I would be delighted to chat with you on a separate thread. I tried starting a new thread called "Serial Port complexity." It didn't seem to get posted so maybe it's too off topic or had a link to a web page. I don't know how Unix+SerialPorts+Terminals got irrelevant in these days of industrial automation. Iznogoud wrote: > General comments. > > You do not have to use any of those environments (KDE,GNOME, etc) if you do > not like them. Use FVWM2, like I do. It does not use 3D acceleration and will > not be an immediate problem to running X (X11 that is). > > Use more and more command-line linux software. If you program serial ports, > you sure do not mind doing it on the terminal. If you program simulation > software like I do, command-line is just about all you need. Again, simple > X servers with something like FVWM2/MWM will work fine when it comes to having > a LOT of terminals (xterm) open. > > On complexity. You cannot avoid it. And I would argue that the Linux > "micro-kernel" architecture design with modules is very good for keeping > bad things out of your functional things. If you do not like a particular > aspect of the system, do not compile it in your kernel. If you do not like > a particular way the system is put together, switch distributions or piece > one together. None of those things are easy... > > I feel that people want the convenience of Ubuntu-style (Microsoft-legacy > thinking) "apt-get" installation and system management. With the greatness > of being able to do what you want comes the responsibility of doing a lot of > it yourself; it is a lot like politics in real life. > > _______________________________________________ > TCLUG Mailing List - Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota > tclug-list at mn-linux.org > http://mailman.mn-linux.org/mailman/listinfo/tclug-list >