If the different desktop environments were cars...

[rosslaird]

I was thinking about it today: what if the various DE's were cars?
Here's my first take on what brands/models they would be:

KDE: Humvee
XFCE: Porsche

Now, I don't know much about cars, so I'm sure there are specific models of the above that would be more or less applcable. But I'm not worried about that: I am worried about Gnome. What would it be?

Gnome: Ford Escort?
Oldsmobile?
SmartCar?

What do you think?

[carlc]

I was thinking about it today: what if the various DE's were cars?
Here's my first take on what brands/models they would be:

KDE: Humvee
XFCE: Porsche

Now, I don't know much about cars, so I'm sure there are specific models of the above that would be more or less applcable. But I'm not worried about that: I am worried about Gnome. What would it be?

Gnome: Ford Escort?
Oldsmobile?
SmartCar?

What do you think?

So are you saying that KDE is over-sized and impractical for every day use?

[oddabe19]

Fluxbox/Windowmaker/E16 = Subaru, reliable, stable, but not everyone uses them
KDE/GNOME= Honda - Stable, yet, everyone in the world uses them
XFCE = German vehicles - generally reliable but some flubs... FAST.
E17 = american cars - works... but better be prepared to fix it every year.

[XDevHald]

So are you saying that KDE is over-sized and impractical for every day use?
In my own words, YES! it is to heavy, overloaded and feels like your pulling tons on your back to make it load correctly ;)

[sapo]

In my own words, YES! it is to heavy, overloaded and feels like your pulling tons on your back to make it load correctly ;)

i agreee with it :grin:

[benplaut]

KDE: a Japanese SUV. Reliable, pretty stable, but still uses alot of juice

Gnome: Subaru Forester. Reliable, stable, relatively efficient, but... it's still an SUV

XFCE: Subaru Impreza/Honda Accord (both base models). Stable, reliable, efficient, but lacking the built-in DVD player that is optional with the SUVs :)

Fluxbox/IceWM: Honda Civic. It gets the job done, and is super efficient. Choice car for modding :cool:

Blackbox: Smart (Mercades-Benz? you see them in Europe). It's really efficient, but feature starved

E17: (never used it, i dunno)

CLI: bicycle. Need i say more?

[Stormy Eyes]

Openbox == Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Small, fast, looks cool, but not everybody rides one.

[jeremy]

Why liken open source desktops to cars? Cars are nasty, polluting transport 'solutions' for a sick society.

[benplaut]

Openbox == Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Small, fast, looks cool, but not everybody rides one.

and it's missing alot of creature comforts found in the SUVs (CD player, comfortablke seats, etc)

[Sye d'Burns]

Why liken open source desktops to cars? Cars are nasty, polluting transport 'solutions' for a sick society.


Well, let's see, desktops hog resources as do wm's. Many have bells and whistles, some try to conserve resources. Personally I think it's a rather fitting analogy. I took it as a lighthearted topic and not a greenpeace rally.

But then, if green is your thing,

CLI: bicycle. Need i say more?

[Stormy Eyes]

Why liken open source desktops to cars? Cars are nasty, polluting transport 'solutions' for a sick society.

You know, activists really annoy me. If you don't like cars, then don't own or drive one.

[ZephyrXero]

You know, activists really annoy me. If you don't like cars, then don't own or drive one.

Umm...if you don't like activists then maybe you shouldn't be speaking your opinion, because isn't that a form of activism? Now if you meant activist extremists...then that's a little different ;P

I'd say KDE is a very shiny SUV of some sort. WindowsXP (Luna?) is more like the Hummer. MacOSX (cocoa?) is like a little crampt Miata or something and Gnome is a nice general purpose car like a Toyata Camry or Lexus even. And I haven't had a chance to test drive the rest :P ohh....and I guess the default X-manager (Tom's or something?) is like a Go-Kart ;)

[super]

CLI: bicycle. Need i say more?
Ha ha ha! ROTFL!

I only use:
Gnome = GM or Ford, basically a workhorse but incredibly dull
E17 = Porche or Lamborghini, beautiful to use but definately not an year round ride
FVWM = ah! the hobby car, spend mor time making it look better than i spend using it.

he he! "bicycle." :razz:

[benplaut]

i meant to expand on the bicycle when i had a few minutes, so here goes:

It's clean, it's efficient, and the only petro used is for oiling the gears.

It's slow to use, but easy to see what's wrong when something messes up. (typos are easy to spot)

everyone has one, everyone says that they should use it more, but [almost] nobody does :roll:

it makes a good backup when your car's broken

it can do close to everything a car can, but in a slower and more tiring way.

it looks way cooler to drive a BMW than to ride a 10 speed \\:D/

if you do go everywhere with it, people are impressed.

add to the list :)

[WildTangent]

everything he says is true! :O

if you use it enough, youll get fit (fingers :P )

-Wild

[CoriolisSTORM]

Well, I haven't used the Blackbox under Linux but the BB4Win version. So, I feel it is like a Jeep Wrangler (TJ or YJ to those of you outside the US). Not as many features or as good to look at as the rest, but its stable and gets the job done neatly and efficiently. Now if only I could make my computer 4 wheel drive.

[rosslaird]

What a happy moment to come back from my weekend away from the computer to discover that my lighthearted analogy generated so much interesting discussion. And thanks to everyone for filling in some of the gaps in my DE knowledge and car knowledge. One suggestion about the cli:

It's slow to use,

I'm sure you mean it's slow to learn, 'cause it's far faster than any DE. I'm thinking of switching to the cli for a while (mutt for email, w3m for browser, vim for text, screen for switching, etc.). But I can't quite bring myself to ride my bicycle all the time, even though it would be good for me...

Ross

[Lasukie-kai]

KDE: Kenworth. Big, Heavy, Can look good, uses large ammounts of diesel fuel.

Gnome: Ford Van.

XFCE: Nissan Altima, 2004 Edition, with sports suspension

Fluxbox/IceWM: A Toyota Supra with a 2JZ racing engine, but stock suspension, and a terrible pull to the right.

Blackbox: BMW 330CI

E17: BMW 720I

CLI: Rice Rocket. All that work, and you still dont look cool.

[uberlinux]

KDE: Kenworth. Big, Heavy, Can look good, uses large ammounts of diesel fuel.

Gnome: Ford Van.

XFCE: Nissan Altima, 2004 Edition, with sports suspension

Fluxbox/IceWM: A Toyota Supra with a 2JZ racing engine, but stock suspension, and a terrible pull to the right.

Blackbox: BMW 330CI

E17: BMW 720I

CLI: Rice Rocket. All that work, and you still dont look cool.
best yet.
but where do I get E17, can't find it in synaptic

[Luffield]

Now this is a topic I could relate to. If only I know anything about desktop environments... :???:
Why liken open source desktops to cars? Cars are nasty, polluting transport 'solutions' for a sick society.
I agree almost completely - but you can't say cars are nasty. Maybe the sick societies that build too many cars, and build their cities and lives around cars while neglecting better transport solutions are nasty, but cars are just cars. They are awful as an urban transport solution, but they can be quite wonderful for other things :cool:

[krye]

best yet.
but where do I get E17, can't find it in synaptic


http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=79155