pretty icons. Audio effects are there too. Browse <A HREF="http://art.gnome.org/" target="_new">http://art.gnome.org/</A> and <A HREF="http://kde-look.org/" target="_new">http://kde-look.org/</A> to get some ideas.

Honestly I don't know about the "hard part". If you dive into Slack or Gentoo there might be some head scratching over some configuration and what not, but more mainstream distros are generally pretty painless.


<i>Knock Knock, Neo</i>

 

[silverpig]

Don't try slackware or gentoo to start off with. You'll end up part of the way through the install and have no idea what to do. You'll say "linux sucks" and go back to windows. It takes some work and knowledge about how linux works to get either distro up and running.

Mandrake and redhat are both very easy to get going with. If you can install a program in windows, you can install mandrake. At least do that first, then get an idea of what gnome and kde are, where linux puts its config files, how to install things etc, and then go on to something more hard core.

I use gentoo myself, and I had problems installing it the first few times too. This was after using mandrake, redhat, and suse before for quite a while. However, once it's up and running, gentoo is so much nicer to use IMO.

Some day I'll be rich and famous for inventing a device that allows you to stab people in the face over the internet.

 

[TKS]

Ok...new to linux?

Used to windows?


Only one recommendation for ya. Mepis Linux.

I just installed it on a spare machine of mine and it rawks. It is based on debian but is a cinch to install. It walks you through anything and the forum for mepis is active as hell. Give it a go. Mepis is by far the best windows like environ I have ever seen. I run slackware for my server and use Mepis for everything else. It's the coolest distro...and it is a live CD like knoppix so you can try it out and configure it BEFORE you install it on the hard disk. Enjoy!

----------
<b>It is always brave to say what everyone thinks. </b> <i>Georges Duhamel</i>

TKS

 

[Rob423]

Thanks for all your replys. Basically my good friend is very familiar with Gentoo and the other one i mentioned. I won't be installing it bymyself so that will be the good part. He will be there showing me how to setup the OS and get me to the desktop and get me going on some things. I just wanted to ask some questions on a few things so i can atleast read up on some commands and stuff like that so i can get moving alittle faster. My friend had to go on vacaton so i figure i just get things rolling by asking a few questions.

thanks again.
Rob

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AMD XP2800+
LeadTek GF4Ti4200 128mb
Hitachi CML174
1GB Corsair XMS PC3200

 

[Rob423]

DAMN i just check out those sites... letds just say.. GOODBYE WINDOWS!!!!

ok just a few more questions. what will i be missing by going to linux? Any Awesome windows features i won't get the privledge to get at all? ALSO wow those Desktops, icons and fonts look AWESOME! for linux,

my current system

asus a7n8x, 2800+, 1GB, and 80 and 200gb harddrives with a cd-RW and dvdRW. As far as burning DVD's, chatting (aim, yahoo) webconferncing? voice chatting? dvd shrink on linux? I will have another main system, so if i CAN"T then not that big of a deal.

Thanks a bunch.
Rob

Asus A7N8X Deluxe
80gb Maxtor
200gb WD 8mb cache..
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LiteOn 52X/LiteOn 811s DVD-RW
AMD XP2800+
LeadTek GF4Ti4200 128mb
Hitachi CML174
1GB Corsair XMS PC3200

 

[Rob423]

anthoer quick question..

Someone was telling me that you have to Compile the kernal? and this process takes 3HRS!!!!

also my cousin told me linux will run MINT on my setup compared to windows speed wise. 1gb mem xp2800+?

Asus A7N8X Deluxe
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[Rob423]

oh yeah sorry forgot to add.. When i do a freesh install of this OS... Do i load the ASUS driver CD? or i will have to get something for linux for my a7n8x motherboard?...... oh yeah and is there like a New hardware wizard? or i will have to manually install my cdrom drivers and all that stuff as well. THANKS ALOT GUYS

linus here i come!

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[silverpig]

A kernel compile does NOT take 3 hours unless you're on a slow system and are compiling a ton of modules as well. It depends on your distro as well. If you use mandrake, you definitely won't have to compile a kernel if you don't want to. Actually, almost all distros are like that. You only have to compile a kernel if you really want something special.

I've done a full 2 GB mandrake install in 30 minutes on a P3 450 before. On the other hand, I've also done a Gentoo stage 1 install (compile EVERYTHING from source) on an XP 3200+ and had it take 2 days.

Linux can generally do everything windows can with some effort. It's not as <next> <next> <yes> <finish> burn DVD as windows is however.

<A HREF="http://www.members.shaw.ca/gskamps/desktop.jpg" target="_new">Mandrake 7.0 running Gnome</A>
<A HREF="http://www.members.shaw.ca/gskamps/Screenshot.jpg" target="_new">Gentoo 1.4 running Gnome</A>

Some day I'll be rich and famous for inventing a device that allows you to stab people in the face over the internet.<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by silverpig on 03/05/04 04:38 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[silverpig]

Your distro should come with generic drivers to get you operational. After that you can download any updated drivers from the net.

If you use mandrake, there's harddrake which is sort of "new hardware wizard-ish" but not really. You will generally have to know what you have in your computer, get the drivers and install them manually. The nice thing is you don't have to reboot in order to use your new hardware. Just unloading the drivers, installing the new ones, and then loading the new ones will work for you. Kinda cool actually.

Some day I'll be rich and famous for inventing a device that allows you to stab people in the face over the internet.

 

[Rob423]

yeah thanks a bunch, i think im gonna stay here and not listen to my friend then. He told me NOT to go with mandrake cause i really won't learn much. I DID tell him i want to really get into linux and get hardcore with it and i really wanna learn it well so he reccomended what he uses Gentoo. But he actually reccomended i use SLACKWARE? with KDE. From browsing around im not sure im getting confused, because KDE looks really EyeCandyish and has awesome apps as far as what i read like kopete? and some other stuff but i want that Hacker black hardcore look and feel..lol... and from the theme choices GNOME has that dark awesome fonts look.. you guys know what i mean?
So maybe you guys can reccomend something then. Also im not grabbing onto this Compile thing. what is it im not getting it. Maybe you can compare it to something in windows. I mean i have to install the OS and then i gotta waste hrs Compiling? you guys see my system below and i just wanna browse (opera) (aim,yahoo) and voice/video chats.. that's what i want to accomplish here. soo maybe from all your experience you can reccomend what i should go with.

thanks a bunch.

Asus A7N8X Deluxe
80gb Maxtor
200gb WD 8mb cache..
Lian-Li PC-60
LiteOn 52X/LiteOn 811s DVD-RW
AMD XP2800+
LeadTek GF4Ti4200 128mb
Hitachi CML174
1GB Corsair XMS PC3200

 

[ImpPatience]

I'm starting into Linux and am using Slackware. I've also messed a little with Redhat and for me Slackware works better. Not that Redhat didn't work and work well, it just is that I wasn't learning anything about Linux with Redhat. Redhat made me feel like "Oh, well, this is like Windows." Slackware on the other hand makes me learn Linux inside and out. Don't get me wrong, it worked fine out of the box, but there were things I wanted to change. And to do so I had to play with the command line and get into configuration files. For the most part there is no hand holding guis like in Windows. It takes up some time, but then again, I'm learning Linux a whole lot faster then I learned Windows. And I'm getting to know my hardware a whole lot better than I ever did in Windows.

Oh and as for compiling, I'm messing around with it too, and for:
1)it doesn't take that long (20 minutes tops maybe) with a AthlonXP 1500+.
2)This isn't a perfect analogy but I think the results of compiling your own kernel is like going through the Task Manager in Windows and turning off all of the stuff you don't use or want so it doesn't hog system resources
3)You don't have to compile your own kernel, it works fine straight out of the box. Maybe compiling your own kernel is like overclocking - everything works fine at stock speed, but if you play with it things could be better.

Anyways, my two cents - as I said I'm new to Linux and I'm just writing what I've experienced

<font color=blue><b>virtue is its' own punishment<b></font color=blue>

 

[Rob423]

ahhh, well i'll tell ya that deff made me understand better. Yeah i think i am gonna deffinetly try Slackware and Gnome. KDE is too windowy, from the screen shots i've seen GNOME will give me that dark, hacker like feel... basically what i want to achieve. Also since i didn't try it yet, when alot of people say you willl get to know your hardware better what do you gusy mean? what do you have to do in linux that makes you know your hardware? Does linux run faster then windows?


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LeadTek GF4Ti4200 128mb
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[ImpPatience]

When ever I go to configure something, like say a dual monitor display, I have to dig up my manuals and stuff because the configuration utility was asking me for some bit of information about my hardware like the maximum refresh rate on my monitor. That is one way that I get to know my hardware better. Plus it seems like I have to interact with the hardware on a more basic level - i.e. you have to mount harddrive, cd-roms, or floppy disks instead of windows doing it all for you.

As for running faster, that is what I have heard. I would imagine it would be faster since you can tweak linux to your heart's content.

Oh, by the way, for me at least nothing is sweeter than getting something like this to work the way you want it. Makes the time spent getting it to work all worth it.

<font color=blue><b>virtue is its' own punishment<b></font color=blue>

 

[silverpig]

It is faster and it isn't. Depends on what you're running of course. You won't notice HUGE speed improvements if that's what you're looking for, but there may be little bonuses here and there.

As for cds etc, you will have to mount them manually, unless you recompile your kernel to include supermount

Some day I'll be rich and famous for inventing a device that allows you to stab people in the face over the internet.

 

[Rob423]

well what i might do then is think about all the stuff i CAN do and then Compile everything at once and just let it run for 10hrs or whatever it takes so i can have a better experience when i actually use it. OK this mounting thing what's that about? when you say mounting 1 thing comes to mind.. Alcohol and it's virtual drive mounting images. Does that have anything to do with this, cause then i hope every time i wanna load in a cd i don't have to load up the cdrom and do all this stuff.

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1GB Corsair XMS PC3200

 

[Rob423]

Just a quick question everytime i look at peoples screen shots they always have like a cool transparent window with color text with cool looking font. what is that? is it a chat if yes what program is it.... thanks

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[silverpig]

Even a full kernel compile with all modules installed (read: drivers for every network card etc) still shouldn't take more than 2 hours on a semi-modern system. The trick is knowing what you'll need and what you won't.

As for mounting, yes it's similar to alcohol and images. When you put a cd in the drive you have to issue a command:

mnt /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom

to access your files. Of course, with kernel 2.6.x you can compile supermount into your system so that when you put a cd in it automatically mounts the filesystem for you.

Some day I'll be rich and famous for inventing a device that allows you to stab people in the face over the internet.

 

[silverpig]

That is probably just eterm. It's a command line interface (like run/command in windows). Of course there's xterm, eterm, and a whole TON of others as well. You'll need a windowmanager that allows transparency as well though. I'm sure both gnome and kde can do transparency now, but the flashiest one (in my mandrake 7.0 shot from 4 years ago) is Enlightenment. It's basically just a pure eye-candy windowmanager.

Some day I'll be rich and famous for inventing a device that allows you to stab people in the face over the internet.

 

[Rob423]

wow ok i got ya.. thanks for all the info, Any sites you know of where i can find what i NEED and WON"T so i can make compiling nicer. I mean yeah i don't mind having to put in commands to do things.. but entering a command to use the cdrom is pretty crazy... so do you have any sites that will show me cool things like the supermount command so i can get familar with some of these commands and know a few things going into this whole linux process.

After reading all this stuff i think im deff going with SlackWare and Gnome
---------------
what other stuff should i be aware of before loading linux.
ok so far i might have to spend up to 2+ hrs compiling my system before using it. Unless i add Supermount i will have to use a command to access my cd-rom's.. anything you can think of off the top of your head that will be like an every day annoyance. Super mount for your Hard drive? or i can just get my files from there....lol


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80gb Maxtor
200gb WD 8mb cache..
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LiteOn 52X/LiteOn 811s DVD-RW
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LeadTek GF4Ti4200 128mb
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1GB Corsair XMS PC3200