Martian

I once did this for shits and giggles on a secondary box and have decided (partially inspired by the Warez Free thread] to detail the process.

I started with a fresh install of Windows 2000 and decided to replace as many of the Microsoft components and utilities as I could with freeware alternatives, preferably but not exclusively ones under the GPL.

I started with the very heart and soul of Windows, the Explorer front end. I replaced this with Litestep. I was pleasantly surprised to find that in addition to providing nearly limitless customization and myriad skins, Litestep actually used less system resources than Explorer, meaning the end result was faster too. I couldn't very well replace the front end and still use the Explorer file manager, so I swapped that out for ExplorerXP, a freeware alternative that adds such brilliantly obvious features as tabs and batch renaming.

With the two easily replacable key elements replaced, I moved onto applications. Winamp 5 was the obvious choice as a media player, as was Firefox for browsing and Thunderbird for email. Less obvious but equally useful, I replaced notepad with a Windows implementation of VIM and added Irfanview for image viewing and The GIMP for image manipulation. I rounded all of this off with Open Office.org for document editing. The end result - over the course of a day I used no part of the regular Windows front end on that box. The back end was obviously all still Windows, but there's only so much you can do.

If I ever try this again, I may look at ways to take it a step further, perhaps with an alternate TCP/IP stack (although according to the rumours, the Win2k TCP/IP stack is actually lifted from BSD anyway) or some of the other easily replacable back end components. Anyone have any suggestions on this?

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I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

Willravel

That's awesome! I've never thought of this, but to be honest I've kinda done it by accedent at work. I also use Winamp/Quicktime, Firefox, Infranview, Omega Messenger and a slew of other freeware off the internet. The only program I use from Windows is....actually I don't use any of it. I'm not 100% sure about an alternate TCP/IP stack, but I'll keep my eye open for it.

Daniel_

There's some nice stuff there - thanks.

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╔═════════════════════════════════════════╗
Overhead, the Albatross hangs motionless upon the air,
And deep beneath the rolling waves,
In labyrinths of Coral Caves,
The Echo of a distant time
Comes willowing across the sand;
And everthing is Green and Submarine
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Martian

Whoops, forgot one thing. A Windows port of GAIM eliminated the need for MSN. I considered using Trillian (which I use on my primary box) but since I decided early on that I would use GNU licensed programs, GAIM won the day.

The real elegance of the whole thing (IMO) is that it requires very little in the way of technical expertise to implement. The hardest part is learning the new GUI; seeing as you select it from the literally hundreds of themes available over at Litestep and are able to then cusomize it either through plugins or by actually hand-editing the appropriate files, it's really not all that hard to do.

__________________
I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

Xazy

LOL, wow, I would love to see that in person (or maybe do that on a spare box). Awesome!