Build A Low-Fat Linux Desktop

A speedy desktop is largely just a matter of using a window manager and applications that suit your hardware. And by the way, just because you don't use the KDE or GNOME desktop environments doesn't mean you shouldn't install them, or at least their core libraries. KDE and GNOME apps will run quite well under a lightweight window manager, so if you have the disk space, I recommend installing both. In my experience though, GNOME/GTK apps load appreciably quicker than the KDE equivalents. Listed below are some suggestions for the type of apps. that most people use everyday, all of which work nicely on my 233/64 box - and most of this stuff should be fine with just 32megs of RAM. Keep in mind that these suggestions are only my own personal preferences; they certainly aren't the only way to do things.