[H-GEN] Desktop wars ..... (no not really)

[Robert Brockway]

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On Wed, 25 Jun 2003, Nick Kwiatkowski wrote:

> The knowledge that I don't have is really in the area of the desktops, what
> they contain and how "pluggable" are to different window managers/dekstops.
> ie KDE with kvm and gnome with sawfish, etc.

Hi Nick.  I think this really ends up one of those subjective discussions.

With a few exceptions, window managers (WMs) really do more or less the
same stuff (IMHO of course).  The level of flexibility varies a little,
but in the end they are all trying to work within a rather narrowly
defined job description - to facilitate the use of the X-window system for
the user.

I've been using fvwm1/2 since 1994.  I periodically assess fvwm2 vs other
possible replacements.  I have just finished yet another such assessment.
I have found none that attract me sufficiently to drop fvwm2 (and my
highly customised config).  Following my decision to again stick with
fvwm2 I changed some config options to better fit my current usage [1]
and was pleasantly reminded about just how configurable it is.

For every point that I can mention showing that fvwm2 is _the_ WM, others
can do the same for their favourite WMs.  Choice of WM is a highly
personal matter.

So in the end I believe the best idea is to try a few over a period of
weeks before making the decision to try and stick with one.  A few months
down the track, reassess the decision and perhaps try a different WM for a
while.

One important point - There is typically no problem using KDE/Gnome apps
with different WMs.  Most WMs can see the "hints" the apps give out, and
even if they can't, functionality is normally not effected.  With fvwm2 I
use a variety of KDE apps (and games) and browser the web with galeon (the
Gnome browser of course).

[1] The last time I did a major overhaul of my WM config was in 1999.
An afternoon's work every 4 years seems a good trade off for a highly
productive [2] work environment :)

[2] Productive because it is so highly customised.  On many occassions I
have explained to technically oriented windows users how rigid and
uncustomisable the MS-Windows desktop environment really is.  Usually they
don't realise because they have never had anything to compare it to (even
if they have used X, they probably never delved into customisation or
tried any environment past KDE/Gnome).  I maintain that computers should
change to fit the human, not the other way around.

Cheers,
	Rob

-- 
Robert Brockway B.Sc. email: robert at timetraveller.org  ICQ: 104781119
Linux counter project ID #16440 (http://counter.li.org)
"The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens" -Baha'u'llah

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