[clue-tech] LXDE -- New Desktop for Old/Slow Machines

[Angelo Bertolli]

Jed S. Baer wrote:
> On Mon, 07 Jul 2008 21:04:50 -0600
> Dennis J Perkins wrote:
>
>   
>> On Mon, 2008-07-07 at 19:34 -0600, Jed S. Baer wrote:
>>     
>>> Just caught a link to an article about LXDE, the Lightweight X11
>>> Desktop Environment. Check out the System Requirements here:
>>> http://lxde.org/about.html
>>>
>>> Of course, it doesn't help out with running big apps such as
>>> OpenOffice. But even there, if the desktop environment is consuming
>>> less RAM and cycles, even OO should improve at least a little.
>>>       
>> It uses Gtk+, just like XFCE.  Any Gtk program like Gimp should run on
>> it.
>>     
>
> That conflates the Desktop/Window Manager with the underlying system. The
> choice of desktop and WM software will mostly not limit the apps that can
> run. If I have the underlying libraries, I can run Gnome and KDE apps
> even if I'm running Fvwm as my window manager (there's no "desktop"
> environment at all with Fvwm, at least not in the sense of Gnome or KDE).
> Same with Fluxbox or IceWM. Back when I ran Fvwm all the time, I used
> mostly Gnome and GTK apps. IIRC, I also tried out Konqueror, and it ran,
> though I didn't care for it.
>
> The only restrictions on running apps are those that are wedded
> specifically to features of a particular desktop. Things such as
> Kapplets, for example, I wouldn't expect to just dock into the
> FvwmButtons module. (I have no idea whether they'd just run as standalone
> apps. If they would then I could use the "Swallow" Fvwm module to pull
> them into a "button" in FvwmButtons.)
>
> For that matter, if you're using the Gnome environment, you can certainly
> run KDE apps, as long as you have the underlying Qt libraries. And I run
> Gimp, Sylpheed, Galeon, and other GTK apps in KDE with no problems.

Yes, that's been my only complaint with XFCE in the past (but has gotten 
a lot better):  too much dependence on gnome software.  As XFCE has 
added their own lightweight versions of certain things, it's gotten 
better.  Who wants all those extra gnome libs?

Angelo