KDE or Gnome + Other LINUX Install Options

What's your favorite + Got any advice?

[physics]

Doing a fresh install of Red Hat Linux soon and had a couple of questions:

1) Should I choose KDE or Gnome?
2) I've got an 80Gb hard drive, how big should my LINUX partition be if I will be using both Win and Linux? Any hints on partitioning the whole drive (i.e. how much for win, how much for linux, how much for files,...)
3) If I partitioned the drive in Windows with Partition Magic and created a Linux partition and a Linux swap, can I skip the partitioning step of the Linux install process.
4) Should I choose the server option since it would be nice to have my desktop act as a server running Red Hat since that's what my web host does... or is this too insecure.

Thanks!

[SmallTime]

I am sure you will get some varying opinions, but here is mine.
1. I use KDE
2. you have tons of room. I have about 4G for linux, rest for win (which I use more)
3. you may not need to format, but will have to choose mount points. I use several partions, check the install info or linux sites for some strategies.
5. you can add it later. I had fun installing and running it between two computers, but if you are new to linux, probably enough to do without it.
just my two cents, sure some of the linux pro's here will have more advice.

[bird]

1. I use KDE (on SuSE).
2. You have plenty of space, so dividing by half should be fine for both.
3. In theory, that should be all you need to do. In practise, it is often recommended to split a unix installation over several partitions. Much of that has to do with disk access optimization and disaster recovery, both of which may not be quite as important today than they used to be.
4. I use vmware [webmasterworld.com] for running Windows within Linux (works the other way too, but is obviously less robust). Among other things, this allows me to use the Linux side as a testbed server, and the Windows side as a testing client, and I haven't rebooted the box for half a year now. Security under a default RedHat install is debatable, so read everything you can find about it and configure your system accordingly.

[littleman]

1) I am not much of a fan of either as a desktop. I have them both fully installed, so I could use their apps as desired. I have tried dozens of window managers and have become a big fan of a light and efficient (both to use and resources) window manager, Fluxbox [fluxbox.sourceforge.net]. It is built from Blackbox [blackbox.alug.org], but with some extra features (like mouse wheel support) and has tabs like PWM. The tabs make it the most efficient environment I have ever used.
Screenshot [cgi-fun.hypermart.net] - You could see how I have multiple applications running in a single window frame. Using a mouse wheel I could flip through the different applications very quickly.

2) Like everyone else said.
3) I like having /home in a different partition, this way I could reinstall a new distro without having to worry about my work being lost or reinstalling the apps in my home directory.
4 Yeah, sure install them, you could always shut them off.

Guarddog [simonzone.com] is an easy way to set up iptables if you are concerned.

[Josk]

LittleMan, are there any gotchas to using BlackBox...One of my problems is the number of windows I have open at the same time, across multiple virtual workspaces...

[littleman]

Did you mean FluxBox, or BlackBox? If you are having problems with keeping organized I'd think FB would be a big help. when I have a lot open I usually put put everything I need for one project in a single frame and tab through them. So if I am working on a cgi script I will usually have a browser, a file manager, and an editor in one frame. That keeps me very organized, which is something I need. Then if I need a break I'll either role up the one window, or flip or switch to another virtual workspace.

Downside:
None for me. But you may not like it's minimalist nature. If you like the MS style taskbar or need the ability to drag and drop programs into your menu or taskbar shortcuts then you probably would prefer Gnome or KDE.

If you want graphical desktop icons you have to use an outside program like DFM. I use to do that, but then found myself never using them. Instead I just created a shortcut sub-menu of the programs I use all the time at the top of the menu tree. I found it much more efficient than hunting around for the right graphic to click on.

[Josk]

I'll give it a go this weekend. .and if it works put it on my work box...