Are there any Linux replacements for these programs?

[joejac]

Hi, thanks to all,

To Archie, nice job!, are there GIMP tutorials to explain that type of work?

To kjpetrie and stealth,

What I need is and efficient and very fast PCLinuxOS Host to run my VirtualBox VMs, but I do not want to spent hours trying to find, for example, the way to tell the desktop that I need to Hibernate the Host or Lock the user. Unfortunately, since I come from Win world I find it difficult to find the information, and understand so many ways and commands, sure it is my inexperience with Linux and not knowing for sure what to look for.

I have seen the four squares (desktops) in OpenBox, my Host, I work in the default one. I searched in the forums for: install alternative desktops, but I was not able to find a tutorial or detailed instructions.

I wonder if it is possible to have OpenBox in desktop 1, LXDE in desktop 2 and Zen Mini in desktop 3, so I can try, compare them and decide which is best for me without having to change user? If it is not possible, is there a tutorial for OpenBox on how install alternative desktops (LXDE, Zen Mini)?

Sorry if my question is so obvious, but I have not found the answer.
Best regards
joejac

[Archie]

To Archie, nice job!, are there GIMP tutorials to explain that type of work?

There are numerous GIMP screencasts and tutorials on the Internet. Ask Uncle Google.

[stealth]

joejac

You really are new to Linux!

Here is one hard fast rule that is way different from winblows.

Everything you need to install, uninstall and update your software in Linux is in the package manager. It happens to be synaptic.

In synaptic look for the list of desktops on the left and review them. You can install them and log into one or another at a time. You can try them until you find one that you like.

You open synaptic as root you go through the massive list all in one shot or review it through the sections on the left.

You can't run two DEs at the same time. what you saw with the 4 squares was the Virtual desktops, that is different from the DEs. Google DE (Desktop Environment) and GUI and learn the difference.

hope this helps

[Neal ManBear]

joejac,     
In Synaptic, click Custom (lower left), click Tasks (left) >>> there will be a task-<name> package for the various DEs. These are "meta-packages;" i.e. they tell Synaptic which packages to install to get which DE.     

Think of virtual desktops (your 1, 2, 3 and 4) as different places to do different tasks in the same workshop, then think of the different DEs as separate workshops, and you will begin to understand. -- In order to work in a different workshop, you must first exit the workshop you are in. That is, you must log out of one DE in order to log in to a different DE.     
I hope that helps you to understand the differences between virtual desktops and Desktop Environments.     

[djohnston]

I still have the doubt, should I try to better understand OpenBox due to any type of benefit over the other PCLinuxOS? or I can go and upgrade to LXDE with no regrets?.

LXDE is a desktop environment that has very few dependencies. Some of the components are lxpanel (desktop panel), lxterminal (terminal emulator), lxtask (task manager) and lxappearance (GTK+ theme switcher). But LXDE has no way to display windows on the desktop. For that, it needs a window manager. The default window manager for LXDE is Openbox. So, you can think of LXDE as Openbox with an enhanced GUI and desktop tools. For a new Linux user, LXDE is much easier to configure and use than Openbox. But, you still have basically the same speed as Openbox.

[joejac]

Thanks to all!,

Appreciated Neal ManBear and Djohnston, those were very clear explanations, I got it now. Linux is really powerful!, those meta-packages are fantastic!, I even saw a task-lamp there, so I installed and tested:

1.- KDE
2.- Openbox-KDE
3.- LXDE (I like it, light and powerful)
4.- Kontact

Kontact is a standard PIN, but it lacks many things that I need. I need a software to handled Brainstorms, Strategies, Goals and its corresponding tasks in time and budget, coordinated with the calendar, from the perspective of a single man not a project management software for workgroups. It also lacks of a key feature for me: to have Outlined Notes with a powerful search.

So I uninstalled everything except Openbox and LXDE and I am running LXDE by default.

5.- MyliveCD is fantastic!, it makes me feel relaxed because now I have my Host in a Live CD, so I can install it in any new machine very fast, with everything, then copy the VMs from backups, USB HD or NAS, so a work of a couple of hours not a week or two, like before.

One mystery I got with Mylivecd is this:
5.1 mylivecd --nodir=^/home/joejac/VirtualBoxVMs,^/home/joejac/tmp PCLOSjac17Nov11.iso

It gives a 1.7GB ISO that do not fit in my mini DVD R/W which is 1.4GB

5.2 mylivecd --nodir=^/home/joejac/VirtualBoxVMs,^/home/joejac/tmp,^/home/joejac/.mozilla PCLOSjac17Nov11.iso

It gives an 842MB which is ideal, but at the expenses of taking out .mozilla, the strange thing is that .mozilla directory is about 67MB only, I do not understand where the additional +800MB in the first ISO came from.

Now I see how powerful the command line can be. It is very nice to point and click, but it is better to have flexibility, performance, reliability and security and these requires time, study and practice of PCLinuxOS, thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

Best regards
joejac

[djohnston]

Personal information manager suggestions:

evolution - Evolution is the GNOME mailer, calendar, contact manager and communications tool.
osmo - Osmo is a handy personal organizer which includes calendar, tasks manager and address book modules.
semantik - Semantik is a mindmapping-like tool to help students to produce complicated documents very quickly and efficiently: presentations, dissertations, thesis, reports.

One mystery I got with Mylivecd is this:
5.1 mylivecd --nodir=^/home/joejac/VirtualBoxVMs,^/home/joejac/tmp PCLOSjac17Nov11.iso

It gives a 1.7GB ISO that do not fit in my mini DVD R/W which is 1.4GB

Do you have BleachBit installed? You'll find it in the main menu under File Tools if it is. If not, install it from Synaptic. Then run BleachBit user mode and root mode. It will clean up a lot of disk space and make that remaster smaller. If you need help with BleachBit options before running it, just ask.

[joejac]

Thanks a lot djohnston,
Yes I did before, I followed the instructions from here:
http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php/topic,74418.0.html

Anyway Firefox is working fine so I will keep this procedure to create MyLiveCD, very good tool.
Best regards
joejac