[BlueOnyx:14683] Re: Install X Windows?

[Michael Stauber]

Hi Jeffrey,

> Anyone install, or try to install X Windows on there BlueOnyx machines?
> 
> yum groupinstall 'X Window System' 'GNOME Desktop Environment’
> 
> Tried this and got nothing?
> Like to get X Windows on the LX50 here, I don’t see why not?
> I also found via my iOS device, I can Access X windows there and run software..

I wouldn't do that. One one hand it's a security risk and it breaks the
appliance idea that only the really needed services should run on a box.
X Windows is not really that secure when exposed to the internet.

Other than that: Even if it was a local box behind a firewall, I still
wouldn't want to a graphical desktop on a CentOS-6 or SL-6.

When CentOS-6 came out, I actually set up a workstation with a KDE
desktop on it for maybe 2-3 months and used it for all my daily work.
But that didn't last long. The problem being that both the KDE Desktop
and Gnome on CentOS-6 are really outdated. They were already dated when
CentOS-6 was released. A few months later they were an impersonation of
the stone age. I helped myself by tying that desktop into a third party
mirror which had the latest KDE RPMs, but after doing so stability went
south. And you wouldn't want to tie your BlueOnyx into these
repositories, as it would basically wreck it.

Still, after a while it got difficult to get modern browsers for the box
I had, although the situation with Firefox for RHEL6/CentOS6/SL6 is a
thad better by now if you know where to look.

The problem there is CentOS is a server OS. Not a desktop OS. If you
want or need a RPM based Linux desktop, the primary choice would be
Fedora Core. Which also always gives a window into the future of what
will come in the next RHEL or CentOS release.

However: Half a year ago I dumped Fedora Core after using it for six or
seven years and went to Ubuntu 12.04 LTS. Which took some time getting
used to and I still miss some KDE stuff that I got accustomed to over
the last 16 years or thereabouts. But both the Gnome and KDE developers
have made design and usability changes that I find highly unsettling and
for me it was time to use something else. I wanted a desktop that - out
of the box - does what I need it to do. Without having to spend too much
time "customizing" it. Ubuntu almost got that right from my perspective.
It also comes in different flavors, so you can choose between the Unity
desktop, KDE or Gnome.

I also got tired of having to upgrade my desktop OS every 3-6 months.
Which is something you don't have to do with the LTS series of Ubuntu.
You still get the updates you need and all the new shiny toys.

-- 
With best regards

Michael Stauber