I'm really discouraged with new laptops.

[big_teee]

There is nothing crude looking about mint XFCE.
Cinnamon is by far the most used Desktop on Mint.
I don't know where KDE falls in the order.
It can look like windows, but it doesn't act like windows.
XFCE has all the same Key combinations that 98 and XP had.
I quit using KDE when The came out with all their Widget, and wallet madness.
But, hey if You like it, go for it.
The only one worse IMO, is Unity.
That is why they make all kinds.
By all means, try them all!
T

[überfuzz]

XFCE has all the same Key combinations that 98 and XP had.

Which is quite easy to customize, at least they've been so in all distributions I come across.

I quit using KDE when The came out with all their Widget, and wallet madness.

Word! As the saying goes, The road to hell is paved with good intentions. I had to turn all that shit off. What were they thinking..?

[Steve A.]

When you switch from one distro to another do you have to reinstall programs you have downloaded and/or customized?

I am more concerned with how they run under the hood than whatever shell or skin they might have.

Steve

[big_teee]

Each system is independent.
When you load the distro, the apps and programs will be part of the load.
If you need more software, you get it from that distros Repository Server.
You load it like an update.
Yes, you will have to customize after each load.
It would be like when you first load XP on a hard drive.
You would have to reinstall all your programs, and do all your tweaks.
The good news, is more things come preloaded with linux.
LibreOffice will allready be part of the load, so will firefox, thunderbird, etc.
How is it coming, do you have something loaded on it yet?
T

[dmartn149]

I just installed Classic Shell. That gave be back the old style start menu, Open office for word processing, figured out how to adjust the touch pad response to my liking. I am still bothered by the "charms" popping in when I don't want them. There's probably a way to turn that off. I think I can live with W8.1 now.

[Steve A.]

I just installed Classic Shell. That gave be back the old style start menu, Open office for word processing, figured out how to adjust the touch pad response to my liking.

I just checked and Classic Shell is what I have been using with Windows 7 to make my Start button work like XP. Great little utility program! (Used to call them "apps" but Apple has co-opted that term!)

Steve Ahola

[dmartn149]

Yeah, I think it's much better with the classic shell.
Here is another small improvement. Most of the new laptops have touch pads with integrated buttons, so that most of the pad functions as a left mouse button. The area where the right button would be functions as a right button, but the whole surface is flat so I kept getting the right button when I wanted the left. I added a strip of electrical tape where the right button would be. Problem solved.

[Guitarist]

To run Virtual Machines you're laptop works harder, maybe not 2x harder. I found that older laptops work great with fast/small Linux versions like Puppy but there is a nice distro called Elementary OS that is most mac-like and is snappy.
If you have a newer HP Powerbook then via a TonyMac USB patched install you could run the mac OS just fine. You'd need to swap out your wireless mini-pci card.
Otherwise I'd sooner spend $300 on a used mac, 2009 or newer (that can run any version of Windows) get on with my day/life.
Or buy/build a desktop/tower with mac-compatible parts and get a basic tablet for zoomable schematics in the shop The battery lasts forever and used iPads are $100 now.

[Richard]

I you are doing any sort of work on your computer a hour to learn shortcuts will be returned within a day. I cannot stand waiting on someone to hunt and peck their way around. "LISTEN TO ME, DAMMIT!! CONTROL C CONTROL TAB CONTROL V!! YOU'RE WASTING BOTH OUR LIVES!!"

[big_teee]

I agree on the shortcuts.
I run linux and I wear out C+c, C+v, C+a, C=+tab, A+f4, A+f2, C+A+Backspace, C+A+Delete,
Web browsing Alt + arrow keys, forward and back.
Esc Key, C+d, C+s, etc.
Then there is all the command line shortcuts.
Damn, I luv Linux!
T