Re. http://mail-index.netbsd.org/netbsd-help/2002/11/13/0003.html

The canonical way to list a directory is with the ``ls'' command.  A few
years ago, I used an ls variant on the Amiga, which color-coded the files
and directories.  I got hooked on having *some* kind of visual
distinction, while also keeping the normal ls multi-columnar display.  So,
I set up an alias on UNIX machines that defines "lk" to do what I think ls
should do by default:

lk='ls -aF'

That is, it lists *all* files (just like on the Amiga; no hidden files;
(^&) and it shows the type of object (e.g., a trailing / means a
directory, since UNIX systems use / to delimit directory names).  I called
it ``lk'' because there were already several other aliases on the UNIX
systems I used (``ll'' for long-list, for example), but ``lk'' was
available (and I thought of ``lk'' because my middle initial is ``k'';
(^&).)

I then import that alias to my account whenever I get a new UNIX account
so that ``lk'' tends to be more uniform.


As for icons...well someone has already suggested you look at KDE (there's
also GNOME).  You could also use something like the ``midnight
commander''; GNU EMACS also has a directoy view/edit mode.  (EMACS
is...well, nominally GNU EMACS is a text editor.  (^&  But it has lots of
other functionality.)

The Midnight Commander and GNU EMACS options both, I think, present you
with a text view, but conceptually it's not so different from icons.

Of the various icon-based (or similar) mechanisms, KDE probably has the
most in common (in terms of style, look and feel, etc.) with MS-WINDOWS.
That may be a plus or a minus in your book.  It may make your transition
feel easier, but may also hinder you in ``going native''.  (And again,
that may or may not be an issue for you.  (^&)


  ``I probably don't know what I'm talking about.'' --rauch@math.rice.edu