[linux-help] Re: linux desktop

[Nate Bargmann <n0nb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Fri, Nov 02, 2001 at 07:49:55AM -0800, keith frost wrote:
> 
> i quit doing windows in '96.
> what dos/win stuff i need i use dosemu and wine for.

Darn!

I was hoping to get the longevity record.  Alas, I began using Linux
full time in January 1998.  I had tinkered with it since September of
'96.

Why did I switch?  Good question.  I had Win95 running well on my main
machine at the time, no crashes, no reinstalls, was actually quite happy
with it.  I think by that time I had bought into the concept of Free
Software and critical things were beginning to happen.  Slashdot was
beginning to hit its stride.  Linux Weekly News and Linux Today also
came to be about this time.  I believed at the time that Linux would be
the "next big thing" and I wanted to get a jump on things.  I'm happy to
say that it has been a fun ride and I'm not ready to get off yet.  

I'm a bit disappointed that Linux adoption hasn't been as great on the 
desktop as I had hoped back then.  Yet, I see that the components to
build the desktop have really matured in that time and I see a strong
Linux presence there in a year or two.

Now, what do I do?  Mostly web browsing with Mozilla (occasionally
Netscape if there is some Javascript Moz barfs on), read my email with
Mutt, and tinker with the system.  Multimedia chores are mostly handled
by XMMS, and I'll likely try Star Office later this year as tax time
draws near.  I use a simple desktop setup with IceWM as my window
manager in X.  I haven't found KDE or Gnome to be anything I can't live
without.  I'm not a gamer, so that simplifies things and I'm as happy
using an ncurses app as I am some X GUI app.

The toughest thing about moving to a Linux based desktop is the
bewildering choice of components.  With Windows you have a choice of
Windows and...Windows!  Take some time to try things and see what works
for you and what doesn't.  There's generally a choice of tools to do a
given task and not all the tools will be obvious at first.  As the Perl
axiom goes, "There's more than one way to do it!"

- Nate >>

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