for phogirl,
<img src="http://webdev.aig4.com/desktop.jpg">
here is one of my 4 virtual desktops. alt-f1 through alt-f4 are the hot keys to flip between them. this screen has irc, aim/icq, and the winamp-clone, also a terminal session (raised window) and GIMP the graphics and image manipulation progarm running to do the screenshot. the icon at the lower left is a menu just like windows, and the black xmms block are controls for the winamp clone on any window view.
aaron@particle:~> uptime
3:16PM up 442 days, 21:19, 8 users, load averages: 0.00, 0.00, 0.00
I wouldn't say that Linux on the desktop is right for everyone. However I think a lot of people have old machine laying around, and that grabbing and installing a copy of Linux, FreeBSD, or OpenBSD can be very educational. Start learning on a machine which isn't critical to you, because you will make mistakes. But how else could you learn?
buran