From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Received: from lists.gentoo.org ([140.105.134.102] helo=robin.gentoo.org) by nuthatch.gentoo.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1EAkPX-0003Tm-Cm for garchives@archives.gentoo.org; Thu, 01 Sep 2005 08:27:03 +0000 Received: from robin.gentoo.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by robin.gentoo.org (8.13.4/8.13.4) with SMTP id j818Nkkr005082; Thu, 1 Sep 2005 08:23:46 GMT Received: from tomts43-srv.bellnexxia.net (tomts43.bellnexxia.net [209.226.175.110]) by robin.gentoo.org (8.13.4/8.13.4) with ESMTP id j818K0Td023948 for ; Thu, 1 Sep 2005 08:20:00 GMT Received: from sympatico.ca ([70.49.182.30]) by tomts43-srv.bellnexxia.net (InterMail vM.5.01.06.10 201-253-122-130-110-20040306) with SMTP id <20050901082224.QNJE2981.tomts43-srv.bellnexxia.net@sympatico.ca> for ; Thu, 1 Sep 2005 04:22:24 -0400 Received: by sympatico.ca (sSMTP sendmail emulation); Thu, 1 Sep 2005 04:22:24 -0400 Date: Thu, 1 Sep 2005 04:22:24 -0400 From: Philip Webb To: gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org Subject: Re: [gentoo-user] Slightly OT: favorite window manager/desktop environ? Message-ID: <20050901082224.GC7949@sympatico.ca> Mail-Followup-To: gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org References: <20050831222821.GB8710@raw-sewage.net> Precedence: bulk List-Post: List-Help: List-Unsubscribe: List-Subscribe: List-Id: Gentoo Linux mail X-BeenThere: gentoo-user@gentoo.org Reply-to: gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: <20050831222821.GB8710@raw-sewage.net> User-Agent: Mutt/1.5.8i X-Archives-Salt: 039d4c79-f5b0-4ef2-8678-62ea4df9ab01 X-Archives-Hash: 4056298c25d8bdd8e75abca835347d8e 050831 Matt Garman wrote: > what window manager do you use, and why? I've done my own review a couple of times, when dissatisfied, so I have an idea of what each of a fair number does. I started with a very primitive KDE on an early Mandrake, read about Xfce, tried it -- version 3.18.8 -- , liked it & adopted it: it was more elegant than KDE, but fully capable of managing my activities. Soon afterwards, the Xfce devs brought out a total rewrite (4.0.0), which never lived upto their promises & lacked items from 3.18.8 . Finally, irritated by the state of things around Xfce, I did another review & discovered Blackbox (0.65), which was very simple, but also fully useable once I found out how. Soon afterwards, the Blackbox dev (there's only one) brought out a rewrite -- 0.70 -- which didn't work with some of the BB plug-ins & gadgets, making it impossible to use without constant irritation. As I had KDE installed to support useful apps, I went back to that & have found that it is now fast & highly configurable to my tastes with a very wide range of useful features, so that is today's choice. I like to use the whole of my 15" screen & KDE allows me to hide the panel; I rely on the R-click desktop menu to start apps. The KDE team did a very thoro' survey of users' requests c 2003 & as a result introduced a host of improvements, which shine today. They also made a real effort to make the whole thing much faster & now the Gentoo devs have split it up into easy bits for emerging. I do have Fluxbox installed as a back-up, in case KDE falls down a hole. Fvwm looks like a meta-WM which can be infinitely configured & I still have it installed, but haven't pursued it anywhere. My strong preference is for something I can use & look at day after day without being distracted by candy or hindered by awkwardnesses. -- ========================,,============================================ SUPPORT ___________//___, Philip Webb : purslow@chass.utoronto.ca ELECTRIC /] [] [] [] [] []| Centre for Urban & Community Studies TRANSIT `-O----------O---' University of Toronto -- gentoo-user@gentoo.org mailing list