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#1 2017-02-21 13:41:52

mwelch
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Registered: 2017-02-21
Posts: 6

Not your normal, "Which DE should I use?"

I've been using linux as my working desktop environment since 2002 (with a brief 18 month break somewhere in the middle). In that time I've used Gnome, Unity, and lately Cinnamon, but most of hours I've spent working has been with KDE. Here's the thing... I'm not a linux tinkerer. I use linux because that's where I'm most productive with my actual work. That said, you don't use it for this long with learning its ins and outs.

Now for my question. I like KDE, but not for the reasons I normally hear about. I love it because of keyboard shortcuts. I spend 95% of my time in front of 5 applications and in KDE I can configure those 5 apps and my desktop with a common set of navigation keys (moving between tabs, starting new sessions, etc) with incredible ease. Every single action whether it be on the desktop or in an app is easily configurable and the place to edit that configuration is always consistent.

What I'm here to ask today is if there's another DE available that would give me the same capability/configurability without the heaviness of KDE?

Last edited by mwelch (2017-02-21 14:03:32)

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#2 2017-02-21 13:54:24

Docbroke
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From: India
Registered: 2015-06-13
Posts: 1,433

Re: Not your normal, "Which DE should I use?"

It depends on how much effort you are willing to do and which are those 5 applications. If they are kde apps, you will end up installing large chunk of kde in addition to whichever DE you choose.

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#3 2017-02-21 14:03:20

mwelch
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Registered: 2017-02-21
Posts: 6

Re: Not your normal, "Which DE should I use?"

Docbroke wrote:

It depends on how much effort you are willing to do and which are those 5 applications. If they are kde apps, you will end up installing large chunk of kde in addition to whichever DE you choose.

That's a good point. I don't care about the specific apps as long as there are viable alternatives. Three of my apps are DE agnostic (my browser, IDE and database utility). The others are what you'd expect: terminal, text editor, file manager and of course, the desktop itself (i.e. switching desktops/activities, launching apps, etc.) . So 6... I guess 5 was too low. smile

Last edited by mwelch (2017-02-21 14:05:58)

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#4 2017-02-21 14:13:37

Docbroke
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From: India
Registered: 2015-06-13
Posts: 1,433

Re: Not your normal, "Which DE should I use?"

KDE has nothing to do for application specific shortcuts, so that point is out of question. Regarding DE specific shortcuts most DEs I know allow custom shortcuts.
As you have already tried gnome&spinoffs,kde,unity etc., I would suggest xfce4, which is one of the very configurable and light DE.

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#5 2017-02-21 14:23:41

mwelch
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Registered: 2017-02-21
Posts: 6

Re: Not your normal, "Which DE should I use?"

FWIW, I did do an Arch/KDE install on an extra laptop I have laying around and there's nothing obnoxious about it so if that's where I end up. I'm ok with it, but before I committed on my main workstation I figured I'd ask around of other opinions.

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#6 2017-02-21 14:24:20

mwelch
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Registered: 2017-02-21
Posts: 6

Re: Not your normal, "Which DE should I use?"

Thank's, Docbroke. I'll give it a shot.

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#7 2017-02-21 14:28:48

mwelch
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Registered: 2017-02-21
Posts: 6

Re: Not your normal, "Which DE should I use?"

Docbroke wrote:

KDE has nothing to do for application specific shortcuts.

Well, yes, but the KDE specific apps like Konsole, Kate, and Dolphin all share the same underlying system, or at least appear to, because their shortcut options are in exactly the same place and offer the same breadth of options. That's what I was referring to when I mentioned consistency. I will give Xfce a try. Thanks.

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#8 2017-02-21 14:43:39

2ManyDogs
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Registered: 2012-01-15
Posts: 4,645

Re: Not your normal, "Which DE should I use?"

Unless you are using really old hardware (like a Pentium 4 with 1 or 2G memory) don't worry about how "heavy" KDE is if it works for you.

Last edited by 2ManyDogs (2017-02-21 14:43:56)


How to post. A sincere effort to use modest and proper language and grammar is a sign of respect toward the community.

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#9 2017-02-21 14:46:47

drcouzelis
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From: Connecticut, USA
Registered: 2009-11-09
Posts: 4,092
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Re: Not your normal, "Which DE should I use?"

What does "starting new sessions" mean?

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#10 2017-02-21 16:21:55

ewaller
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From: Pasadena, CA
Registered: 2009-07-13
Posts: 19,740

Re: Not your normal, "Which DE should I use?"

OpenBox, i3, emacs.


Nothing is too wonderful to be true, if it be consistent with the laws of nature -- Michael Faraday
Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine. -- Alan Turing
---
How to Ask Questions the Smart Way

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#11 2017-02-21 17:42:18

mwelch
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Registered: 2017-02-21
Posts: 6

Re: Not your normal, "Which DE should I use?"

2ManyDogs wrote:

Unless you are using really old hardware (like a Pentium 4 with 1 or 2G memory) don't worry about how "heavy" KDE is if it works for you.

After some thought, that's probably the best advice I'm going to get. The goal is to get work done and my system is far from under-powered, so why not go with what I know. Sometimes you just get that itch to try something new, you know?

I went ahead and installed Arch and a basic KDE Plasma environment. It's working well. Thanks for the suggestions, folks.

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#12 2017-02-21 18:57:31

ngoonee
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From: Between Thailand and Singapore
Registered: 2009-03-17
Posts: 7,354

Re: Not your normal, "Which DE should I use?"

ewaller wrote:

OpenBox, i3, emacs.

Rule violation detected! #AllHailVim #PluginsOverMonoliths


Allan-Volunteer on the (topic being discussed) mailn lists. You never get the people who matters attention on the forums.
jasonwryan-Installing Arch is a measure of your literacy. Maintaining Arch is a measure of your diligence. Contributing to Arch is a measure of your competence.
Griemak-Bleeding edge, not bleeding flat. Edge denotes falls will occur from time to time. Bring your own parachute.

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#13 2017-02-21 19:39:18

Trilby
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Registered: 2011-11-29
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Re: Not your normal, "Which DE should I use?"

While I agree with 2ManyDogs, if you *do* want something else, note that there is nothing in your goals that is provided by a DE.  Those are all things a WM does.  And nearly any WM can be configured to do them, the question is ease of configuring the WM.

From what you've described, I suspect openbox might be a very good match.  It's very easy to configure without needing to dig very deep.  And as featureful "user-friedly" WMs go, it is quite lightweight.


"UNIX is simple and coherent..." - Dennis Ritchie, "GNU's Not UNIX" -  Richard Stallman

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#14 2017-02-21 21:13:18

ewaller
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From: Pasadena, CA
Registered: 2009-07-13
Posts: 19,740

Re: Not your normal, "Which DE should I use?"

ngoonee wrote:

Rule violation detected! #AllHailVim #PluginsOverMonoliths

Yeah, but vim will never cut it as a DE wink

In all seriousness, the two I did suggest - i3 and Openbox are both lightweight and are both extremely suited to operation by keyboard. 
I threw in emacs partly as a joke, but I also find it to be my go to tool whenever I am in a console environment.  I like tmux, but if I go in as an emacsclient process with an emacs server running on the target, I get an editor, file manager, and shell shell in one package that is not impacted by a loss of connection.

Last edited by ewaller (2017-02-21 21:19:07)


Nothing is too wonderful to be true, if it be consistent with the laws of nature -- Michael Faraday
Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine. -- Alan Turing
---
How to Ask Questions the Smart Way

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#15 2017-02-22 03:31:19

dtjohnst
Member
Registered: 2007-03-01
Posts: 85

Re: Not your normal, "Which DE should I use?"

ewaller wrote:

OpenBox, i3, emacs.

Trilby wrote:

While I agree with 2ManyDogs, if you *do* want something else, note that there is nothing in your goals that is provided by a DE.  Those are all things a WM does.  And nearly any WM can be configured to do them, the question is ease of configuring the WM.

From what you've described, I suspect openbox might be a very good match.  It's very easy to configure without needing to dig very deep.  And as featureful "user-friedly" WMs go, it is quite lightweight.


For what it's worth, I'm with both of these 2. I've tried many and I keep coming back to openbox. I've tried most of the *boxes and most of the *wms, and while I got really into some of them (I was obsessed with stumpWM for a while for example), I always came back to openbox in the end. Small, stable, fast, configurable and comes with no bloat.

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#16 2017-02-22 03:44:28

Docbroke
Member
From: India
Registered: 2015-06-13
Posts: 1,433

Re: Not your normal, "Which DE should I use?"

Transition from full blown DE like KDE to barebone openbox may not be very easy especially for someone who self declares that he is not linux tinkerer. Though this is very subjective and there is not much point to debate as OP himself can try and choose.

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