Re: Desktop Managers
- From: roodwriter@xxxxxxxxxx
- Date: 23 Jun 2007 03:10:15 -0400
Whitey Johnson <whitey@xxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
On Tue, 19 Jun 2007 18:15:51 -0400, Mike wrote:
I'm just curious about different desktop managers and everyone's opinion
about them. I have been using KDE for a while and I looked a bunch that
came with SuSE but none of them really struck me so I just want to see
what else is out there and what people get behind and what people stay
away from and where I would be able to find them.
Appreciate all opinions.
I used fvwm for a while and really liked it. You have to do a lot of
configuring to get it the way you want it though.
http://www.fvwm.org/
I forget why I switched back to kde. Maybe I'll fire fvwm back up.
Like everyone else, my first recommendation is to suggest that you
experiment to find out what works best for you. But if you'd like a
little bit of help, my experience:
--KDE looks the best and always works. It's a bit of a hog, though,
and takes the longest to start of any of them. Since I'm using a
laptop that I start and stop several times a day, this is a big deal.
It's also a RAM-hog. When I'm editing photos it'll sometimes nearly
stop working. Those are the two reasons I seldom use it anymore, but
frankly I prefer it.
--Gnome. I'd really like to give Gnome a really good work out, but for
some reason I've never been able to get it to work. On my machines
it'll be unstable, won't start right or won't log out. For other
people it's their preferred desktop. I don't know why I have such
problems with it. I do like the way it looks, though.
Since I seem to always have underpowered machines, I've used
lighter-weight window managers most of the time in the last few years.
Here are some I've used:
--IceWM. I really liked this. It has a traditional task bar with clock
plus a gadget that shows how hard the machine is working. For some
reason it won't work on my new laptop.
--Blackbox. This is what I use most of the time. Like its name
suggests, it's just a blank screen. You start programs by clicking on
the screen. It's extremely lightweight, starts right away and solved
my bogging-down program when editing photos. I've found adding the
BBkeys program to it a big help, since it allows you to alt-tab
through running programs along with adding keyboard shortcuts to
close, maximize, minimize or do other things to them. You're supposed
to be able to do a certain amount of customization to the title bars
and things, but I've never been able to get that to work. Therefore on
my machine it's pretty ugly. When I want to show off Linux to people I
switch to KDE. They're always impressed. I found that making your own
menu of programs using BBkeys is a big help in maximizing efficiency
with this window manager.
--Sawfish. I used to use this exclusively but it wasn't in the 64-bit
section of SuSe 9.1. I recall it as being kind of like Blackbox but
really don't remember. It's been a long time. Worked good, though.
--Windowmaker. People love this, it never works quite right for me. It
looks nice.
--Enlightenment. I've been really impressed with some of the screen
captures I've seen online of this window manager. I don't know where
they get all those bells and whistles. It seems to eat certain
programs, KInternet for one, and while they there, you can't use them.
Still, I'm using it right now since I'm no longer on dial-up and don't
need KInternet. I have to admit I'm mostly attracted to it because of
its animated effects, but don't know if I'm really any farther ahead
than on Blackbox.
I've tried many others but often discarded them as not workable for
the things I have to do with a computer.
Speaking of KInternet, most window managers will allow you to use KDE
and Gnome programs. In other words, you aren't restricted to Gnome if,
say, you want to use Evolution. It'll probably work in whatever you're
using.
As you can see, I've had a bit of a checkered experience with window
managers. Ones that work perfectly for other people won't work at all
for me. Some that I find irritating are a perfect fit for others.
And that's the thing. Your working style isn't necessarily my working
style. Some people have huge numbers of running programs that they
need to file on several virtual desktops. In my case, I have a small
number of programs I use at any time (Emacs, Firefox, GQView) so I
don't have a use for additional desktops. So, again, the main point is
experiment until you find what works best for you. And don't forget
that you're not limited to one desktop. There are people that use one
window manager for one type of work, another for a different type.
Hope all this helps.
--Rod
______________________
Author of "Linux for Non-Geeks--Clear-eyed Answers for Practical
Consumers" and "Boring Stories from Uncle Rod." To reply by e-mail
take the second "o" out of the e-mail address.
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