Easiest Desktop environment and other things

[NintendoTogepi]

(Please read my post here first) (http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=6583351&postcount=1)

Okay, I've got a good a printer ordered.

Now, I have some questions.

Should I install AbiWord or OpenOffice? Which is better?

I recommended an internet browser to my aunt but she said "Absolutely not, it will distract her". So no browser for the computer. :(

I negotiated my friend to give me an older computer of his for $50.
The computer is very similar to this:

http://tinyurl.com/7n59mm

The specs:

Intel Pentium Mobile Centrino Processor, 1.6GHz
256 MB RAM
30GB Hard-drive
32MB ATI Radeon 9000 AGP

I'm a bit hesitant to take off XP and install a complete barebones OS, but oh well :(

Which is the easiest desktop environment? GNOME, Fluxbox? Will KDE run on this?

[snowpine]

I personally think Gnome and Xfce are the most newbie-friendly desktop environments. Xubuntu should run OK on that hardware, and it includes Abiword, which is a very good word processor for writing essays and papers.

[Bachstelze]

No DE is inherently "easier" than the others. The easiest is always the one you're most comfortable with. KDE will run if you disable the heavier desktop effects, but I'd recommend XFCE installed from a minimal system.

[mips]

No DE is inherently "easier" than the others. The easiest is always the one you're most comfortable with. KDE will run if you disable the heavier desktop effects, but I'd recommend XFCE installed from a minimal system.

+1

Looking at your RAM=256MB I would go with nothing more than XFCE.

What printer did you end up getting?

I would install a browser regardless but no icon on the desktop. A browser comes in handy when you have to start troubleshooting.

[snowpine]

ps I know this does not directly answer your question, but I would suggest making your aunt the main user, then set up an unprivileged account for her daughter. This will allow your aunt to set up the applications she wants, then her daughter can't add more applications. :)

[chucky chuckaluck]

openbox or fluxbox would run fine and it just seems all your aunt needs is access to her apps.

[billgoldberg]

(Please read my post here first) (http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=6583351&postcount=1)

Okay, I've got a good a printer ordered.

Now, I have some questions.

Should I install AbiWord or OpenOffice? Which is better?

I recommended an internet browser to my aunt but she said "Absolutely not, it will distract her". So no browser for the computer. :(

I negotiated my friend to give me an older computer of his for $50.
The computer is very similar to this:

http://tinyurl.com/7n59mm

The specs:

Intel Pentium Mobile Centrino Processor, 1.6GHz
256 MB RAM
30GB Hard-drive
32MB ATI Radeon 9000 AGP

I'm a bit hesitant to take off XP and install a complete barebones OS, but oh well :(

Which is the easiest desktop environment? GNOME, Fluxbox? Will KDE run on this?

I would go with gnome and abiword.

Abiword is very light weight, yet has lots of features.

And it can read, edit and save .doc files.

OpenOffice is good too, but is much, much more resource heavy.

--

ram is very, very cheap.

Adding some more ram will allow you to easily run gnome and a few apps.

[thoughtcriminal]

I like XFCE, but I don't think its the best for someone real new to linux. In my experience, it offers a lot more options for customization than gnome or kde, but the default setup of KDE/gnome is much better.
Also, maybe I have an odd setup, but to me gnome was always a lot more stable than XFCE.

I've had Gnome working on much weaker hardware than that. I'd just go with Gnome. I doubt she will see that much difference in speed vs a less resource intensive DE if she will just be doing word processing

[Deamos]

I would say use Abiword if you want a lightweight text editor and OpenOffice if you need something a little stronger.

I also personally like Gnome. It was very easy to understand when it came to getting use to Linux.

[BigSilly]

I'd recommend Gnome too. I just think it's friendlier, easier, and much more stable. I'm sure it'll run on that hardware. XFCE can't be that much lighter I reckon.

[RiceMonster]

I'd recommend Gnome too. I just think it's friendlier, easier, and much more stable. I'm sure it'll run on that hardware. XFCE can't be that much lighter I reckon.

More stable than Xfce? I don't know where you're getting that from.

[snowpine]

If you really want Gnome, but can't get Ubuntu with Gnome running on that computer (you'd probably want to try the alternate cd instead of the live cd) another option is Debian with Gnome. Even Debian Etch (the oldest currently-supported version) is probably fine for her needs.

[Bölvaður]

Well you said she only needs few programs.
Fluxbox?

I use openbox/gnome which is very cool and takes less ram than gnome (200mb instead of 260mb), but you'd need to have gnome installed already.

[juanmoreno92]

If you are really brave you can try ratpoison. Best switch I have ever made.

[cardinals_fan]

No DE is "easy". For me, the ratpoison window manager is easiest because it does what I want how I want it done.

With that said, Xfce does a good job of balancing graphical tools and lightness. Fluxbox and Openbox are a bit more hands-on but worth it (to me) for the additional control and speed.

[BigSilly]

More stable than Xfce? I don't know where you're getting that from.

Sorry, I meant in comparison to KDE4. I've never used XFCE personally.

I've just recently decided to quit KDE4 after too many woes. I just find Gnome friendlier all round.

[Paqman]

+1 for Abiword.

Open Office apps tend to take about a year and a half to launch, Abiword jumps out at you before you've taken your finger off the button. It's fast and does everything you'd normally need.

[fluxlizard]

gnome, but with 256 mb not ubuntu- use pclinuxos gnome edition instead. Then Open office will run just fine on there too, and will be more useful than abiword if your cousin does anything other than word processing in school (like spreadsheets for example).

No web browser on a computer? That's like giving your kid a car and not letting them drive it...

[stopie]

Word Processor


Abiword for essays and the usual word processing
OOo if she'll need to do notes with an outline format - Abiword seemed somewhat buggy when taking notes in the outline format

DE


I prefer GNOME, but that's because thats what I learned linux on. I've read from a few places that people feel GNOME is the most 'user friendly,' so with both of those points, I'd recommend Ubuntu, as its based on GNOME.
I think that, like many have already said, there is not one DE that's wholly 'better' than another - just have to test them till you find one that fits you best.

[bixejo]

ps I know this does not directly answer your question, but I would suggest making your aunt the main user, then set up an unprivileged account for her daughter. This will allow your aunt to set up the applications she wants, then her daughter can't add more applications. :)
+1

I would also add that it would be nice that the admin user account (probably your aunt's one) have access to the Internet, if possible, whereas her daughter's account don't.

So your aunt (or yourself) could periodically log in to check for updates or doing some system maintenance (like removing old logs).

[SomeGuyDude]

XFCE sounds good. The menu would be useful. Much as I'd like to say OB, I don't think a WM that requires above average command-line usage would be optimal.