[PLUG] Any thoughts on installing KDE/Plasma on a Solid State (sans HD) Laptop

Tyrell Jentink tyrell at jentink.net
Sat Feb 6 01:27:16 UTC 2016


I feel a strong need to clarify your intent...  You DO intend to have a
storage device, right?

Because "Sans hard drive" and "Solid State" don't NECESSARILY add up to
"I'm using a Solid State Disk..."

The way I see it, there are two ways of interpreting your request:

1) You are buying a computer that has had the hard drive removed (Or,
possibly one that never had a hard drive to begin with), and the intent is
to boot the device off of a thumb drive or possibly the network (PXE
Boot).  This would be "Solid state," in that it has no moving parts, but
the entire OS gets loaded into RAM, and a USB or network storage device is
used for all permanent storage. IN WHICH CASE, you will want to optimize
you're system for high network throughput, and you probably WON'T want to
use KDE.  I do NOT assume this is what you are after, because that is a
pretty big undertaking for a Linux beginner.

2) You are buying a computer that has a Solid State Disk (Or your buying a
computer that matches the above description, and you intend to ADD a solid
state disk). From the OS installation and hardware provisioning
perspective, this approach is nearly indiscernible from an installation on
a Hard Disk Drive (Although, there are File System optimizations for Solid
State disks, like "Trim,"and others have touched on that).

With regard to your choice of KDE as your desktop environment: KDE has long
been my Desktop Environment of choice... I have been using it since the
KDE2 days, and I find it to be functional to my needs, and I find it to be
stable.  But people looking for simplicity and high performance are usually
NOT drawn to KDE, citing that KDE has an emphasis on pretty effects and
Windows-like UI elements, over tried-and-tested technologies and
interoperability; KDE is arguably one of the most bloated, system resource
intensive desktop environments available; I wouldn't try running it on a
Raspberry Pi, for example. I would probably not try running it with Option
1 above, either.

Even Gnome, which has been getting heavier and has been becoming
increasingly controversial with regard to features, still has a reputation
for being more stable and higher performance. Even so, I STILL wouldn't run
it on a Raspberry Pi, although it might be acceptable in Option 1 above.

LXDE and XFCE are still the kings of light system resource utilization and
high performance, and have far fewer parts to fail.  Tinkerers tend to like
LXDE in particular for it's high customization.  LXDE is what I use on my
Raspberry Pi, and if I ever get around to playing with PXE booting, I would
probably use it there, too.

I'm not trying to sway you from your decision; After all, I'm a KDE user,
and I want EVERYONE to agree with me that it is the best... I just want to
make sure you have thought this through, and aren't just basing your
opinion on screenshots. There's really nothing wrong with giving KDE a go,
and if you dislike it, change up later... I just hate to see people get
stuck in a routine before exploring the playing field.

--
Tyrell Jentink

On Fri, Feb 5, 2016 at 4:32 PM, Wayne E. Van Loon <wevl at pacifier.com> wrote:

> Paul:
> I recently installed Slackware 14.1 KDE on a SanDisk Extreme Pro 2.5"
> 240GB SATA III SSD. Works fine, just like a magnetic drive.
> Wayne
>
> On 02/05/2016 10:02 AM, Vedanta Teacher wrote:
> > Everyone,
> >
> >    I was thinking of picking up a solid state lap top with no physical HD
> > and installing KDE/Plasma. From what I've read and heard KDE is a
> > bit resource hungry but its been around a long time and the support
> > seems stable.
> >
> > I don't know if there are issues installing KDE on a solid state.
> >
> >   I was looking for a clean, no clutter, no hassle OS and desktop
> > (please God no more dancing paper clips..) and KDE seemed a
> > good choice as well as having custom settings. I thought about
> > FreeBSD I just haven't had time to research it.
> >
> > I already have multiple computers:
> > #1: ASUS laptop in Ubuntu Unity 14.04
> > #2: HP solid state in win 8.x
> > #3: HP all in one in win 8.x
> > #4: Lenovo laptop (think pad) in win 7.x (I may reformat and convert to
> > Mint)
> >
> > And yes, I do like to tinker, that's why I like F.O.S.S.
> > I'm not phrasing this correctly but I'm looking for a OS/desktop for
> > a mature adult. I don't need or want pop up adds for rap videos, womens
> > kickers , hand holding or the like.
> >
> > Blessings,
> > Paul
> > _______________________________________________
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> > PLUG at lists.pdxlinux.org
> > http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
> >
> >
>
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