New KDE 4.2 beta Experience!
November 27, 2008
KDE 4 with it’s new smooth, sleek, curvy design and stunning desktop applets make for an unforgettable user experience.
Compiz is automatically inserted into KDE 4.2 by default, letting you play with some of the sweet desktop effects.
Yesterday’s announcement says that …
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Latest Software Updates!
November 9, 2008
Here’s some software that’s just been released in the open source community.
Xfce, a Great Developer’s Environment
October 22, 2008
I switched to Xfce a little while ago. Since then I’ve come to realize how much freedom Linux actually gives you.
Using KDE for a while I decided to try a new desktop environment. Fluxbox looked at little limiting, Gnome looked a little too bulky so I tried Xfce. I’ve never been happier with the choice I made.
What does Xfce have that KDE, GNOME and Fluxbox don’t? The answer is, not too much. The reason why I chose it and continue to use it is because of it’s compact style, and it’s ability to stay “out of your face” so to speak while giving you a moderate amount of customization. Xfce is compact, that’s one of the reasons why I like it. It’s the balance between KDE and Fluxbox. It’s compact(lets you concentrate on your work), it’s fast(snappy, even with composite turned on), it has enough options, though less than KDE.
If it has less options, why use it? Well it all comes down to preference. For me, I don’t like going crazy with the desktop customization. However, some people do. I’d rather have the moderate amount of options and customize it just enough to where I’m not constantly tweaking, which drives me nuts. I’d rather look for full customization in the OS instead of the desktop environment. But that’s the beauty of Linux, it lets you go as simple or as complicated as you want for what ever need or desire.
For developers. Xfce is a great DE(desktop environment) for developers. For me it’s the compact style, as I’ve already said. I like to focus on the application and my work instead of having bulky tool bars taking up screen space. Xfce gives you that freedom to conserve, it does an awesome job of staying out of your way. After all, lots of people(and developers to:D) like less distractions.
What can you all do with Xfce? I’ve only been using Xfce for about 2-3 weeks, though here’s a list:
- You can add whatever theme engine you want.
- You can have effects, Compiz Fusion(I added it but took it off due to Compiz not being totally ready for the real world), and Composite(which does a nice job)
- You can have any type of application, KDE, Gnome and Qt, Gtk, based apps.
- Xfce is snappy!
- Xfce has a verity of options.
GUI Applications I’d suggest:
- Nautilus as a file manager/browser. I find Thunar WAY too limited.
- Kate/Kwrite as a text editor. All of the other text editors are just crap.
- Amarok as a play list player. The best audio mp3 player for Linux.
- Klipper as a clip board tool.
- Konsole as a terminal emulator, always did the best job.
-Clinton
Word Docs just plain suck in Linux…
October 15, 2008
I use Microsoft Word documents for school and I need to keep them as word docs. So I did a little research, tried out a few programs in Linux like Kword, Open Office, AbiOffice. Out of all of them AbiOffice takes it. I found Oo way to intollarant, crashes way etc.
Does anyone have any answers to how I can view Word docs without it messing up so bad. AbiWord is good but it still views Word docs horribly.
KDE4.1 on Gentoo—Not Yet. My Nvidia card disagrees…
October 14, 2008
I ran KDE4.1 for a few days on Gentoo. It runs really slow. The same problems people have been comlaning about for a year during the beta releases. Everyone says it’s because Nvidia needs to catch up. It’s been like that for a while already. So I’m just going to wait it out.
I found KDE4.1’s version of Konsole SUPER slow. I also find that desktop widgets are really slow…
Kate seems fine, and most of the other KDE4 programs are running OK.
Since it runs so horribly and it’s pretty much unusable at the moment, I decided to use Xfce4 until they bring their act together. Last night I got Compiz Fusion to run on Xfce4 and Emerald as the theme manager–runs like a dream. Xfce4 is everything I need right now. It runs fast, it runs really good with effects, it’s extremely compact(don’t even know it’s there half the time) and it just does the job.
The program that isn’t quit ready and pretty much sucks for far is Konsole. I uninstalled it and use the KDE3.5 version. Works great in Xfce4.
4 Tips for Linux Beginers!
October 5, 2008
Depending on what Linux distribution you use or plan on using you may have a bit of a learning curve on your hands. If you really want to learn how to use a computer in an efficient way it’s best to learn a Linux distro that will give you a bit of a hard time at first. Learning the basics of command-line will open up a whole new world for you.
Here are my 4 tips for beginners:
- Make sure you learn why each command does what it does. Don’t just copy n paste.
- Use Google for everything. Learn to find stuff on your own. Pretty much everything you can think of has been already done. If you have a bug, type it in on Google and see what you get.
- Learn the terminology. Things like nano, symlink, Kernel, Desktop Environment, etc.
- Explore Your Options. Every operating system is different. Mac is different from Windows and Linux is different yet. Linux offers a large amount of features for customization. Just because you don’t like the colors or the desktop features doesn’t mean Linux isn’t for you. You might not get it right the first time, just keep searching until you find the right software, desktop environment or what not that suits YOU.
I hope these help, if you have any questions please comment.
-Clinton
Hello Planet!
September 24, 2008
Welcome to my blog about Linux, development, programming, open source and anything else related to Linux.
