[mythtv-users] desktop environment efficiencies.

Johnny jarpublic at gmail.com
Sat Nov 14 21:10:00 UTC 2009


> I agree that a Desktop Environment is a waste.  And--though I'm guessing on
> this--I /think/ that with any of the major Myth distros, you can configure
> them to show the Desktop Manager (i.e. GDM or KDM) on bootup rather than
> automatically logging in, then you can select a Window Manager
> (FluxBox/RatPoison/twm/fcwm...) or Desktop Environment (GNOME/KDE/XFCE) for
> your X session--depending on how you plan to use the system during that
> session.
>
> It's not exactly what you want--but it's not too far from it (and only
> requires logout/login to switch).

I know that with GDM when you change your session it prompts you to
see if you want to use that session as default. So it is easy to
change your default session to whatever window manager or desktop you
want.

This is my personal opinion, but I think a lot of folks worry about
this stuff out of habits from the past rather than any real benefit to
the user experience, power, etc. Xfce or even Gnome are going to use
somewhere in the neighborhood of 50-100 MB. On a system that is just
running mythtv and has a 1 - 2 GB of RAM this really isn't an issue. I
know there are still lots of people on older hardware with < 512 MB or
RAM. But at some point you have to wonder is this worth the hassle or
is my time better used by spending $15 on a stick of RAM and enjoying
the convenience of a modern desktop. I have a combined FE/BE and I
have been thinking about switching from Xfce back to Gnome just so
things are cleaner and nicer looking when I am occasionally doing
stuff outside of myth. I have 2 GB of memory and I just don't think it
is going to have any impact on my user experience inside of mythtv. If
you are someone that likes to tweak things to get a minimalist setup,
then more power to you. But for the average user on a modern system it
going to be easiest to just stick with the default setup.


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