[svlug] [RFC] Good Newbie Environment for X

[Erik Steffl]

Ivan Passos wrote:
> 
> Hello,
> 
> I've never really used X-Windows in Linux (just tried some window
> managers sometimes at work), and as I just installed Debian in my new home
> system, I wanna give it a try.
> 
> As I'm a complete newbie in X (I use Linux in text mode, as I mostly work
> with src code and I hate editing files in the small xterm windows -- I
> like the big fonts!! :), my first question is: what would be the most

  you can specify the size of the font for xterm. some people have one
big xterm per virtual screen...

> appropriate X Window Manager / Environment for someone like me, who knows
> a little bit about Linux, but knows nothing about X?? KDE?? Gnome + XXX
> [put nice Window Manager in the XXX]??

  I would probably start with KDE or Gnome but basically almost any
modern WM is OK. You can change them anytime, or even start X without
any WM and just run one or another by hand (that way you can quit WM
without exiting X), or you can change you .xinitrc (or .xsession if you
use xdm, or (probably) something else when you use other *dm) to not
have x window manager as last program (it's usually set that way by
default):

  some_program&
  anbother_program&
  window_manager&
  anchor

  when you exit anchor, the X quits (it can be basically any program
that keeps on running until you quit it)

  nice thing about debian is that you have most of the apps in system
menus as well as all the WMs that you install so you can change WM
directly from the menu (usually accessible by clicking on the root
window) [doesn't work for kw, you cannot switch from kwm to other WM, it
doesn't work for some other WMs too]

	erik