[TriLUG] Choosing a new home computer

[Steve Litt]

On Mon, 06 Jan 2014 08:50:50 -0500
"Peter Neilson" <neilson at windstream.net> wrote:

> The box I'm using now is one I bought used about five years ago, and
> it's having trouble displaying Ubuntu. It'll display in "default"
> mode, but when Ubuntu tries to use specific aspects of the display
> processor it fails.
> 
> So I'm thinking, "New machine time!"

[clip]

> Any other good advice I'm forgetting to ask about?

Yes.

You don't mention your desktop environment, but if your hardware video
is having trouble with it, my suspicion would be Unity.

There are 2.3 million window managers and desktop environments out
there, and the vast majority have enough respect for the computer's
owner that they don't hog the RAM, CPU and video resources, because
they know you have a computer to do work, not to look at pretty.

My experience tells me that if I forego KDE, Gnome and Unity, I have
2,299,997 window managers that can run on most of my (non OpenBSD)
hardware. A lot of those window managers are junk, but a lot are good.

Unless there's some reason all that Compiz stuff is a must-have for
you, I'd forget Compiz and find a desktop environment or window manager
that works for you, and then make your hardware purchase based on your
non-cosmetic needs. As an example, my next box (this one's about 5
years old too) will have either 16GB or 32GB of RAM because it's going
to be a VMing monster, running Ubuntu, a couple BSD's, one or two
experimental distros or setups, and Win98 for Micrografix Windows Draw.
But I'll still be using OpenBox on my daily driver VM.

PET PREJUDICES follow:

Take the following as one man's input. There are hundreds of viewpoints
at TriLUG, so please consider them all...

Your mileage probably varies, but I've had such horrible problems with
KDE stability, RAM-grabs, and CPU theft, that I've removed all KDE
programs and libraries from all my computers. To me, KDE's like that
hot girlfriend you thought you could never get along without, but
somehow, you're happier when she's gone, and you'll make sure you never
let her back in your life.

On my desktop I use OpenBox. Lacking a taskbar (scuse me, panel), it
gives me max screen real estate (I'm blind as a bat), and it's set up
from the bottom up for hotkeys. Here's something I wrote about Openbox:
http://www.troubleshooters.com/linux/openbox/

On my laptop computer, where the wifi applet is important, I use Xfce.
It can have one or more panels (like the old Windows taskbar, but you
can put them on any side). Xfce comes with lots of killer helper apps.
Here's my documentation on Xfce:
http://www.troubleshooters.com/lpm/201206/201206.htm

Once in a while, usually as an experiment, I use a truly resource
challenged computer. Like 128MB or 256MB. Fvwm to the rescue. It's
inconvenient, but it runs on almost anything, including OpenBSD on bad
hardware.

Regardless of what desktop/windowmanager I actually use, I always
install both Xfce and LXDE. Xfce has wonderful helper apps, including
the indispensable xfce4-appfinder, a lightning quick way to find and
launch any app you might have, whether or not it's on your root menu.
On every computer, regardless of actual user interface, I link
xfce4-appfinder to the Shift+Ctrl+K hotkey. Most apps can be launched
with five or six keystrokes, which is probably quicker than any GUI
menu.

On every laptop, I install LXDE and make sure it runs correctly. The
reason's simple enough: LXDE is the most reliable desktop I've found.
When you need to give a presentation and have only ten minutes to set
up, and then find your Desktop/WM stopped working, or doesn't work with
their projector, you can switch to LXDE and the show goes on. I've had
that happen several times.

I've just scratched the surface. There are innumerable desktop
environments and window managers, each with its own advantages, and
each with its own diehard fanbase. When the computer press implies your
only choices are KDE, Gnome, Unity, Cinnamon, Mate, and Windows 8, don't
you believe it. You have many, many other choices, and if you're
anything like me, probably one of them is just right for you.

Thanks,

SteveT

Steve Litt                *  http://www.troubleshooters.com/
Troubleshooting Training  *  Human Performance