Can't stand Gnome3, I think it's time for Fedora to move on

[Bill Davidsen]

Joe Zeff wrote:
> On 11/22/2013 04:29 PM, Bill Davidsen wrote:
>>>
>> This is a VERY good point which I had overlooked, the hardware
>> requirements of GNOME are much higher that XFCE (and I believe MATE) and
>> represent choice which is very likely to frustrate potential converts.
>
> That's especially true if you consider that many people are installing Linux on
> older computers, especially laptops, so as to get some more use out of computers
> that aren't up to running the latest versions of Windows.  If they don't know
> about the various DEs and/or spins, they may just look at the requirements for
> Fedora with Gnome, see that they don't have the hardware to run it properly and
> give up.
>
> Maybe what we need is a "beginner's spin" that gives you a choice of DE, but
> grays out any choices that your system can't handle.  It would probably have to
> be based on the full DVD installation, but with a specially modified version of
> Anaconda that checks your CPU, RAM, video and so on, to make sure that it offers
> you the correct choices.

That is a brilliant idea, but why a beginners spin? Why shouldn't a major choice 
like UI deserve a screen at startup. And values which are unlikely to work could 
be identified so the installer is warned, giving some hope that at least one 
functional choice will be made. In my opinion every install should add one more 
choice to the boot menu, "boot in VESA (simple) graphics mode." That way people 
who who have video cards which aren't supported by the open source video drivers 
can have a way to use their computers.

Hopefully some features council will actually pick up these ideas and we can see 
them in FC20 or FC21.

-- 
Bill Davidsen <davidsen at tmr.com>
   "We have more to fear from the bungling of the incompetent than from
the machinations of the wicked."  - from Slashdot