>> The question from Warren's view is whether it's better to build on IceWM
>> or strip down KDE to create the "basic" install.
>
> I'd say build on IceWM. KDE has gotten progressively heavier throughout
> the generations, and I don't see that pattern changing anytime soon.
> Since a lot of people, especially first-time installers and people "trying
> it out," install linux onto older and/or secondary machines, having KDE,
> even a pared version, as the default may leave people with the impression
> that linux is slow and unresponsive on a machine that will run windows xp.
Agreed, to a point. With proper tuning (disabling some eye candy, enough
memory (128M seems to be the usable minimum, using 2.6.0) KDE is very usable
on older hardware (e.g., a 333MhZ Dell Inspiron). Though it can feel bloated
next to Fluxbox, KDE does have some interesting tricks that make it work well
for Windows users. For one, it does seem to use fewer resources *overall* than
Gnome, though Gnome's startup is lighter. That is, if you're using many of the
KDE apps then lots of code/library is shared. Gnome is, in my experience,
better if you're running only a few different, non-Gnome specific
applications.
> IceWM, while perhaps less visually impressive, is responsive, clean, and
> functional, and will be useful even with the lowest-end machines that will
> support X. KDE and GNOME can be an option for higher-end users.
I'm a big Fluxbox fan and run it on all my machines. It doesn't have a "Start"
menu but I don't miss it. Fluxbox ran quite well on a 233MhZ Pentium MMX
machine with 192M memory.
-- * The Digital Hermit http://www.digitalhermit.com * Unix and Linux Solutions kwan@digitalhermit.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This list is provided as an unmoderated internet service by Networked Knowledge Systems (NKS). Views and opinions expressed in messages posted are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of NKS or any of its employees.
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