NWA-PCUG Newsletter Article, September 2012
LXDE
By Cal Esneault,
President of the Cajun Clickers Computer Club, LA
and leader of many Open Source Workshops & SIGs November 2011 issue,
Cajun Clickers Computer News
http://www.clickers.org
ccnewsletter (at) cox.net (click to email author)

The Linux OS (Operating System) permits users to select from many front-end desktop environments (the interface software that controls mouse, touch screen, icons, etc.). Popular interfaces such as GNOME and KDE are powerful but can require high system resources. LXDE (Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment) is a simpler approach more suitable for netbooks, mobile devices, or older PC’s. It is designed to be faster, more energy efficient, and be a better fit for the future of “cloud” computing. Since LXDE open-source software is based on X-windows, the commonly used system and network protocol that provides the basis for graphical user interfaces (GUI’s), it can be used with all the popular Linux and BSD distributions (distro’s) – Ubuntu, Fedora, OpenSUSE, Debian, etc.

LXDE originated as PCMan in 2006 by Hong Jen Yee with the file manager PCManFM as the first component.

This community backed distro with OpenBox as the window mananger has risen rapidly in popularity.

In May 2011, Lubuntu (the Ubuntu derivative using LXDE) was made an official Canonical distro and has surpassed the KDE-based Kubuntu in active downloads. On my system which has Ubuntu 11.04 as the main OS, I downloaded the LXDE desktop (see screenshot below).

Note the traditional tree-and-branch menu system arising from the bottom panel. This reminds me of the older KDE 3.x family. There are no extra “widgets” or desktop panels now common in current KDE 4.x releases. Also, there are no side panels of “tiles” and pop-out icons present in the newer Unity or Gnome 3.x desktops. LXDE has a simple, clean interface which should be comfortable for traditional users, such as those familiar with Windows XP.

Below is a screenshot on my system using the PCManFM file manager:
Since I also have Gnome 3.x and KDE 4.X programs on my system, I have access to all of them through LXDE. If you want to have a less sophisticated system that runs on older equipment with minimum software overhead, do a fresh install of a dedicated LXDE distro.

For example, a Pentium II processor with 256 MB of ram that was used for Windows 98 could work, or a later 600 MHz Pentium III with 512 MB of ram should run well. Several major distro’s provide a wide choice for your selection. For instance, the software provided by Lubuntu includes (among many others):
* GPicView (photo viewer)
* Leafpad (text editor)
* LXTerminal (command line access)
* OpenBox (window manager)
* PCManFM (file manager)

Most distro’s also have versions to work with their latest versions. For example, Lubuntu 11.10 will be offered as one of the versions to be released this October. Check all this out at the LXDE.org website.

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