Re: Gave Gnome another go
Gnome was gradually driving me mad. I didn't delete it, but I did "apt-get install xfce4" and made that the default instead. I'm much happier now, though I have to say that Xfce on Debian didn't come with sensible default configurations: I had to fiddle around a bit to make it do something sensible when the laptop lid is closed, not run a ghastly 1980s-style "screensaver", allow the local user (possibly my 10-year-old daughter) to shut down without giving the root password, and a few other things. Nothing very difficult, but someone who is new to Linux would probably just try Gnome for a bit before deciding that Linux is crap and going back to Apple/BSD/Microsoft/whatever.
Ideally, distributions should actively maintain an alternative to Gnome and encourage people with low-spec hardware to use it instead of Gnome. Having alternatives in the package repository isn't good enough, particularly when there are dozens of them and no guidance on which one to install and how to configure it.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
