[ale] exploring features of LXDE - was laptop hinge broke! day going downhill!

[Ron Frazier]

Hi Preston,

I had some serious installation problems with LXDE after trying to 
install the lubuntu-desktop package on top of a standard Ubuntu 10.04 
installation. One of which was two gdm programs fighting for control of 
the CPU and pegging it at about 85-90% all the time. Most of the details 
are posted in this thread:

had a terrible time installing lubuntu-desktop 02/24/11 11:39 PM

I really didn't give LXDE much time on my system so I could get familiar 
with it. I was just trying to get the PC back to normal operation.

I noticed that the panel widgets didn't seem as flexible and diverse as 
GNOME. In order to customize the desktop, I deleted the default panels 
and put back some new blank ones, and then couldn't find a way to get 
the shut down button back, nor the trash can. They are not in the add to 
panel menu. Frequency scaling was inop, and I had no way (that was 
obvious) to get to my wireless setup and log into my router. Also, all 
my menu items were reorganized. I think system / preferences and system 
/ administration got combined. Also, I could not find any way to edit 
the menus.

Desktop management didn't seem a lot faster than GNOME, and my brief 
testing indicated that LXDE was only saving me 80 MB of ram versus the 
GNOME desktop. That wasn't a big motivator for me on a 4 GB machine. For 
what it's worth, I'm also running a full Ubuntu installation, with 
GNOME, on a 1 GB machine. It's a bit slow at times, but acceptable. So, 
on my laptop, I just decided to go back to what I know and am familiar 
with.

Having said all that, I'm not bashing LXDE. I'm sure it works fine for 
many users. Paul was recommending XFCE. I may try some of these other 
things some time in a VM, but I definitely won't be attempting this type 
of change on my normal machine to avoid the risk of compromising it.

Thanks for the well wishing about the hinge, but the hinge is still 
broken. I'm considering replacing the lid / display, or buying a new 
used computer. For the moment, I'm treating the computer like I'm 
holding an egg or something. Later, I'm going to put a big piece of 
Gorilla duct tape on it so the lid is stabilized. Hopefully, the "magic" 
wire that runs from the base to the lid will not break. I've had that 
fun experience before. It's a really fast way to turn a laptop into a 
desktop. 8-)

If you have some experience with LXDE or XFCE, please post it. I still 
want to learn about alternative ways of running Linux.

Sincerely,

Ron


On 03/01/2011 11:12 AM, Preston Boyington wrote:
> Ron Frazier wrote:
>    
>> After my unhappy experience with the LXDE install, before I went to bed
>> last night, one of the hinges on my laptop lid broke!
>>      
> <snipped>
>
>
> wait... are you unhappy with LXDE?
>
> (hope you got the hinge issue sorted)
> _______________________________________________
>
>    

-- 

(PS - If you email me and don't get a quick response, you might want to
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Ron Frazier

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linuxdude AT c3energy.com