[ale] Window Managers for X

[James Sumners]

Minus the taskbar, E16 or Sawfish (http://sawmill.sf.net) is the
closest thing to what you want. After that, I would say XFCE. Of
course, you can run GNOME and ditch Metacity in favor of E, Sawfish,
or whatever but you will loose a lot of the integration that Metacity
has with the GNOME desktop.

I really think E16 is the best option if all you want is a window
manager and not a desktop environment. But it can be a pain to work
with (e.g. creating new menu entries every time you install something)
if you just want to use your machine. But if you want a desktop
environment, I like GNOME. I wouldn't mind some of the bloat being
trimmed, but it is getting better with each release. I just don't get
along with KDE; I particularly hate the gigantic dock that is as ugly
as sin.

On 9/18/06, Ken Cochran <kwc at theworld.com> wrote:
> Hi, this thread on window managers has me wondering too...
> Right now I'm running fvwm95 but I'd like to change to something
> else more up-to-date.  I've looked at the likes of window-maker,
> fvwm2 and icewm.
>
> What I like about what I have (fvwm95 v2.0.43a):
>
> - There's a taskbar, analogous to that in MSwin.
>
> - It shows me the pixel positions & sizes of windows if I
>   left-click (button 1?) on a title bar (window position) or
>   border/corner (window size).
>
> - There is an xload window in what appears to be analogous to
>   OSX's Dock, among other things there.
>
> What I don't like about it:
>
> - It seems rather "long in the tooth" & I'm *sure* there has to
>   be Something Better nowadays.
>
> - The taskbar is shared among all desktops.  I'd like for each
>   desktop to have its own taskbar.
>
> - I can't find any documentation about how to configure it.  For
>   that matter, neither can I find documentation on how to configure
>   any other window manager.  :(  How about even a glossary of terms?
>
> What I'm looking for:
>
> - Widely available, maintaned & supported/supportable and
>   *documented*.  (So far *everything* I've looked at falls flat on
>   its face wrt documentation.  Am I asking too much for some docs?)
>
> - Not so "big" - e.g. light on resource utilization; a "desktop
>   environment" such as GNOME, KDE, or even XFCE is probably
>   overkill.  (But KDE looks pretty good, hmmm...  Khtml browser
>   support would be nice.)
>
> - Ability to display the sizes & positions of windows, etc.  (See
>   2nd point, above.)
>
> - Multiple desktops, with a taskbar that goes with each desktop
>
> - Familiarity, e.g. can be made to look & work reasonably similar
>   to MSWin or OSX/Aqua (especially Aqua :).
>
> - and of course the "usual" niceties like lack of clutter &
>   "usability" (whatever passes for these things nowadays I guess...)
>
> The site http://www.xwinman.org/ is some (but not enough) help,
> nice resource though.  Maybe I'm just asking for too much {sigh}.
>
> -kc
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-- 
James Sumners
http://james.roomfullofmirrors.com/

"All governments suffer a recurring problem: Power attracts
pathological personalities. It is not that power corrupts but that it
is magnetic to the corruptible. Such people have a tendency to become
drunk on violence, a condition to which they are quickly addicted."

Missionaria Protectiva, Text QIV (decto)
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