From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Wed Jan 6 17:52:35 2010 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 6DC21106566B for ; Wed, 6 Jan 2010 17:52:35 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from wblock@wonkity.com) Received: from wonkity.com (wonkity.com [67.158.26.137]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 23B048FC0C for ; Wed, 6 Jan 2010 17:52:34 +0000 (UTC) Received: from wonkity.com (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by wonkity.com (8.14.3/8.14.3) with ESMTP id o06HqWmT015499; Wed, 6 Jan 2010 10:52:32 -0700 (MST) (envelope-from wblock@wonkity.com) Received: from localhost (wblock@localhost) by wonkity.com (8.14.3/8.14.3/Submit) with ESMTP id o06HqWDq015496; Wed, 6 Jan 2010 10:52:32 -0700 (MST) (envelope-from wblock@wonkity.com) Date: Wed, 6 Jan 2010 10:52:32 -0700 (MST) From: Warren Block To: Charlie Kester In-Reply-To: <20100106172105.GA95215@comcast.net> Message-ID: References: <1262685825.15832.5.camel@laptop1.herveybayaustralia.com.au> <20100106072531.2b0c18b1.wmoran@potentialtech.com> <20100106172105.GA95215@comcast.net> User-Agent: Alpine 2.00 (BSF 1167 2008-08-23) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed X-Greylist: Sender IP whitelisted, not delayed by milter-greylist-4.2.3 (wonkity.com [127.0.0.1]); Wed, 06 Jan 2010 10:52:32 -0700 (MST) Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org, Da Rock Subject: Re: Tuning for very little RAM X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:52:35 -0000 On Wed, 6 Jan 2010, Charlie Kester wrote: > > Assuming you have to use X, you'll want to avoid heavyweight desktop > environments like KDE or Gnome. I like tiled window managers like musca > or dwm myself, but your skeptics will probably want a more traditional > window manager (aka MS-Windows clone) like xfce or openbox. Hey, xfce is not like Windows, it's fast. If you want really light and Windows-like, icewm. Although last time I tried it, desktop icons--the lifeblood of the typical Windows user--required external programs (idesk) and were a hassle. > When you say "internet (with plugins)" I think you mean Firefox. If > this isn't a hard and fast requirement, take a look at some of the more > lightweight browsers like Midori, Kazehakase or Arora. (I'd recommend > even more lightweight alternatives like surf or elinks, but I don't > think your skeptics will approve.) AdblockPlus and FlashBlock are near requirements for browsing, particularly for slow machines. Maybe they'll work with non-Firefox gecko browsers. > Same for OpenOffice. There are alternatives to each of the apps in the > OpenOffice suite that might not have all the same bells and whistles, > but will run in much less RAM. gnumeric is nice for a spreadsheet. May not be particularly lightweight, but lighter than OO. -Warren Block * Rapid City, South Dakota USA