New commer: Saying hi and asking for some insight...

palobo · 2009-03-21 17:37:45

Hi all.

Firts some background. I made the switch to linux permenant about a year ago and have never looked back. I have used mainly Gnome throughout that year and then KDE. I've also tried XFCE. Hop around from distro to distro and although all have their pros and cons, their special way of doing things I can't shake the feeling that each distro I've tried has held my hand every step of the way.

In comes a review I read about Arch Linux. Then I thought, what better way to learn linux (seriuosly) than to follow the "Arch way".

Now although I have rather decent hardware specs, I want to squeeze as much power and speed from my system. Therefore I thought about setting up a lighter WM. Along the lines of Openbox, LXDE etc. From the artwork/screenshots section in the forum I've seen some amazing setups, things of beauty.

So what I would like is some insight as to what would be the best setup. Up util now I've always had my hand held by either Gnome or KDE, but with Openbox for example the options are somewhat overwhelmimg. Best filemanager, best panel, best system tray etc.

This newcommer would like to hear from you on this subject.

Thanks in advance.
Cheers,
P.

Stythys · 2009-03-21 17:39:55

I've gone to tiling but my favorite floating wm is definitely openbox. When I used it I used pcmanfm for file manager, no panel, and stalonetray. I think those are pretty standard choices around here...if you want a panel I think pypanel is pretty popular.

Xyne · 2009-03-21 17:53:37

Well, if you really don't want to have your hand held, dive into the wiki and the forum, see what other people are using, figure out which one you'd like to try and then set it up and test it out.

Don't let seemingly overwhelming options get to you. They only appear overwhelming because they're new. The wiki can get you started with most things (e.g. Openbox) and after that you just need to spend some time learning as you go.

You could also "wade in" by starting with Xfce and then moving over to LXDE, then to a WM etc if you would find that a more comfortable transition.

Good luck getting everything set up anyway, and welcome to Arch and the forum!

Joe_Arch · 2009-03-21 17:56:06

pypanel is a popular choice, indeed. But I would vote for tint, due to more customizability. You can make some truly awesome panels. Everything from this to this.

One thing to think about, when squeezing performance from your system, is to consider the programs you choose. You can use a very lightweight WM, but Vuze is still going to take 10 times longer to open than rtorrent(at best!), and Amarok will still be slower than mocp.

As for WM, I suggest openbox.

Last edited by Joe_Arch (2009-03-21 17:57:26)

xelados · 2009-03-21 18:01:08

A common misconception among many newcomers (no offense intended) is the idea that there is a universal "best" solution for their computing. The truth is that it comes down to your level of experience and what you use your computer for most. I think I or others could better assist you if you gave us an idea of what you do with your computer. For instance, telling someone to use awesome or dwm isn't too smart if they use their mouse a lot and have trouble remembering keybindings.

Most Archers use Openbox or a tiling window manager. I can't say if Openbox is right for you, but I can tell you why _I_ like it: it's fast, supports the XDG standards, is EWMH compliant, and has dozens of configuration options. If you can understand HTML, you can understand Openbox's config files. Unfortunately, they're a bit more verbose/bloated compared to Fluxbox's simple configuration. Openbox's sheer number of options gives power to the user, and thanks to their great wiki, nothing's hidden from you. I think it's worth the 30 minutes to an hour to spend setting up your keybindings, behavior options, and menu. OBconf can help with the more frequently changed options, too.

The thing about Openbox is that it doesn't come with a panel. If you're used to a panel/taskbar, you'll have to either use a separate panel app (like pypanel) or use a window manager that comes with one (a la Fluxbox). The same goes for the tray and pager. If you really need all of those functions, however, it may just be smarter to go to a full desktop environment, where those features come standard. XFCE is the lightest full desktop environment. LXDE seems like a DE, but most of the software used are separate projects.. so it straddles the fence between "software setup" and "desktop environment".

I hope my post helped and wasn't too wordy.

Inxsible · 2009-03-21 18:11:30

Like Stythys mentioned, I too have gone over to tiling WMs more.
My Openbox setup simply has a stalonetray for pidgin and skype to rest. No panel. a 1 line conky at the top and a margin of 12 px set up in obconf so I can see conky all the time.

I currently use more of Musca and sometimes dwm. Haven't logged into openbox in quite a while.

palobo · 2009-03-21 18:20:43

Firts off let me just thank all for your posts so far.

@Xyne: I've already started looking at the wiki and reading throuhg a few posts on the forum. My general feeling is that I will probably learn more in a short while of Arch than I have learnt so far. As far as wading in goes, I'm more the type to dive in...

@Joe_Arch: I'm thinking of keeping my system as light as possible without comprimising looks. From what I've seen in the forum, that is rather easy... ;-)

@xelados: I'm a budding freelance web developer (read: newbie here too ). Basicly I use my computer to handle my coding needs (should have no problems reading Openbox config files), handle videos, music, photos, emails and web. I prefer using keyboard shortcuts to mouse clicks (even in gnome and kde I had keybindings set up for my most used apps) and last but not least I love to learn new things and prefer th command line. So in other words, I prefer reading help along the lines of "drop into terminal, type this or edit that" rather than "open this, click here and there".

I think I will give OB a run for it's money. Set that up first and then take it from there. Once again thanks for the prompt replies and let me jut say it feels good to be here.

Chhers,
P.

btartsa · 2009-03-21 21:15:16

My 2 cents: I really think I'm an openboxer for the duration. But...using the "poor mans tiling window manager" (look in community contribs) has sealed the deal. Best of both worlds IMO. I'm sticking with pypanel too. I guess I'm always trying to balance between simplicty and ease of use...and if I *need* a big app (k3b stands out) I use it.

palobo · 2009-03-23 15:36:08

OK. Just a small update. I have managed to install Arch (ina virtualbox machine for now) and have also installed OpenBox. Eventhough I am still going through the basics of OpenBox... all I can say is WOW. I just love the speed, the root-menu flexibility.

Arch+openbox is like watching a kid grow up. It starts as an embryo, then baby, infant all the way to a Adult (read: workable and functional desktop).

All other distros I've tried are more along the lines os cloning a full grown adult and then maybe giving him a diferent hair style rather than a diferent personality.

Any way, forgive the analogy and rant, I just wanted to profess my new found fondness for both Arch and OpenBox... and I'm just getting started with both... :-D

evilgold · 2009-03-23 16:34:12

For a file manager i reccomend ROX, its FAST and pretty easy to setup. Its different in a lot of ways, but most of them make things simpler. It also has its own panel, which i dont personally use much so i cant say for how good it is.

Ranguvar · 2009-03-24 00:38:37

Don't use the evul word "best" "best" is whatever is best for you. It's a forum rule on Doom9, I think it should be here, too Without clarification, best means nothing - to one person, the best file manager could be the fastest, to another, the slimmest, and to another, the one that makes it easiest to keep track of a lot of stuff at once (whatever).

What features do you need / are looking for? Try out a few of them. Etc.

palobo · 2009-03-24 09:51:39

Ranguvar wrote:

Don't use the evul word "best" ... Without clarification, best means nothing ...

How true. I must agree with you.

As far as filemanagers go, I've tried rox but didn't quite like it. Maybe I didn't give it a fair run. I'll look into it again later. For the time being I'm testing both thunar and pcmanfm. I love dolphin, nautilus has it's good things too, but like I said earlier, even though I've got a good hardware setup, I wan't pure speed for now.

Cheers and thanks all for your input.
P.

palobo · 2009-04-03 17:45:16

Hi all.

Back with an update.

I've finally got my system set up and looking good :-) (Screenie)

Thanks all for your help and suggestions.

Final setup:
- Openbox (Loving it and never going back to a full bloated DE ;-) )
- Tint2 (Panel and systray)
- XFCE Terminal
- Thunar
- And finally my assortment of regular apps.

Cheers,
P.

Army · 2009-04-03 22:02:18

palobo wrote:

Arch+openbox is like watching a kid grow up. It starts as an embryo, then baby, infant all the way to a Adult (read: workable and functional desktop).
All other distros I've tried are more along the lines os cloning a full grown adult and then maybe giving him a different hair style rather than a different personality.

I like that!!!

palobo · 2009-04-05 23:14:14

Army wrote:

palobo wrote:
Arch+openbox is like watching a kid grow up. It starts as an embryo, then baby, infant all the way to a Adult (read: workable and functional desktop).
All other distros I've tried are more along the lines os cloning a full grown adult and then maybe giving him a different hair style rather than a different personality.
I like that!!!

Thanks, it how Arch makes me feel!!

Cheers,
P.

Arch Linux

#1 2009-03-21 17:37:45

New commer: Saying hi and asking for some insight...

#2 2009-03-21 17:39:55

Re: New commer: Saying hi and asking for some insight...

#3 2009-03-21 17:53:37

Re: New commer: Saying hi and asking for some insight...

#4 2009-03-21 17:56:06

Re: New commer: Saying hi and asking for some insight...

#5 2009-03-21 18:01:08

Re: New commer: Saying hi and asking for some insight...

#6 2009-03-21 18:11:30

Re: New commer: Saying hi and asking for some insight...

#7 2009-03-21 18:20:43

Re: New commer: Saying hi and asking for some insight...

#8 2009-03-21 21:15:16

Re: New commer: Saying hi and asking for some insight...

#9 2009-03-23 15:36:08

Re: New commer: Saying hi and asking for some insight...

#10 2009-03-23 16:34:12

Re: New commer: Saying hi and asking for some insight...

#11 2009-03-24 00:38:37

Re: New commer: Saying hi and asking for some insight...

#12 2009-03-24 09:51:39

Re: New commer: Saying hi and asking for some insight...

#13 2009-04-03 17:45:16

Re: New commer: Saying hi and asking for some insight...

#14 2009-04-03 22:02:18

Re: New commer: Saying hi and asking for some insight...

#15 2009-04-05 23:14:14

Re: New commer: Saying hi and asking for some insight...

Board footer