This page groups information on Window Managers, desktops and their support on various Unix operating systems.
Gnome
| Solaris | OpenSolaris 2008.11 | Debian | Ubuntu |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provided in the Java Desktop Environment | Yes | Yes | |
Gnome is a major Unix desktop, probably as famous as KDE. Depending on operating systems and versions, its default look may be a bit “strict”. The main problem I see with it is that it is heavy.
One of my former desktops used the following:
- Theme: BlackGarden theme. You have to install the theme with Preferences > Desktop Preferences > Display > Themes. Fetch the tar.gz, then close and reload the theme manager to see BlackGarden. The install procedure actually untars the theme in ~/.themes.
- Gnome-terminal: transparency's throttle is set to the middle.
- Icon bar: with weather, sticky notes, log out, two launchers (terminal & firefox). The bar's properties are set to: don't expand, show hide buttons.
To launch an application as root: gksu
Enlightenment
| Solaris 10 | OpenSolaris 2008.11 | Debian | Ubuntu |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tested both on x86 and Sparc. Use Blastwave's DR16 package: pkg-get install enlightenment. Then add at the end of your .dtprofile: exec /opt/csw/bin/enlightenment. See for details | Not tried (but should work) | Yes | |
You can download Enlightenment themes from Freshmeat or Get-E. My favorite themes are :
- Bevelfree: coloured, simple with no 3D.
- Dufrenite: nice, but a bit 'gray'.
- Thingradient
- XaquaX: an Apple look
Enlightenment shows customizable menus. To edit the menus, look for a file called files.menu in ~/.enlightenment. Buttons are configured in the theme as buttons.cfg. Usually, you set action classes (actionclasses.cfg). Make sure they use the right path.
FVWM
I like FVWM because it is quite lightweight. However, the look and feel of FVWM 2.4 is a bit 'old' (to my opinion), so I wanted to use FVWM 2.5.
| Solaris 10 | OpenSolaris 2008.11 | Debian | Ubuntu |
|---|---|---|---|
| No pre-compiled package: I managed to compile it from sources though I remember I had a few problems | No pre-compiled package. Compiles easily from sources: ./configure –disable-dmalloc –disable-efence –disable-debug-msgs –disable-xinerama –disable-nls | Not tried | There's a package |
I currently use fvwm 2.5.26.
A screenshot of my current desktop. It is very much taken from PEM.
Vertical pager
To set up a vertical pager, do:
*FvwmPager: Columns 1
IIIM Properties
On OpenSolaris, I kept on having a silly and ugly small tab next to my Xterms, this tab showing various locales/encodings. To remove this, launch iiim-properties, and set Input Method and switcher placement to “None”. Apply.
(c) A. Apvrille - 2009