Netbook

9011 · 2010-06-03 12:44:45

Witch desktop environments you recommended for a netbook?

Mr.Elendig · 2010-06-03 12:48:31

none. Imo a tiler like xmonad works perfect on netbooks.

Theomachos · 2010-06-03 13:00:25

You could use GNOME with the netbook-launcher, but I agree that tilers are much more netbook-friendly.
If you really need a WM with some desktop-capabilities, try Awesome.

barbs · 2010-06-03 14:06:59

I'm currently using LXDE on my eee 701sd. It's great

OK100 · 2010-06-03 16:16:11

Currently I'm running kdemod3 on my eeepc 701

toxygen · 2010-06-03 17:15:00

kde4 plasma-netbook

it takes a little getting used to, it's still a bit jumpy, but i liked it when i tried it.

muunleit · 2010-06-03 18:43:31

+1 for Awesome.
I use it on my netbook mostly without mouse. And if I'm at home I connect my netbook to a bigger monitor, keyboard and mouse and use Awesome, too.

schen · 2010-06-03 19:14:33

A tiler may be intimidating for new users because of configuration and the barebones interface. However, if you are ready for the learning curve, it is a good idea to use a tiler. My personal favorite is dwm, but other good ones are scrotwm and awesome.

Last edited by schen (2010-06-03 19:24:59)

paldepind · 2010-06-03 19:22:05

I agree that tilers a the way to go on netbooks! They are lightweight which means faster boot and less battery usage. But another great feature imo is that you can use tilers with the keyboard only, this makes navigating the desktop much faster since you don't have to use a sucky touchpad or carry a mouse with you.

If you don't like tilling window managers try Openbox, xfce og e17. Just don't use kde4, it's way too bloated for a netbook.

splittercode · 2010-06-04 01:19:56

+1 for tiling wm.

I'd recommend one with fullscreen tabbed layout, like wmii or i3. I rarely need to have two apps on the screen at once on my netbook, so the tabbed layout is ideal. Personally I use Xmonad with the only the tabbed layout active and no statusbar for maximum screen space.

rb · 2010-06-04 01:38:00

dwm or any tiling wm of your liking for that matter.

If you're not into tiling wm, Openbox for sure.

sugardeath · 2010-06-04 02:17:05

I definitely have to second Openbox. I'm using it on my HP Mini right now and it's a wonderfl, light-weight WM for netbooks.

whacath · 2010-06-04 05:43:23

+1 for tiling wm.

The great thing with tiling window managers and netbooks is that tiling window managers are kinda optimal for small screens. no frames around your window, no close/minimize-buttons taking up space on your screen. you can focus on just the one window taking up the whole screen.

ratpoison is my personal favorite. becouse of its similarites with GNU screen.

and if i need to do things the non-tiling way i open up a new virtual x session with openbox.

samuele.mattiuzzo · 2010-06-04 06:55:14

+1 for tiling here too

since you'll have a little monitor, i guess awesome or xmonad will do the trick, because if you'll need to plug to an external monitor, they support dualheading

otherwise i'll quote whacath, ratpoison

Wintervenom · 2010-06-04 07:02:29

Plus one for i3. Can't beat those tabs, man. Especially on a netbook.

Last edited by Wintervenom (2010-06-04 07:02:44)

sand_man · 2010-06-04 07:08:47

maybe a fullscreen window manager like ratpoison?

Wintervenom wrote:

Plus one for i3. Can't beat those tabs, man. Especially on a netbook.

I wouldn't use ion3 just for the principal that the developer is a gigantic douche bag.

Last edited by sand_man (2010-06-04 07:13:48)

Gullible Jones · 2010-07-15 22:56:38

i3, not ion 3.

xenobrain · 2010-07-16 00:22:36

As a KDE fan, I have enjoyed playing with the Plasma-netbook workspace. I find it to work quite nicely in 4.4, and it is very space-efficient.

As for KDE being "bloated" I object to that for two reasons-the first being that "bloated" implies that there is more code than their needs to be to achieve a given functionality, or that there is a lot functionality that gets little use . I don't think either is the case here.

Second, the articles on memory usage I have read confirm what my own numbers tell me-that KDE4 uses less memory than Windows XP, the most common OS for netbooks which is known to run just fine.

So, if ya like KDE (I sure do!) then give it a shot!

Last edited by xenobrain (2010-07-16 03:20:15)

cesura · 2010-07-16 01:27:31

You may be tired of hearing this, but...+1 for a tiling WM. It uses all of the screen space, which is important on a netbook, and most, if not all, tiling WMs are lightweight and use very little of your system resources, which on a netbook, is very little.

xenobrain · 2010-07-16 03:22:55

Netbooks are way more powerful than people seem to give them credit for. Most have 1GB of memory and a surprisingly good processor which I have seen firsthand runs Windows 7 quite nicely. And KDE4 is known to run on just 256mb!

Simply put, the only OS you really have to worry about on a netbook is Vista, not anything running on Linux! The market generally skipped Vista as a netbook OS anyway and went straight to Win7, so that will never even be an issue.

The only thing really lacking on netbooks is screen space, which does certainly merit special consideration. Obviously I like KDE but also like the work Ubuntu's doing on Gnome for Ubuntu Netbook Remix.

Is there an archlinux port available of that?

Edit:: found it! http://aur.archlinux.org/packages.php?ID=22072

Too bad it's so out of date....

Last edited by xenobrain (2010-07-16 03:25:17)

Cdh · 2010-07-16 04:23:25

xenobrain wrote:

As a KDE fan, I have enjoyed playing with the Plasma-netbook workspace.

As a not-kde fan I didn't enjoy playing with plasma-netbook because it was so slow and cpu eating and buggy. But maybe it was just the intel 11.0 driver...

fsckd · 2010-07-16 04:37:11

xenobrain wrote:

Netbooks are way more powerful than people seem to give them credit for. Most have 1GB of memory and a surprisingly good processor which I have seen firsthand runs Windows 7 quite nicely. And KDE4 is known to run on just 256mb!
Simply put, the only OS you really have to worry about on a netbook is Vista, not anything running on Linux! The market generally skipped Vista as a netbook OS anyway and went straight to Win7, so that will never even be an issue.

When Vista was made Microsoft did not anticipate netbooks. Popularity of netbooks caught them off guard and Windows 7 was designed so it could run on them.

ChemBro · 2010-07-16 06:23:48

Cdh wrote:

As a not-kde fan I didn't enjoy playing with plasma-netbook because it was so slow and cpu eating and buggy. But maybe it was just the intel 11.0 driver...

It was the intel driver. Shouldn't be a problem now with the 2.12 intel driver (at least on my netbook it's not slow anymore, or it is still too slow for you, I don't know).

Also: KDE 4.5 has tiling, too. (Okay, it's not ready yet, but it's there)

valium97582 · 2010-07-16 19:06:12

Plus one for i3!!! i3 != ion3 (remember that). The only thing that I dislike are the Modkey is Mod1 instead of Mod4 (easily fixed, text configs are very very easy) and that ugly bar down there.

Oh, if you _absolutely_ need Xft in your title bars, use wmfs
There is a dwm patch that includes tabs? (I think I did not see any in the official dwm patch page...)

Last edited by valium97582 (2010-07-17 22:28:43)

arinlares · 2010-07-16 23:11:05

I have to say avoid KDE on a netbook, as it takes more power than you really have to run. I haven't tried it with newer drivers (I was running the 2.11 drivers), but it sucked power in Debian and Arch. I'll try it again soon, probably, but feel it's best to recommend a lightweight DE like XFCE or LXDE. If you just want a WM, I recommend Awesome, Fluxbox, IceWM, OpenBox, or Subtle, depending on your wants/needs. I'll update and check KDE again with a newer version of X, new graphics drivers, and all that jazz, and maybe edit this post accordingly.

Last edited by arinlares (2010-07-16 23:11:24)

Arch Linux

#1 2010-06-03 12:44:45

Netbook

#2 2010-06-03 12:48:31

Re: Netbook

#3 2010-06-03 13:00:25

Re: Netbook

#4 2010-06-03 14:06:59

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