Yes.Polaris96 wrote:Is there much difference between fluxbox and openbox?
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What desktop/window manager do you use?
Re: What desktop/window manager do you use?
Re: What desktop/window manager do you use?
ok that was my fault. What I meant to say was, "since openbox was originally modelled on fluxbox, and since I have never played with fluxbox, would it be very inconvenient to explain a few orf the salient differences to me so I can decide whether or not I should look into it?"
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Re: What desktop/window manager do you use?
I am interested what you mean by the drama.Polaris96 wrote:
I use XCFE4 stock until I get sick of xfwm4's drama, at which point i revert to my 'set n forget' DE : XFCE4/Openbox There wasn't a choice for that, so I picked XFCE.
Re: What desktop/window manager do you use?
LOL... fair enough.Polaris96 wrote:What I meant to say was...explain a few orf the salient differences to me so I can decide whether or not I should look into it?"
This is just my opinion... YMMV, etc.
Since there are plenty of similarities, to me, only their differences are interesting, so that's where I'll focus.
In descending order of importance:
1) Tabs
When I'm working on a project, I usually have a zillion open tasks/windows, but these windows tend to "cluster" into naturally-occurring groups. So, for instance, I might have, say two spreadsheet windows and two editor windows open at any given moment. One spreadsheet (let's call it "A") contains data pertinent to one (and only one) of the editor windows (let's all it "A" as well); similarly, spreadsheet "B" contains data pertinent to the document in editor "B".
Like KDE 4, fluxbox offers the ability to arbitrarily "group" windows together into a single, cohesive unit. (Fluxbox calls this feature "tabs.") So editor "A" and spreadsheet "A" get linked into a single window; ditto for editor "B" and spreadsheet "B." Jumping between tabbed apps is fast and effortless. No hunting for the "right" window--it's already right there. Major timesaver.
2) Stability
Maybe OpenBox just doesn't like me, but I find it to be extremely fussy and beta-quality unstable. Fluxbox has only hiccuped on me once in a couple of months of use.
3) Ease of configuration
There's nothing particularly wrong about using XML in system config files, but there's also nothing particularly right about it, either. Fluxbox config files are plain text, so there's less cognitive overhead involved in making changes.
4) Resources
I would never pick a WM merely because it was light on resources, but I have no objection to the fact that Fluxbox is less resource-hungry than Openbox--though the difference is admittedly very small.
Re: What desktop/window manager do you use?
Thanks info is much appreciated.
I like the idea of tabs, but I usually get similar utility from using the multiple desktops. I would like tabs though.
Although I usually eschew GUI frontends, I configure Openbox almost exclusively obconf. XML IS a pain. Point given.
I feel, stabilitywise, about openbox as you do about fluxbox - never had a single issue with openbox. As you mentioned, we all have different experiences and we develpop strong opinions from them.
I like openbox because its small , even if it is ever so slightly bigger than fluxbox.
Based on your info, I'll put fluxbox on the "do" list. Thank you, sir.
I like the idea of tabs, but I usually get similar utility from using the multiple desktops. I would like tabs though.
Although I usually eschew GUI frontends, I configure Openbox almost exclusively obconf. XML IS a pain. Point given.
I feel, stabilitywise, about openbox as you do about fluxbox - never had a single issue with openbox. As you mentioned, we all have different experiences and we develpop strong opinions from them.
I like openbox because its small , even if it is ever so slightly bigger than fluxbox.
Based on your info, I'll put fluxbox on the "do" list. Thank you, sir.
Last edited by Polaris96 on 2011-07-27 00:17, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What desktop/window manager do you use?
intermittent failure on startup. sometimes paths for Desktop appearance vanish (this per .xsession-errors). Switching to a different appearance in the (non-sizable, unmovable, unbordered or titled) settings menu will magically reactivate xfwm4 ... or not. I thought the problem had to do with theme support going from squeeze to wheezy but the problem continued to intermittently occurr even after switching to "safe" appearances. I can't find useful documentation for xfwm4 and the program is not intuitve to me vis config settings and logging.ivanovnegro wrote:I am interested what you mean by the drama.Polaris96 wrote:
I use XCFE4 stock until I get sick of xfwm4's drama, at which point i revert to my 'set n forget' DE : XFCE4/Openbox There wasn't a choice for that, so I picked XFCE.
I could've pursued it further but openbox is so svelte and so transparent and has never ever ever let me down. Guess I discovered I like the girl next door best, after all
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Re: What desktop/window manager do you use?
Thanks, now I know what you mean, saw some things of it but especially under Wheezy with Xfce 4.8. Otherwise it is working perfectly, especially under Squeeze.Polaris96 wrote: intermittent failure on startup. sometimes paths for Desktop appearance vanish (this per .xsession-errors). Switching to a different appearance in the (non-sizable, unmovable, unbordered or titled) settings menu will magically reactivate xfwm4 ... or not. I thought the problem had to do with theme support going from squeeze to wheezy but the problem continued to intermittently occurr even after switching to "safe" appearances. I can't find useful documentation for xfwm4 and the program is not intuitve to me vis config settings and logging.
I could've pursued it further but openbox is so svelte and so transparent and has never ever ever let me down. Guess I discovered I like the girl next door best, after all
I am not sure it if it was mentioned by dasein, but I have to admit there are some things in Xfce that are sometimes buggy, just the things you mentioned.
Re: What desktop/window manager do you use?
It's possible to achieve a similar effect with virtual desktops, yes. But then there's the added "overhead" of "which desktop is that on again?" and then actually switching. With tabs, there's absolutely zero interruption in "flow," which helps me focus on my task, and not the interface. Once I discovered tabs (in KDE 4) I couldn't go back, for much the same reason that I couldn't go back to a typewriter once I'd used a text editor.Polaris96 wrote:...I usually get similar utility from using the multiple desktops.
You are most kindly welcome.Polaris96 wrote:Based on your info, I'll put fluxbox on the "do" list. Thank you, sir.
One piece of advice: I speak as someone who played around casually with fluxbox at least three times before I gave it a good workout. I never "got" fluxbox in a one-hour "test drive." But after I'd spent a weekend really exercising it, I was hooked. So, when/if you do give it a whirl, give it a real chance.
Re: What desktop/window manager do you use?
Kde on the laptop , gnome on one desktop and enlightenment on another.
Re: What desktop/window manager do you use?
I love enlightenment. A lot. It just seems like I play with more than use it.
for as long as the world remains. for as long as time remains. so, too, will I remain. To serve. To help. And to make my contribution. Also, never forget our family at debianuserforums.org If we can't solve your problem, they probably can.
Re: What desktop/window manager do you use?
I'm the same. Its great for old machines. I originally installed the latest ubuntu with unity on an old desktop for my younger brother (thinking it would be easier for him) , but it was a piece of junk. Granted the machine only had 512mb ram but still. I threw bodhi linux on it for him and its been running great.Polaris96 wrote:I love enlightenment. A lot. It just seems like I play with more than use it.
Personally I like the minimal setups the best. They look and function great. I really want to give awesome wm a go when I get the chance.
Re: What desktop/window manager do you use?
KDE 4.7 . KWin has got some significant performance improvements, so I can actually run it on my underpowered laptop .
Because let’s face it, the unfortunate aspect of software development is that it involves humans. Mewling, disorganized, miserably analog humans. Sometimes they smell bad.
Re: What desktop/window manager do you use?
Linus Torvalds now uses Xfce: https://plus.google.com/106327083461132 ... bnL3KaVRtM
apt-get install braindump -t unstable
Stupid changes are not synonymous of useful progress.
Stupid changes are not synonymous of useful progress.
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Re: What desktop/window manager do you use?
I'm glad you nudged me to try pekwm again... It's honestly quite brilliant. Sort of, in a bizarre way, does for the mouse what xmonad does for the keyboard, so they're both useful for different things. Still a few bugs, but definitely my favourite of the 'box'ish wms so far (not that it's actually a 'box, but it reminds me of them lots...)gunnar90 wrote:Right now I'm using pekwm. At other recent times I've been using openbox.
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Re: What desktop/window manager do you use?
Yep, he hates Gnome 3 apparently.MoaTib wrote:Linus Torvalds now uses Xfce: https://plus.google.com/106327083461132 ... bnL3KaVRtM
http://digitizor.com/2011/08/04/linus-t ... -for-xfce/
Linus Torvalds wrote: I'm using Xfce. I think it's a step down from gnome2, but it's a huge step up from gnome3. Really.
Re: What desktop/window manager do you use?
I've gone from Gnome 2.32 to Fluxbox and now Awesome, and I must say this last one is not easy to configure. But it has way more possibilities than any other. For instance, in Gnome 2.32 you can add a widget and add the default or downloaded widgets, which are complex. In awesome, in the lua rc.lua config file, you can add a widget with a line and add a widget (which you created yourself or copied from the web) which is defined in the same file.Kuze wrote:I'm the same. Its great for old machines. I originally installed the latest ubuntu with unity on an old desktop for my younger brother (thinking it would be easier for him) , but it was a piece of junk. Granted the machine only had 512mb ram but still. I threw bodhi linux on it for him and its been running great.Polaris96 wrote:I love enlightenment. A lot. It just seems like I play with more than use it.
Personally I like the minimal setups the best. They look and function great. I really want to give awesome wm a go when I get the chance.
For example, in three lines you can define a widget which shows "CPU: X%", where X is the percentage use of your CPU. All those widgets use the wicked library, so you can get the numbers out (like cpu, memory, etc) using its API.
One last thing: I've been told Enlightenment would suit me. But I am not a huge fan of DE's. For example, would it do things automatically? (like mounting devices, detecting networks, etc)
Thanks!
Unstable 'Sid' amd64 - Awesome WM - https://gitorious.org/~mvdan
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Re: What desktop/window manager do you use?
Haha, glad to hear it!confuseling wrote:I'm glad you nudged me to try pekwm again... It's honestly quite brilliant. Sort of, in a bizarre way, does for the mouse what xmonad does for the keyboard, so they're both useful for different things. Still a few bugs, but definitely my favourite of the 'box'ish wms so far (not that it's actually a 'box, but it reminds me of them lots...)gunnar90 wrote:Right now I'm using pekwm. At other recent times I've been using openbox.
However, I've moved away from it some time ago now (but I'll most likely meet it again i the future). But yeah, it is really great in some hard defined way. It's really hard to put your finger on what's so good, you just know it Hopefully we'll see some continued work on it (don't really know how active de development is right now), then it would really have some potential to fight with the bigger guys.
Now I'm playing around with FVWM and can't say anything other than that I love it! Sure, I've spent much time configuring without any spectacular results and hours of reading manuals for it. But something in me loves it because it's quite odd for me to put this type of work into something like this.
Excuse me if my English fails at times since I'm from Sweden. And so on, and so on.