Blackbox--Why?

[mooreted]

Okay, I am trying out Blackbox and I am having a hard time understanding why anyone would think this is a good GUI. Yeah, it uses hardly any resources and it's really fast but I have a fast machine and pleanty of resources to waste.

Here's what I don't understand--and I really want to understand:

To run mozilla I have to right click, open Networking/WWW/Mozilla.

To view a movie I have to right click, go to Terminals/xterm type cd /news/pan/movies. Then I have to type xine moviename-07778-kathy-naughtystuff.mpg.

I have a bunch of movies and if I wanted to watch a few of them I would have carpol tunnel syndrome by the time I got done.

Now, in KDE, to run Mozilla, I just click the Mozilla icon (same with IceWm). To play a movie I just click the movie file. How is spending 5 minutes typing faster than 2 seconds clicking?

I am not trying to be a jerk, I just don't understand why everyone likes Blackbox. There must be something I'm missing and I don't want to miss out on anything. So, what are your thoughts?

Have a wonderful day,
Ted.

[mdwatts]

Any rants, off topic, opinions etc. should be posted in the /dev/random forum.

Moving ...

[oubipaws]

I _think_ alot of people use GUI's that are built off of blackbox... for example flux box

but its very easy to open a terminal and type mozilla to open it in black box
or if you have idesk set up, you put an icon on the desktop to open mozilla

[jedthehumanoid]

edit the menu file so that your commonly used programs are right there. and why don't you just open xine from the menu?? you lost me as to why your opening an xterm and going through all that nonsense. or you can set up blackbox to run with idesk thereby giving you desktop icons.... or lots of other things. read about the slit. all window managers are only as good as the effort you put into familarizing yourself with them. if your looking for something fast that is really easy to customize, then check out xfce4. that's all i have for ya. hope it helps.

[sharth]

because we can, and because not everyone has a fast computer like you.

I also run idesk, and gdeskcal (although i wish they would fix gdeskcal), and that way, i have icons for firebird, evolution, xchat, anjuta, abiword, and a terminal on my screen. But if you use kde or gnome, you still have to go through a menu if the icon isin't on your desktop...

http://68.82.51.198/2003-07-11-113036_1152x864_scrot.png

[Hayl]

for any of the *box WM, you have to get it set up / customized to your needs. they are minimal Window Managers without all the "windows-like" features of full KDE Desktop or a full Gnome desktop. They aren't meant to be like that.

for example, i use all gnome apps but dont run gnome. so if i want to watch a movie, i can open nautilus and double-click the same as you would in full gnome or kde. i will also say that i dont do it because my computer is slow because i have a P4 with 1.25 GB RAM.

if you want desktop icons (i personally hate desktop icons so i don't use them), you can run iDesk, or ROX.

you can also run panel apps like the gnome-panel if you require them (i don't).

you also have to customize the root menu.

you also have to get your short-cut keys set up.

with the way i have my Openbox configured, i can do everything faster (with less clicks) than under Gnome or KDE.

it just depends on if you want to take the time to configure a custom interface that is completely suited to your needs or not. lots of people are happy with the defaut KDE or Gnome Desktops and lots of people aren't. for example, every few months, i'll try to use a full-on KDE or Gnome desktop and i get annoyed usually within 5 minutes because im used to my customized Openbox environment.

my suggestion is if you want to try it, play around with customizing it for a few days and then go back to KDE or whatever and see what you like better.

see my screenies if you want to see my Openbox setup.

[tecknophreak]

If you have KDE installed(I'm guessing you do) add konqueror to the menu. Then you'll just have to open konqueror, go to your movie folder, then click on your movie. I'm pretty sure it'll work this way since all of my apps/progs work the same in Fluxbox as they did in KDE(I know it's not blackbox, but close).

damn you jedthehumanoid

[tecknophreak]

Originally posted by Hayl

if you want desktop icons (i personlaly hate desktop icons so i don't use them), you can run iDesk, or ROX.


Desktop icons?? From 10 seconds after my WM loads until I turn off my comp, I never see my desktop. I just don't understand the use of them if I have to minimize/change the size of my windows just to use them. The menu's really easy to get at next to the toolbar/docker.

[Skithextrm]

I agree with Hayl; as soon as I get the time to do an install of Gentoo on the box that is currently running MDK 9.1 (stay away it's trouble), I'm going to go with something like FluxBox or OpenBox. I like KDE and GNOME equally, but there's so much in them that I don't use at all. All of my frequently used programs have shortcuts (ctrl + ; for terminal , ctrl + ' for mozilla etc...), so basically all of the menu/panel functionalities of KDE and GNOME are wasted and I just feel like I'm wasting a lot of resources.

Jon

[jedthehumanoid]

damn you jedthehumanoid [/B]

ouch dude!!!

hey it's easy to get to the desktop. in openbox, i just float over the top of the windows and scroll up and it slides the window so just the bar is there..... like the one in sharth's desktop pic which looks really cool by the way. :p

[Anomaly]

I use fluxbox...

I have edited my menu...
Opera
RXVT
Eterm
Konqueror
aMSN
--XX--
and then the usual.
--XX--
Logout
Reboot
Shutdown

Programs I use all the time... So you see... I just have to right click, and open, what I wanna open.
I do have a fast machine.. but I dont want to waste any resources and time on the windowmanager... And its not that, its only about speed... I would chose *box over Gnome/KDE anytime... Nice menus/themes and wallpapers at their full glory!

I just like my desktop small, clean, fast and cool looking at the same time...
Plus... it confuses hell out of a windows user :D

[serz]

I like any WM based on blackbox because:

1) It is fast.
2) I like a lot how it looks.

And.. about the icons, I don't have the url now but it is possible to use icons in Fluxbox, at least.

[tecknophreak]

Originally posted by jedthehumanoid
ouch dude!!!

hey it's easy to get to the desktop. in openbox, i just float over the top of the windows and scroll up and it slides the window so just the bar is there..... like the one in sharth's desktop pic which looks really cool by the way. :p

didn't mean that in an offensive way, wrote that cause i saw you beat me to the menu edit.:p

[jedthehumanoid]

no worries, i figured it was a playful jest, i just wasn't sure what you were on about...:D

[MartinB]

I'm running Fluxbox with idesk, gkrellm and aterm. I have a fairly fast machine, but I chose Fluxbox only because I like how fast it loads and I like the ability to switch desktops by using the mouse wheel. :)

The screenshot is in my sig.

EDIT: The screenshots in my sig are the old ones... The newest one is here (http://www.avalon-one.net/misc/desktop.jpg)

[sharth]

Originally posted by jedthehumanoid
like the one in sharth's desktop pic which looks really cool by the way. :p woo :D

[oubipaws]

if you like you can do the following too:

kicker &
opens the kicker in blackbox or any other minimal style gui
kdesktop &
opens the KDE Desktop
gnome-panel &
opens the gnome-panel

[do_guh_new]

To view a movie I have to right click, go to Terminals/xterm type cd /news/pan/movies. Then I have to type xine moviename-07778-kathy-naughtystuff.mpg.

I have a bunch of movies and if I wanted to watch a few of them I would have carpol tunnel syndrome by the time I got done.

dont know if someone already mentioned this to you, but do you know about tab completion?

[CaptainPinko]

i never saw the point of any of the othe DEs than KDE until i installed Yellow Dog 3.0 on a G3 PowerBook w/ 333mhz and 64mb RAM... gawd its unbearable (i have to wait 30 seconds for Mozilla to load and i can eat and digest a meal in the time it takes OpenOffice to load.. I wonder how much extra RAM would help?) so I plan to reinstall in with Gentoo and then load a *box onto it. But my other machine is a P4 2.6 Ghz w/ 1 gig RAM and I wouldn't use anything but KDE (that is once i solve my Gentoo kernel problem). If you got the power to run KDE go for it, but other wise only run *box if you don'thave the resources or for some reason you like that particular desktop. As for wasting resources... what are you using them for? I'd rather my cpu spent a few cycles drawing a pretty icon the grows on mouse over with has some (arguably) aesthetic quality than completely go to wasting doing a NOOP. And if you have spare resources consider putting them to good use with a distrubuted client for genome research http://folding.stanford.edu

[mooreted]

Thanks everybody. Sorry Mod, I thought I was discussing software. I am not ranting, I'm playing (and learning).

I realy appreciate all the feedback. I don't know how to use the slit and I am having a hard time finding documentation on Blackbox. I read the man pages but it just mentions there is a slit, not much about how to use it.

I see some excellent reasons to use BB now and the screenshots were great. I guess I'll get back into it.

If anyone knows of config and slit info I could read I'd appreciate it.

Have a good day,
Ted.

[mooreted]

I just added Mozilla and X-Term to the top of the menu in Blackbox! I know this is simple and ho-hum to all you gurus but I am really happy. Now I can configure my menu the way I want. Now I will go and learn how to set up keyboard shortcuts (I love the keyboard, hate the mouse).

I found some more info on the slit. I will find something cool to do with is after I get done playing with the menu.

This is really exciting!

Thanks for all the input.

Ted.

[mdwatts]

Originally posted by mooreted
Thanks everybody. Sorry Mod, I thought I was discussing software. I am not ranting, I'm playing (and learning).


The subject "Blackbox why?" to me is a thread that will be mostly about opinions.

If you want to ask a specific question about Blackbox, then use a subject that properly describes what you are asking.

[mooreted]

I hadn't thought of it that way. Good point.

Hope you are having a good day,
Ted.

[CaptainPinko]

i don't know if anyone has mentioned this but enlightenment (http://www.enlightenment.org) appears to be much prettier by default