new to lxde, may i ask some n00b questions?

[pelle99]

hi, im new to lxde, in fact im one of those that cant cope with unity or gnome3, and im not fond of kde either.
im currently using xfce and im considering lxde but if possible id like to have a few quick questions answered.
im not interested in lxde(or xfce) because its lightweight(i like some eyecandy), but because its a 'sane' desktop with a proper taskbar and not the multiclick method that seems to be the fashion.

1: can i run compiz? emerald? not too fond of openbox, other wms? - other compositing managers?
2: fixed window placement, as provided in compiz is essential to me, is that doable?
3: is there a normal sane systray?
4: can i run indicators as well?
5: whats the status on gtk3 support?
6: how configurable is it? i love how configurable kde is and xfce and gnome2 are ok too, but not unity and gnome-shell
7: if i switch to lxde can i expect it to remain a useable desktop for years to come or are there plans to go unuseable like gnome/unity?
8: can it more or less mimic good old gnome2 with some tweaking?
9: anything else i should know thats very different from what im used to?

thanks in advance

[amjjawad]

Hello and Welcome to LXDE Forum

Glad to see more users who are interested to shift to LXDE.

I'm more than happy to answer your questions but I'm trying to follow different approach here than what I usually do on Ubuntu Forum.
I prefer you choose a Linux Distribution where LXDE is the native Desktop Environment, download the iso file, check MD5SUM, burn it to a CD (to create LiveCD) or create a Live Bootable USB using UNetbootin then give it a try. If I were you, I would wait two days and try Lubuntu 11.10. I'm testing now the Beta Version and WOW, it's very promising indeed. I'm a big fan of LXDE and Lubuntu.

Most of your questions will be answered by yourself
Again, I don't mind to answer your question but better to try yourself.

I suggest to go for LiveUSB because it's faster than the LiveCD and you don't have to install anything to your machine, hence your internal HDD won't be touched at all.
I'm sure you'll like it.

There are other Distribution where LXDE is native like Mint LXDE, Fedora LXDE, etc. Because I'm more into Ubuntu Family, I prefer Lubuntu.

[pelle99]

thanks for the reply

the reason i asked these questions is that im currently on a very limited 3g broadband and i dont really want to waste megabytes on downloading an iso before i got a little bit more info

[amjjawad]

thanks for the reply

the reason i asked these questions is that im currently on a very limited 3g broadband and i dont really want to waste megabytes on downloading an iso before i got a little bit more info

Please FEEL FREE to ask whatever question come to your mind and don't ever hesitate

When will you be able to have unlimited access to the internet?

[pelle99]

hi
i asked all my questions in the original post really

[amjjawad]

hi
i asked all my questions in the original post really

I know and I'll do my best to answer all what I can but not now because I'm doing something else

[amjjawad]

I'm going to answer your questions based on my own experience NOT based on Google Search because I believe you can do that yourself
Also, I'm going to answer as per Lubuntu because I don't use another Distribution at the moment. Yes, I have tried Fedora LXDE Spin and Mint LXDE but haven't used them on day-to-day use.

1: can i run compiz? emerald? not too fond of openbox, other wms? - other compositing managers?

Yes, you can run Compiz: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeuDBJ6I ... ure=colike

2: fixed window placement, as provided in compiz is essential to me, is that doable?

Sorry, not sure what you mean. I haven't used Compiz before because I'm not interested with such fancy WM. I just want my PC to work, that's all

3: is there a normal sane systray?

Any example?

4: can i run indicators as well?

Yes.

5: whats the status on gtk3 support?

Lubuntu Team is developing LSC (Lubuntu Software Centre) which is based on GTK3. The Stable version of LSC will perhaps be available with the release of 12.04, it's still on the development stage.

6: how configurable is it? i love how configurable kde is and xfce and gnome2 are ok too, but not unity and gnome-shell

Depends on your needs. Yes, it's configurable but you need to understand that LXDE designed to be used on Old Machine, Mini Notebook, etc so definitely it won't be as fancy as GNOME (I've never been a fan or even a user of KDE).

http://wiki.lxde.org/en/Main_Page

7: if i switch to lxde can i expect it to remain a useable desktop for years to come or are there plans to go unuseable like gnome/unity?

What is your definition of "unusable"???
As far as I know, GNOME, Unity, LXDE, etc are all usable but perhaps you mean easier to use?

LXDE hasn't reached yet the "Stable Version", however, it's very promising.
I started with GNOME but when I tried LXDE, I fell in love with it and I don't use anything else these days but Lubuntu (LXDE).

8: can it more or less mimic good old gnome2 with some tweaking?

IMHO, we can't really compare between GNOME and LXDE. Each has different approaches and designed for specific purpose.

LXDE is a Desktop Environemnt with Openbox as its Windows Manager.
As of today, almost all the applications I have used under GNOME or even Unity, I still can use it under LXDE. As for Tweaking, again, I'm not interested but I'm quite sure last time I installed Cairo-Dock on Lubuntu 11.10 beta 2, it was working without any issue. I was testing the beta version, that's all.

LXDE is much lighter than GNOME or other DE. Needs less RAM and CPU.

GNOME is GNOME. LXDE is LXDE.

9: anything else i should know thats very different from what im used to?

Yes, try it yourself and you'll understand how different it is.

Also, if I were you, I would do some search on Google and read some articles about it.

[LXNevermind]

7: if i switch to lxde can i expect it to remain a useable desktop for years to come or are there plans to go unuseable like gnome/unity?

What is your definition of "unusable"???
As far as I know, GNOME, Unity, LXDE, etc are all usable but perhaps you mean easier to use?

LXDE hasn't reached yet the "Stable Version", however, it's very promising.
I started with GNOME but when I tried LXDE, I fell in love with it and I don't use anything else these days but Lubuntu (LXDE).

I switched (really fast) from Gnome3 to LXDE nad for me it's far, far, faaaaaaaar more better, it's usable . Still you should know it's really simple. LXDE is like fluxbox with icons, nice panel and decent file manager;). For me it's great and fast but, by reading your other questions, I suppose for you LXDE can be too simple.

[seppalta]

This is designed for beginners but you might garner something useful from it: http://douwil7.100webspace.net/linux/Tuning%20LXDE.html.

[rokytnji]

7: if i switch to lxde can i expect it to remain a useable desktop for years to come or are there plans to go unuseable like gnome/unity?

All I can give is my personal experience with running LXDE only on a AntIX core install. I run as a rolling release which means I don't need to reinstall anything for years to come. My core install is from 20 June 2010 and I have migrated from Debian Squeeze to Debian Wheezy/Sid since my install.

This basically means I just apt-get dist-upgrade my way through my install which gives me the latest LXDE applications and libraries available from Debian for as long as I keep this install. No reinstall required. I can't speak on the future of LXDE though as far as what direction it is heading though.

Long ago. I ran E17 when it was in it's infancy and new snapshots were often available. It has come a long way since then and is a pretty stable light weight Desktop manager also. So I figure LXDE will polish up and become more stable as time passes on. I run E17 only in Puppy linux now on a pendrive that I use on any computer (I have a few personal save files made) and it can be used for fixing borked Linux installs. http://macpup.org/ . I also like using it to learn how to use E17 also.

Having said that. The latest 0.5.8 LXpanel was broken for me in last upgrade. I fixed it by down grading to a previous 5.6 LXpanel and locking it in apt till a newer LXpanel comes out with a bug fix (bug reports have been filed explaining this problem). So even if it breaks with a upgrade. You can sort it out like I did.

http://forum.lxde.org/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=31253