[ale] Window Managers for X

[Ken Cochran]

Hehe, I caught the article in /. too.  :)  That, along with
this thread finally poked me into asking, after long delay...
Wrt documentation I'd just about be happy knowing what the terms
at xwinman.org, etc. mean, e.g. "pinning."  I think I know what
"focus" is but there are modes there I'm not grokking yet,
for example "sloppy."  Some kind of glossary would be nice...

-kc

>Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2006 11:55:01 -0500
>From: KingBahamut <gwosbahamut at gmail.com>
>To: "Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts" <ale at ale.org>
>Subject: Re: [ale] Window Managers for X
>
>Ken, Ive heard that fvwm-crystal is pretty nice looking.
>
>http://fvwm-crystal.org/
>
>Dont know how this will work into your equation though.
>
>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}.