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Playing with Linux for the first time

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The icons can be removed from the desktop via the settings menu I believe.
I looked but didn't see it. Must have missed it.

It was easy to find in Linux Mint Cinnamon.

Never heard of Conky but yours, lxskllr, just looks like a simple Rainmeter set up.

Can you send me your config if you don't mind so I can try it out. Is that clock a widget or part of conky? I don't like that but I like the rest. Very clean looking.
 
That clock is just sitting there above the conky display. You'll have a gap up there using this config. You can change the position, or add data to monitor to fill the space. Don't use this as a guide for configuring conky. It's a hacked together mess. You should be able to figure out what I'm doing, but there's no "best practices" to be found :^D

I have stuff commented out that I'm not using, including calls to other scripts.

.conkyrc
Code:
background no
font Ubuntu:size=11
#xftfont Ubuntu:size=14
use_xft yes
xftalpha 0.9
update_interval 1.0
total_run_times 0
own_window yes
own_window_type normal
own_window_argb_visual yes
own_window_argb_value 0
own_window_transparent yes
own_window_hints undecorated,below,sticky,skip_taskbar,skip_pager
double_buffer yes
minimum_size 220 
maximum_width 220
draw_shades yes
draw_outline no
draw_borders no
draw_graph_borders yes
default_color #C7B69C
default_shade_color black
default_outline_color green
alignment bottom_right
gap_x 12
gap_y 35
no_buffers yes
uppercase no
cpu_avg_samples 2
override_utf8_locale no
uppercase no # set to yes if you want all text to be in uppercase


TEXT
#${color #555753}SYSTEM ${hr 1}${color}

${color #C7B69C}Hostname: $alignr$nodename${color}
${color #C7B69C}Kernel: $alignr$kernel${color}
${color #C7B69C}Uptime: $alignr$uptime${color}
${color #C7B69C}CPU: ${alignr}${freq} MHz${color}
${color #C7B69C}Processes: ${alignr}$processes ($running_processes running)${color}
${color #C7B69C}Load: ${alignr}$loadavg${color}
${color #C7B69C}Temp: ${alignr}${hwmon 0 temp 1}C${color}

${color #C7B69C}CPU1 ${alignr}${cpu cpu1}%${color}
${color #555753}${cpubar 4 cpu1}${color}
${color #C7B69C}CPU2 ${alignr}${cpu cpu2}%${color}
${color #555753}${cpubar 4 cpu2}${color}
${color #C7B69C}Ram ${alignr}$mem / $memmax ($memperc%)${color}
${color #555753}${membar 4}${color}
${color #C7B69C}swap ${alignr}$swap / $swapmax ($swapperc%)${color}
${color #555753}${swapbar 4}${color}
${color #555753}Highest CPU $alignr CPU%  MEM%${color}
${color #C7B69C}${top name 1}$alignr${top cpu 1}     ${top mem 1}${color}
${color #C7B69C}${top name 2}$alignr${top cpu 2}    ${top mem 2}${color}
${color #C7B69C}${top name 3}$alignr${top cpu 3}      ${top mem 3}${color}

${color #555753}Highest MEM $alignr CPU%  MEM%${color}
${color #C7B69C}${top_mem name 1}$alignr${top_mem cpu 1}     ${top_mem mem 1}${color}
${color #C7B69C}${top_mem name 2}$alignr${top_mem cpu 2}       ${top_mem mem 2}${color}
${color #C7B69C}${top_mem name 3}$alignr${top_mem cpu 3}       ${top_mem mem 3}${color}
#${color #555753}Filesystem ${hr 1}${color}

${color #C7B69C}Root: ${alignr}${fs_free /} / ${fs_size /}${color}
${color #555753}${fs_bar 4 /}${color}
${color #C7B69C}Home: ${alignr}${fs_free /home} / ${fs_size /home}${color}
${color #555753}${fs_bar 4 /home}${color}
#${color #C7B69C}Swap: ${alignr}$swapperc% $swap/$swapmax ${color}
#${color #555753}${swapbar 4 /swap}${color}
${color #C7B69C}oldpart: ${alignr}${fs_free /media/oldpart} / ${fs_size /media/oldpart}
${color #555753}${fs_bar 4 /media/oldpart}
${color #C7B69C}Hitachi: ${alignr}${fs_free /media/Hitachi} / ${fs_size /media/Hitachi}
${color #555753}${fs_bar 4 /media/Hitachi}
${color #C7B69C}Vista: ${alignr}${fs_free /media/Vista} / ${fs_size /media/Vista}
${color #555753}${fs_bar 4 /media/Vista}
${color #C7B69C}XP: ${alignr}${fs_free /media/XP} / ${fs_size /media/XP}
${color #555753}${fs_bar 4 /media/XP}
${color #C7B69C}Ram Disk: ${alignr}${fs_free /dev/shm} / ${fs_size /dev/shm}
${color #555753}${fs_bar 4 /dev/shm}

#${color #555753}NETWORK ${hr 1}${color}
${color #C7B69C}Down     ${downspeed eth1}  ${alignr}Up     ${upspeed eth1} ${color}
${color #555753}${downspeedgraph eth1 25,107} ${alignr}${upspeedgraph eth1 25,107}${color}
${color #C7B69C}Total ${totaldown eth1} ${alignr}Total ${totalup eth1}${color}

###### Calendar ######
#${offset 70}${execpi 60 DJS=`date +%_d`; cal | sed s/"\(^\|[^0-9]\)$DJS"'\b'/'\1${color orange}'"$DJS"'$color'/}
#${color #555753}Date ${hr 2}${color}
#${voffset 4}${font Ubuntu:size=12}${color #C7B69C}${alignr 85}${time %A}${font}
#${voffset 6}${if_match ${time %e}<=9}${font DroidSansFallback:bold:size=19} ${color4}${alignr 100}${time %e}${font}${else}##${if_match ${time %e}>=10}${font Ubuntu:bold:size=22}${color #555753}${alignr 100}${time %e}${font}${endif}${endif}
#${voffset 8}${font Ubuntu:size=12}${color #C7B69C}${alignr 100}${time %B}${font}
#${voffset 10}${font Ubuntu:size=12}${color #C7B69C}${alignr 100}${time %Y}${font}
###### Uncomment the following line for Conky 1.8.0 ######
##${voffset -95}${font LiberationMono:size=9}${color #C7B69C}${execpi 60 VinDSL_Cal_6=`date +%-d`;cal|sed -e "1d" -e 's/^/${offset 75}/' -e 's/\<'$VinDSL_Cal_6'\>/${color4}&${color #C7B69C}/'}${font}
## Uncomment the following line for Conky 1.8.1 ##
#${voffset -85}${offset 70}${font UbuntuMono:size=10}${color #C7B69C}${execpi 60 `date +%-d`;cal|sed -e "1d" -e 's/\<\>/${color4}&${color #C7B69C}/'}${font}
#${voffset -97}${font CutOutsFor3DFX:size=64}${color8}${alignc 97}2${font}
#### DeaDBeeF ####

${color #555753}   ~~~~~~~DeaDBeeF~~~~~~~${color}
${font Ubuntu:size=9:bold}${color #C7B69C}${execi 2 deadbeef --nowplaying "%t"}$font
${execi 2 deadbeef --nowplaying "%a"}
${execi 2 deadbeef --nowplaying "%b"}
${font Ubuntu:size=8:bold}${execi 2 deadbeef --nowplaying "%y"}$font                              ${font Ubuntu:size=9}${execi 2 deadbeef --nowplaying "%e"}${offset 2}/${offset 2}${execi 2 deadbeef --nowplaying "%l"}$font

#${texeci 20 ~/.config/conky/db-cover.sh}${image ~/.config/conky/#conkyC

edit:
changed file name
 
Last edited:
Also another question with all these distros.

Ubuntu = Unity

But for the rest there is KDE, XFCE, Cinnamon, Mate, Gnome 2, Gnome 3D, and many others but maybe not as popular I assume...

Are you able to change these anytime you want since they are just a GUI? Or... do you have to completely reinstall the Linux distro?
 
Also another question with all these distros.

Ubuntu = Unity

But for the rest there is KDE, XFCE, Cinnamon, Mate, Gnome 2, Gnome 3D, and many others but maybe not as popular I assume...

Are you able to change these anytime you want since they are just a GUI? Or... do you have to completely reinstall the Linux distro?

For just trying out different DEs, I prefer downloading a distro that specializes in that particular DE I'm interested in. The reason is most times they pull in a bunch of other programs that take up room, and I may not be interested in them. But you can install as many as you want to whatever distro you're running. You pick which environment you want at login. I have Xfce, E17, and OpenBox on this machine. I'm almost always in Xfce though.
 
Also another question with all these distros.

Ubuntu = Unity

But for the rest there is KDE, XFCE, Cinnamon, Mate, Gnome 2, Gnome 3D, and many others but maybe not as popular I assume...

Are you able to change these anytime you want since they are just a GUI? Or... do you have to completely reinstall the Linux distro?
I can have all installed if I wanted to, including Unity.
 
Wait so these GUIs also have different programs? I thought it was just that... a GUI. Different buttons, icons, taskbar, a dock, different search ,etc.
 
Wait so these GUIs also have different programs? I thought it was just that... a GUI. Different buttons, icons, taskbar, a dock, different search ,etc.

Depends. You can pick and choose bits of a DE to some extent, but to experience it the way the devs intended, you should use the programs they bundle also. Some also have extensive libraries, and it takes disk space. WMs(window managers) are much lighter. They just control the windows. OpenBox, FluxBox, Awesome, and to a lesser extent E17 would be examples. E17 is a bit of a crossover because they have a few programs that go along with the wm, but it's primarily a window manager.
 
Wait so these GUIs also have different programs? I thought it was just that... a GUI. Different buttons, icons, taskbar, a dock, different search ,etc.
Yes, different programs with differing philosophies. The only ones that are more or less the same are Gnome, Unity and Cinnamon. Most of the programs bundles with Cinnamon and Unity are gnome programs.
 
This thread prompted me to install the latest Ubuntu 13.04 and take it for a spin.

I have to say that I'm not completely hating Unity the way I did initially. Stock Ubuntu plus the restricted extras gives you a very refined product out of the gate.
That's because in 12.10 they did most of the major fixing of functionality. And in 13.04 they optimized the Unity to run on a mobile phone for all platforms. So when ran on a much more powerful desktop or laptop the environment is much more responsive. Now only if Netflix would switch to HTML5 or something (I don't like Netflix Desktop) already, I would consider dual booting Ubuntu or Mint. :whiste:
 
The only DE you could possibly need is Open Box.

If you are a spartan kind of guy.
I personally like CrunchBang's implementation of OpenBox myself.
screenshot-minecraft.png
 
I like Crunchbang myself. I may end up putting it on my netbook. Either that, or keep Ubuntu 10.04 until the machine dies.
 
Tried out Debian the other day. Definitely the worst out of the 3 and by a long shot. It also took FOREVER to install. Like 20+ minutes plus all the steps asking you for stuff.

I don't like the ui, awful color scheme, don't like the icons, don't like the buttons, don't like how the programs end up on the task bar, don't like the workspaces.

There is no button to minimize and the only option is to right click > minimize is just a poor choice.

For some reason I cannot add anything to the desktop. Not sure if that's a virtualbox bug or the OS is just like that.

-

What are some other distro suggestions? I have not tried the ones based off Ubuntu yet, like Xubuntu. Only because I assume they are not that much different, maybe hog less resources and are more simplistic.

Right now I like both Mint Cinnamon and Ubuntu 12 LTS. I don't like how the Ubuntu icons are on the left opposed to the right, but someone said I could download a tweak and fix that.

Actually Ubuntu is based off of Debian. Debian is really more for the advanced user though, I personally use ArchBang for that reason. The great thing about Linux is you can choose which desktop environment you want for instance I use OpenBox.

The same goes for Ubuntu, to change your Desktop environment simply type the following into your terminal one at a time;

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gnome3-team/gnome3
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install gnome-shell

This will install Gnome 3.
http://www.gnome.org/gnome-3/

I'm not a real fan of Ubuntu's UI either, there is a great Linux distro by the name of Elementary OS, it's still Ubuntu but like Mint it uses Mate which is a very clean look and it's perfect for the novice. If you want a Linux distro with all the bells and whistles though, give Pinguy OS a try, it's also based on Ubuntu but includes a lot more software and UI enhancements.

There is also one more distro that I think you might find interesting, PC-BSD, it's based on BSD Unix. It's also perfect for the first time nix user.

A more comprehensive list of available Linux/BSD distros can be found at http://distrowatch.com/

Have fun!!!
 
I like Crunchbang myself. I may end up putting it on my netbook. Either that, or keep Ubuntu 10.04 until the machine dies.

I really like Chrunchbang as well, I use Archbang now however because I wanted to use Arch instead of a Debian based platform. Same look and feel GUI wise though, I just love the look don't you.
 
Tried Opensuse yesterday definitely the worst I have tried. Worse than Debian.

I don't like the Gnome desktop environment.

Opensuse seems extremely slow and buggy. It kept crashing when I was trying different programs. It took FOREVER to install, nearly as long as Debian.

I tried it with 512mb ram first and it wouldn't even finish installing. So it needs minimum 2gb and still feels bad.
 
all linux distros, except for the ones specifically desgined to be small like puppy take >2gb to run smoothly, usually 4gb. 64 bit distros run best with more than 4, i got freezes and crashes with 4.
 
all linux distros, except for the ones specifically desgined to be small like puppy take >2gb to run smoothly, usually 4gb. 64 bit distros run best with more than 4, i got freezes and crashes with 4.

No way. I've run many in 1GB, and even that isn't absolutely required. On my main desktop, I typically use ~2.5GB, and I have a ton of stuff open. I'd stay away from the very heavy DEs with 1GB, but they're all perfectly usable. I just value performance over pretties at that level.
 
Tried Opensuse yesterday definitely the worst I have tried. Worse than Debian.

I don't like the Gnome desktop environment.

Opensuse seems extremely slow and buggy. It kept crashing when I was trying different programs. It took FOREVER to install, nearly as long as Debian.

I tried it with 512mb ram first and it wouldn't even finish installing. So it needs minimum 2gb and still feels bad.
OpenSUSE blows that's why. Most people even prefer using CentOS over it at server levels. It's a "ok" distro but nothing I would recommend, its always heavy.

all linux distros, except for the ones specifically desgined to be small like puppy take >2gb to run smoothly, usually 4gb. 64 bit distros run best with more than 4, i got freezes and crashes with 4.
I've never had that problem, a clean install of Ubuntu usually chews up like 150-200MB of ram to idle at the desktop. Which is pretty much Windows XP grade in terms of memory consumption. Tho keep in mind Linux works nothing like Windows when it comes to memory management. Linux will try to run as much software as it can in physical memory before it tries using the swap. This is to keep the entire machine running fast and smooth. Other than that, you can run most distros like Ubuntu, Mint, Arch just fine on 512MB.
 
Trying Crunchbang right now.

The workspaces are interesting, better than Mint which was annoying and I turned off completely. Then again I don't use work spaces much as I have 2 monitors and prefer that.

The whole gui is so dull and boring. Dark and gray everywhere...

It's nice that it comes with good apps, but it's annoying how everything is accessed through right clicking.

I can see it being good for older computers. I would take Xubuntu over it though.
 
Trying Crunchbang right now.

The workspaces are interesting, better than Mint which was annoying and I turned off completely. Then again I don't use work spaces much as I have 2 monitors and prefer that.

The whole gui is so dull and boring. Dark and gray everywhere...

It's nice that it comes with good apps, but it's annoying how everything is accessed through right clicking.

I can see it being good for older computers. I would take Xubuntu over it though.
Dark and gray everywhere, I love dark and gray everywhere it's legit. Tho the right click menu is a bit strange at first, there are places where it does have its benefits (e.g. laptops using mouse pad). I think it being there just saves on the whole UI, and what you see is what you should only need to see. Tho I guess people have their own opinions. I thought the removal of the start menu in Windows 8 was great, tho others seem to be less inclined. :colbert: The great thing about linux, if you don't like the DE you can change it!
 
I have tried Bodhi Linux now.

Not a bad distro. Very fast install, maybe the fastest yet.

It runs very fast, no hangups like crappy Opensuse.

I like how you can change themes on the fly. It's very clean looking out of the box, but I still prefer Xubuntu.

Compared to something like Mint it doesn't come with much installed. It looks like you have to download an app center because I couldn't find one.

I also have not found a search, so I assume you must download one.

I don't like how the left click opens up the menu. I changed that right away, but I didn't actually find a selecting option under the mouse settings.

Overall I think it's a good distro, but something I would only use on an ancient computer. I prefer Xubuntu over it.

Any other suggestions? Ubuntu and Mint are still my top choices.
 
I installed Linux Mint Cinnamon on Virtual Box just now. I have been too lazy to buy a new hard drive for my other system which was going to be the Linux test system.

This doesn't seem so bad though because I can easily install different distros and delete them if I don't like them.

So far I like the interface of Linux Mint. It's very clean looking. I also like the Software Manager.

Any specific programs I should install that are great and wouldn't be on Windows?

What other versions of Linux should I try? I remember in the other topic someone said Arch Linux. I know of Ubuntu and Debian.

Thanks


Been trying out Zorin 6.3(64 bit version) its very Windows friendly as you can see,(its ubuntu based).

Screenshotfrom2013-05-23144026_zps55f2e941.png
 
I gave it a shot. You are right... Very Windows like, more so that Linux Mint.

Really nice looking and I like how you can quickly change the theme to something like Gnome 2.

It installed fast, it loads pretty fast and comes with a good set of programs.

Definitely one of the better ones I have used.

Still though, nothing has impressed me more than Ubuntu and Linux Mint Cinnamon.

Any other suggestions?
 
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