[PLUG] Victor wants to have a better web surfing experience

Michael M. Moore michael at writemoore.net
Fri Jul 10 13:36:28 UTC 2009


On Fri, 2009-07-10 at 04:34 -0700, Victor Soich wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> I have debian on my laptop and a comcast broadband connection.
> 
> When I use a web browser called Epiphany and go to my gmail account
> and compose an email, the time it takes for the letters to appear on
> the screen as I type them is super slow.

Epiphany is the native web browser for GNOME.  If you're using KDE, the
first thing to try would be Konqueror, which is the native web browser
for KDE.

> When I open a lot of tabs, i.e. web sites, my system goes so slow that
> I can no longer effectivly surf the Internet.
> 
> How do I solve these two problems?
> 
> Specs of my system:
> 
> cat /proc/meminfo
> MemTotal:       183820 kB
> 
> cat /proc/cpuinfo
> processor       : 0
> vendor_id       : GenuineIntel
> cpu family      : 6
> model           : 8
> model name      : Pentium III (Coppermine)
> stepping        : 1
> cpu MHz         : 498.170
> cache size      : 256 KB
> 
> df -h /dev/hda1
> Filesystem            Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
> /dev/hda1              37G  2.7G   32G   8% /
> 
> 
> I am using KDE.  It is what was automatically installed when I
> installed Debian.
> I believe I do not have the recommended amount of RAM to effectively
> use KDE, and
> that is affecting my typing in gmail and my overall web surfing experience.

Adding a stick of RAM would help, I'm sure.  I'm surprised KDE was
installed by default -- you must've used an alternate install
disk/method because usually Debian defaults to GNOME.

> I think I need to install a different Window Manager and/or Desktop.
> I don't understand
> the difference between a Window Manager and a Desktop.  Can someone clarify?

A "window manager" is a program responsible for drawing (placing,
sizing, positioning) windows on your screen, and for providing those
windows with decorations (thing like a title bar, a border, and the
little icons you can click on to maximize, minimize, close, etc., the
window).  Window managers also usually provide mechanisms for launching
programs and setting some shortcuts.  Some window managers do a little
more than that, but at heart, that's all they do.

A "desktop environment" is a more comprehensive set of controls, rules,
and apps that seek to provide a unified experience, similar to Apple's
OS X and Microsoft Windows.  Desktop environments all include a window
manager, but beyond what their window managers do, desktop environments
also provide mechanisms for system settings that try to make most
programs behave similarly, even if those programs were not written for
that environment.  Desktop environments also have a set of default
programs, in many cases written specifically to run under that
environment, though some programs will happily run outside that
environment.  AFAIK, there are currently four popular desktop
environments:  GNOME, KDE, LXDE, and XFCE.  The first two are the
biggest (and most resource intensive); the latter two are more
lightweight.

This site is a pretty comprehensive, though somewhat dated, guide to
different DE's and WM's:

http://xwinman.org/


> How do I install a different Window Manager and/or Desktop?

Depends upon what tool you use to install software (Synaptic, aptitude,
apt-get, etc.).  In Debian, desktop environments are provided by
"metapackages" -- for example, "gnome" or "gnome-desktop-environment."
Both will install a lot of programs, but the "gnome" package will
install a lot more; "gnome-desktop-environment" will install everything
you need to run GNOME, without some of the extras you may not want.
"lxde" will install a much smaller number of programs needed to run that
environment; "xfce4" will install the XFCE desktop environment.

To install just a window manager, just search for the one you want to
try.

> Most importantly, can you please recommend a combination of Window
> Manager, Desktop, and Web Browser, given my computers modest specs,
> such that I can compose emails in gmail without the letters appearing
> so slow, and furthermore open a lot of tabs and surf the web
> effectively.

There are literally hundreds of possible combinations.  One thing to
keep in mind is that most GUI apps are written using either QT or GTK.
QT is the toolkit for KDE and all apps written for KDE use QT.  GTK is
the toolkit for GNOME, but XFCE and LXDE also use it.  If you are
running mostly QT apps, then it makes sense to stick with KDE.  If you
want to run mostly GTK apps, then it probably makes more sense to drop
KDE.  Having apps using both toolkits means you have to have both
libraries installed, which isn't that big a deal.  But running apps
using both toolkits means loading both libraries into memory, and that
will affect performance on a system that has limited resources.  With
your machine's specs, it is probably better to pick one and stick with
it.

In short, if you like KDE, then use Konqueror as your web browser and
get rid of Epiphany.  Try not to use any other GTK apps while you're
booted into KDE.  If you want to try another DE or WM, then you will
probably want to try Iceweasel (which is what Debian calls Firefox) as
your web browser.  Iceweasel is a GTK app, so ditch KDE and try XFCE or
LXDE as your desktop environment.  Don't launch any QT apps while you're
booted into either.

If you want to use just a window manager, and not a desktop environment,
there are a few dozen to pick from and about a hundred times the number
of opinions about the merits or drawbacks of each.  Myself, I like
Openbox, but it takes some adjusting to.  (But LXDE uses Openbox by
default and makes the configuration easy.)  Fluxbox is also pretty
popular.  IceWM is a nice, relatively simple (but capable) window
manager that is pretty intuitive from the get-go.  Many people like
tiling window managers (Xmonad, dwm, Awesome, etc.), but those are
generally better suited to people who use work in terminals a lot and
they have a relatively steep learning curve.  WindowMaker and FVWM have
been around forever and have their devotees.

Check out this article for a good overview of quite a few window
managers:

http://www.linuxlinks.com/article/20081209153125602/WindowManagers.html

> Perhaps it is the case that I need to invest in new hardware, but I
> don't think so.  Linux is
> suppose to work on old stuff.  Perhaps I'm asking too much of Linux on
> my old laptop?

Linux does work on older hardware, but you can't expect to use all of
the latest, greatest, heaviest apps on hardware that isn't capable of
running them.  The thing that makes Linux capable of running on older
hardware is that it can be modified to suit that hardware, unlike more
monolithic operating systems like Windows or OS X, where modification is
limited.  But Linux doesn't magically make your machine more capable
than it is.  You have to figure out its limits.

-- 
Michael M.




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