Re: [gentoo-user] [OT] In search of a "good" windowmanager

["Lars Gustäbel" <lars@gustaebel.de>]

On Sat, Sep 12, 2009 at 03:40:56PM +0200, meino.cramer@gmx.de wrote:
>  I would like to hear from others what experiences they made with
>  what windowmanagers.

Hi!

I've been using fvwm2 (http://fvwm.org) for years now and am quite happy with
it. Although it may look old and strange at first (the default settings are
rather horrible IIRC), it is possible to configure every tiny detail of it
using config files. I am still sometimes amazed of what you can do with it.
The fvwm manpage has everything you need to know.
The complexity is also its main drawback: it took me several weeks to have
it the way I wanted it. fvwm is indeed rather complicated at first but that's
why it's so powerful. It is really flexible and you can still use all the
little gui tools out there from other window managers. One cool feature of fvwm
is that you can assign different window styles based on the application, e.g. I
have a graphical system monitor on my third desktop, that is started when I log
in via .xinitrc and always stays on bottom, never gets the focus and does not
appear in the window list or on the task bar, so it does not interfere with the
rest of the system at all.
Before using fvwm2 I used KDE which had too much stuff I didn't really need.
(However, I am still using the KDE kicker panel with fvwm, which I think is
quite funny.)  When I looked for a new window manager I tried fluxbox for a few
days, but it did not convince me. Then I tried fvwm and stayed with it.

Regards,

-- 
Lars Gustäbel
lars@gustaebel.de

Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little
temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
(Benjamin Franklin)