broturtle
07-06-2001, 02:09 PM
Ok I have a few questions. First off Im Very new to Linux (installed on the 1st of July) and I installed Mandrake 8, little did I know that there were several "sub" OS's involved I like KDE and Gnome is ok Enlightenment is Way weird and the others are yet to be explored. I was wondering what is the BIG differences in these "Sub-OS's" Does KDE have any major advantages over Gnome or Gnome have an upperhand on KDE or are they the same thing with different names and paths to basicly the same stuff?
Also I would like to thank all the great advice I got from the guys on my last post. And also thanks for the dumb jokes to "k3nsh1 0wnz y0ur s0u1" Your a funny man Prince Kenshi, but thats why we love ya.
dvdnut
07-06-2001, 02:28 PM
kde/gnome/enlightenment etc are not sub os's
in windows terms they are "windows" and linux "dos"
very bad analogy but some way in explaining them
it aint windows, you have to remember that, what you see (gnome etc) is not linux, its a glossy frontend for it.
further info on www.kde.org (http://www.kde.org) www.gnome.org (http://www.gnome.org)
reboot
07-06-2001, 03:29 PM
Welcome to Linux!
Gnome, KDE, et al, are "window managers" that can change how your desktop looks, feels, and runs things.
As a beginner, KDE will probably be most like MS Windows, but Gnome (IMHO) is friendlier. If you installed the Sawfish Theme Manager, you'll get about 100 different themes for your desktop, just like Windows themes.
Linux is set up (Mandrake 8 is no exception) with any number of USER profiles (default is one), and one "root". Mess with anything you like in any user profile, and if you get beyond your depth, or royally screw it up, log out, and log back in as root. Delete your screwed up user profile, create a new one, go back in and play.
Don't do ANYTHING you don't have to in root, because if you screw that up, you have to reinstall from scratch (unless you're lucky enough to recover from the diskette you made).
Some things MUST be done in root, but try them in user first, until you get to know what's what.
As for the analogy:
Linux is like DOS, basically a command prompt.
KDE, Gnome, et al, are like Windows, full GUI to play in.
broturtle
07-06-2001, 03:46 PM
Thanks for the info guys. :) So let me make sure I have this straight. Gnome and KDE are frontends to the actual system, right? SO I can access the same info from both KDE and Gnome. Are there any other big differences other than Icon looks and maybe some different paths to get to stuff? or are there any programs that only work with KDE or only with gnome?
bdg1983
07-06-2001, 04:19 PM
This current post in Desktop Managers should answer your question.
http://www.linuxnewbie.org/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=7&t=002032