[Gllug] Small PC, resource constraints, improving efficiencies

[Tethys]

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David L Neil writes:

>Should I trial LXDE and/or XFCE by attempting to run multiple Desktop 
>Environments/Window Managers at the X level, or by dual-booting whole 
>distributions with the appropriate choice as the sole GUI?

I don't really think it makes much difference, although multiple
desktop environments is a less invasive solution.

>*have thought to try Opera 10 (and maybe its Dragonfly system for 
>web-dev) and compare load factors with FF...?

I'd definitely recommend Opera. I used to hate it with a passion,
but recent versions have been very, very good, and having it start
up in a second is a wonderfully refreshing change from Firefox's
bloat.

>XFCE seems to be available from the CentOS?rpmforge repositories but 
>LXDE is not found by search.

How much do you want from a desktop environment? If you're looking for
a lightweight solution, then you might want to look at FVWM. It's in
EPEL, so installing it on CentOS is a breeze. It's configured through
a config file, rather than dragging and dropping things onto a task
bar, for example, but it's insanely powerful, and light on resources.
I've tried KDE and GNOME, but found them to be limiting, and have
always returned to FVWM. It does what I want with a minimum of fuss.

>Alternatively, should I simply load the other DktopEnv/WinMgrs on top of 
>the existing CentOS X11 (and hopefully rewire things with the Desktop 
>switcher)?
>- but I'm concerned that removal after failure might be messy/risk the 
>current system-config?

I think that's an ungrounded fear. I habitually try things out on a
regular basis, and when I decide I'm done, a quick "yum erase" gets
the box back to its previous state without any problems.

Tet
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