[conspire] (forw) Re: Linux meeting

[Rick Moen]

----- Forwarded message from Rick Moen <rick at linuxmafia.com> -----

Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2012 16:05:35 -0700
From: Rick Moen <rick at linuxmafia.com>
To: Drew <drew69068 at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Linux meeting
Organization: If you lived here, you'd be $HOME already.

Quoting Drew (drew69068 at gmail.com):

> I have Lisa Mint LDXE.

Just in an effort to be helpful, you mean Linux Mint LXDE.

Lisa Mint LDXE  <- you wrote
Linux Mint LXDE <- you meant

Let me deconstruct that name for you, as understanding it may be useful.

distribution = 'Linux Mint'
flavour (desktop environment) = 'LXDE'


'Linux Mint' is the name of a complete installable suite of Linux-based
software, what we call a Linux distribution.  It is an offshoot of the
popular Ubuntu Linux distribution.  The noun 'Mint' is a nod to its
primary maintainers being based in Ireland, hence green, hence mint.

Linux Mint differs from standard Ubuntu primarily in addition of some
green-tinged stylings and the fact that they bundle in popular
proprietary (restrictively-licensed) audio-video software that Ubuntu
itself does not bundle in, on account of likelihood of violating
numerous audio-video patents if they were to do so.

There are two flavours of Linux Mint's main, Ubuntu-based edition.[1]
The best-known is the one based on the GNOME desktop environment.
That is not the one you have.  You have the other one, that is based on
LXDE (stands for Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment).

A desktop environment ('DE') is a coherent suite of desktop applications
that all deliberately share a very close look and feel, because they
are all based on the same set of desktop graphical widgets and core 
libraries.

Currently popular DEs:
GNOME
KDE
LXDE
Xfce4
Enlightenment
Razor-Qt

All DEs for Linux are based on the X11 graphics scheme, but it is not 
at all necessary to run _any_ DE in order to have a fully functional
X11-based desktop Linux system.  Some of us continue to strongly prefer
to eschew DEs and run a simple X11 window manager ('WM') without any DE
superstructure atop that.

Survey of DEs and WMs:
http://xwinman.org/


----- End forwarded message -----