Desktop

GNOME, Unity, KDE, LXDE, and Xfce are all common desktop environments for Linux. If I had to choose one of them, it would be GNOME 2 which is a pain to install now because typing aptitude install gnome will get you GNOME 3 instead. No, I want to create my own environment, which admittedly, is a highly unpleasant task for a Macintosh user. Honestly, I've already typed more commands than I wanted to.

The one requirement: this desktop needs to get the hell out of my way. The result: Window Maker, as recommended by several forums of satisfied users. Window Maker is a window manager which simulates using the NeXTSTEP interface, though many actual users of NeXT computers seem to dislike it, or even have outright contempt for it.

GNUstep, the collection of tools which complements Window Maker, gives you the file manager. Though they are completely separate projects, together Window Maker and GNUstep compose what I call a desktop environment.

Install Window Maker and GNUstep.

As a super-user, type

aptitude install wmaker gnustep

Something new I learned: you can install multiple items in the same command. Just separate the package names with space.

To start Window Maker and get back to civilization, exit super-user mode first and start X.

exit
startx

Window Maker's first start

After a few moments, you will be greeted by the Debian spiral, a few icons, and most importantly, a pointer.

Window Maker relies heavily on the right mouse button. At the first right-click, you will be greeted by the Applications menu. You can point through deepening levels of menus from this main one. I decided to first change the background to a solid color.

For the other half of the desktop, the file manager, let's add it to the list of icons. The file manager part of the GNUstep package is called GWorkspace. Officially, GWorkspace is considered a "workspace manager," but since it can play with files and directories, I'm using it as a file manager. Right now, GWorkspace can only be opened by a typed command. Right-click to show the Applications menu and click XTerm to open a terminal.

Starting XTerm

 Type

GWorkspace

Use XTerm to start GWorkspace.

GWorkspace

Now we have a graphical way to play with files! Notice at the bottom left corner there are two icons: a computer monitor and a filing cabinet. These icons tell you what applications are currently running. GWorkspace is the filing cabinet. Since I wanted to quickly access GWorkspace, I made it a dock icon by dragging the icon up to the right.

Create a new dock icon by dragging to the dock area.

In Macintosh, Windows, GNOME, and others, the desktop is always present. It's actually a real directory in which you can make a big mess. I wanted the desktop to always be present on startup, so I had to tell GWorkspace to start when Window Maker starts. Quit GWorkspace first.

Quit GWorkspace. Hit the road, Jack!

Open popup menu on the GWorkspace icon by right-clicking its dots.

Right-click on the three dots at the corner of the GWorkspace icon and choose Settings...

Start GWorkspace automatically on startup.

Check the box labeled "Start when Window Maker is started".
(Just a note: you may find that having GWorkspace always present is a just a nuisance. It's not required to have it start when Window Maker starts.)

Last for this day: saving the session automatically. In Macintosh, when you change something, it's more or less permanent until you change it again. In Window Maker, you have to save your current state by choosing Session > Save Session from the Applications menu. Let's make this automatic.

Double-click the "circle stairs triangle" icon (Window Maker logo) at the top right. This opens a program named WPrefs, which is kind of like the General Controls panel on Macintosh.

Expert User Preferences

Drag the upper scroll bar to the right and click on the professor's cap (Expert User Preferences).
Check the box which reads "Automatically save session when exiting Window Maker." Click the Save button.

Shut Down
There is no command (yet) to shut down the computer from Window Maker. You have to make one. That'll be for next time. For now, I will exit the session by choosing Session > Exit Session from the Applications menu.

Once I'm back at a command prompt, I become a super-user and type

poweroff

This shuts down my computer. In Linux, the command "shutdown" does something different from what you might expect. Somebody tell me about it because I don't know.

Using "poweroff" to shut down system