Calling Linux/Ubuntu users

DocQuincy

esuhl wrote: »

XFCE is amazing. I have it running on my old Asus EEE 901 netbook that can't even run Windows XP well, and it performs brilliantly. I also have it on my fast Core i7 PC because it does everything I need. It's so fast and simple!Interesting. There seem to be lots of new desktop environments coming on to the scene now. I'll have a look, but, to be honest... XFCE is so awesome I can't imagine anything will get me to switch... If it ain't broke...

To a user like yourself then I can't imagine you'd want to trade Budgie for XFCE either. Budgie is very much a nice-looking but less configurable environment. XFCE is more traditional Linux whereas Budgie is more like a traditional user's desktop.

On the machine I do work on I actually run Fedora GNOME, Budgie is better if you're just surfing the web, etc.

I didn't like GNOME 3 to start with as the stock install isn't great but once you've done a few tweaks it can be really powerful. I think a lot of the dislike of GNOME is from people who haven't explored how you can tweak it. It is definitely it an acquired taste though. I've also found it uses twice as much RAM as Budgie, which is actually based on GNOME I think. But if you have 8GB+ it's not a problem.

What amazing me about Linux is its speed. I compile front-end code for websites useing node.js and I have a 2 year old Asus Zenbook entry level model and a brand new iMac and the Asus is significantly faster at compiling JavaScript.

psychic_teabag

esuhl wrote: »

Ah, yes -- I agree with that.

But (as I'm sure you know) Linux was based on UNIX -- a multi-user system run on mainframes and minicomputers, with technicians administering the system for users. UNIX/Linux was designed to be easy for computer technicians to maintain. Whereas Windows was designed to be easy for users who didn't have technicians on hand.

(Did it ever run on mainframes ..?) While I agree that the original unix weren't very easy to administer, the modern linux distrubutions have moved a very very long way towards single-user easy-to-adminster.

So, if someone wants to get the most from GNU/Linux, I think it's vital to understand what's happening "behind the scenes" -- to be your own "technician".

I'm sure that to get the most out of windows, you'd have to do the same. But you can use both for day to day stuff without any trouble whatsoever.

As an experiment, we put mint (I think) onto my technophobe MIL's laptop (when Vista was freaking her out about end of support, and being a pain with endless updates). She uses it for browsing and email without any problems whatsoever. I set up a mirror system here in case we needed to walk her through any problems, but there have been very few indeed. (One was keeping flash up to date, since one of the sites she was using used kept requiring latest and greatest version.)

To be fair, we didn't expect her to install it herself, but then we wouldn't have expected her to install windows herself either.