JD:

Trying to make the GNOME a better place to be . . . it seems that in GNOME if I close the laptop for a few minutes when I open it again I get the black screen with the command line and instead of getting the desktop I get . . . black. I have to hit the spacebar to get the computer to wake up . . . and then the wireless has also be disconnected. It didn't do that in the Mint-LXDE sessions . . . is there a preference box to check off to keep the internet connection from disconnecting or to have the computer desktop load the GNOME when the lid is lifted ??? The GNOME seems to prefer to stay asleep . . . or somehow isn't connected to the clamshell movements the way it is in Mint-LXDE.

e.e.p.

I can't help you with that. Maybe there are some missing elements, which are needed for Gnome to work properly (i.e. gnome specific packages). As I said, I never looked into GNOME as a viable option. I only looked at mint-lxde.

What you could try is to install all Gnome stuff.
http://wiki.debian.org/Gnome#task

GNOME is too heavy for a lot of the systems MintPPC runs on. You are most likely to get help on the GNOME lists, or maybe even as PPC Ubuntu seeing as Ubuntu is Gnome and Debian based, so the packages are likely compatible.

Theos911: that's correct. Ubuntu is what you get if you take GNOME as desktop manager. Ubuntu 2 is not what I had in mind when I wanted to make a lighter PPC Linux.

Gents:

Thanks for the replies on the GNOME with the link to more GNOME accessories. Well, I'm still exploring the various options that will give me a system that is more familiar or easy for me to use . . . . I'd say at this point I'm thinking the ultimate "solution" will be the Mint 11 system, so depending on how far down the road that will be happening would mean the difference between trying to get the GNOME running or not. Doesn't mean too much to me if it is "Ubuntu-like" or not, the only problem there is that the "support" isn't too prevalent to the newbie Linux user.

But, in terms of "heaviness" of the GNOME, I did check the System monitor app while I had 4 Ice weasel browser tabs, Icedove, and the wicd window open and the system memory was at slightly above 50% (330MB), swap was at slightly above zero; it was the CPU that was drifting from 56% to sometimes 100%, seeming to have no relationship to what I was doing -- which was typing a Google Document, but when I was looking at the System Monitor then I had that open . . . but all I was doing was watching the line wave up and down . . . . I'll have to run the same apps in mint-LXDE to see if there is a difference, and then maybe compare it to the 10.4.11 partition; I would think that GNOME wouldn't be as heavy as OSX??
and OSX is still running just fine on the iBook--it's just that sometime in the next year the browsers will not be able to get to the newer web features that is pushing me to Linux . . . and Mint 11 looks like it will be very close to what OSX is doing now with more visually appealing graphics, etc. I'm holding my breath . . . .

e.e.p.

10.4.11 PPC will have the newest web features as well thanks to TenFourFox.