Using linux without a desktop environment
I've got a nagging suspicion that this is a dumb question, but I was wondering how much functionality you can get with linux without KDE/gnome/kfce/etc.?? If you just bootup straight to the bash prompt, are you still able to view pdf files, listen to mp3s, surf the web (using something prettier than lynx :lol: )?? Is a desktop environment necessary to do all this, or is it just a "pretty extra"?? Could you do all this if you had the necessary software installed and made sure to boot into runlevel 5?? Maybe you'd need X as well??
if this is a dumb question, don't hesitate to let me know. :D