Those *box WMs!!! Which is which? Opinions???

[beniro]

Hello.

I've been browsing that incredibly long and fantastic screenshots thread. Some of you guys have got really great desktops...

My favorite screenshots seem to come from Openbox, Fluxbox and Blackbox.

I know they are all based on the same one (was Blackbox the original???), but I want to hear some pros and cons on each one. Fluxbox seems popular.

Which do you prefer? I want to keep it fairly light, but attractive. I think this applies to all of these *box WMs, but...

I'm looking for some guidance, because it hard to tell what are the true differences judging from their sites...or have a missed a page somewhere?

Any help/opinions would be greatly appreciated. :)

[hecresper]

Looks like ppl are trying to stay away from "which is better" forum threads. :)

I like fluxbox a lot, but decided to stay with KDE3. KDE is the closest to Windows-like functionality I'll ever get in Linux. Besides, it looks very nice with the MacOSX-lookalike themes. :D Also, I started getting into jumping back-n-forth between different window managers and desktop environments. It got old real quick! My computer may not be a P4-class box, but it runs Slackware better and faster than my P3-800 did.

I'm sticking with KDE! :D

[2damncommon]

You may be fooling yourself a little relating too much to choice of windowmanager.
Many of the programs and effects can be done on anything. The "box" windowmanagers use less system resources (allowing more use by the programs YOU want), and provide a blank canvas to either run and start programs from a terminal or customize as you see fit.
I suspect that someone who chooses to use a more minimal windowmanager knows (or learns) how to customize their desktop environment (more than adding their favorite picture to the desktop), more than a Gnome or KDE user that is happy with the functionality already provided.
You should be able to load any or all of the windowmangers you mentioned onto your Linux system, boot the ones you choose, and decide if you want to work with them. I always choose KDE, Gnome, Blackbox, and Ice during installs of a main system.

[BigFatJoe]

Blackbox can be considered the "original". Basically, it was made to have many things built-in, making them faster and less resource intensive. This had a countereffect that some people considered too little to be customizable. For example, the original blackbox allowed you to put the panel in 6 spots on the screen, you could change HOW the time was shown, but not where you wanted the clock to be, etc. Much of this could be changed, though, if you had the effort to patch the actual code and compile your own blackbox.

Fluxbox, tried to overcome this "strictness" a bit by staying mainly with the design, but changing how some things were handled. This allowed to be more easily customized. (i think it supports Gnome applets, etc)

Openbox...dont know much about it.

For me, I stick to Blackbox. I dont mind the strictness of the design, as I'm a minimalist and I actually prefer the design to be built in to the source code - makes everything run faster. Blackbox has become a little more friendly as you can add some modules to it (such as bbkeys - which allows you to hotkey your keyboard, etc.)
Even though its design is failry strict, i love to design new gradients, etc. to fit my wallpapers and such and thats enough "configurability" for me.

What you should do: be more open-minded (unlike me) and go test them all.
; )

[BigFatJoe]

Originally posted by 2damncommon
The "box" windowmanagers use less system resources (allowing more use by the programs YOU want), and provide a blank canvas to either run and start programs from a terminal or customize as you see fit.
I suspect that someone who chooses to use a more minimal windowmanager knows (or learns) how to customize their desktop environment (more than adding their favorite picture to the desktop), more than a Gnome or KDE user that is happy with the functionality already provided.


This is very true. With minimal window managers you get a "blank canvas": you just need to learn how to utilize it.

Whenever I make a new theme...I set up gkrellm and aterm to work nicely with it. Once I have those...I can work the rest out in due time.

[linux12414]

Originally posted by BigFatJoe
This is very true. With minimal window managers you get a "blank canvas": you just need to learn how to utilize it.

Whenever I make a new theme...I set up gkrellm and aterm to work nicely with it. Once I have those...I can work the rest out in due time.

Yep, that's about it. The beauty of the "boxes" is that you can pick and choose what you want to incorporate into it. They're small, fast, and highly customizable.

[Minus]

Blackbox is the original. It doesnt have anything up on any of the others IMHO.

Fluxbox - Keybindings, Tabs, workspace wheel switching, iconified windows go in the taskbar, xft fonts.

Openbox - Keybindings (via epist), window snapping, xft fonts with shadowing, window snapping. Openbox also handles window resizing different than the other two. Each side of windows can be resized, not just the lower right.

Waimea - Not really a *box window manager, but is also partly based on blackbox. Does use blackbox themes, and has a very similar menu structure. By far the most configuable. Has an action system (flux is supposed to be getting this with the next release sometime around feb-march of next year) XFT fonts, shadows, transparency. Multiple docks. The CVS version supports merged windows (think tab). Its biggest asset is the action file system. It is configuable in just about any way you wish. Give it a look;)



If it wasnt obvious, my favorite of the *boxes is waimea

[beniro]

Thanks for the thoughts...

Maybe I am putting to much thought into this, but that is my nature. I've dl'd all the managers, but I've only briefly tried Blackbox and Fluxbox. I'm trying Openbox and Waimea asap.

[linux12414]

Originally posted by beniro
Thanks for the thoughts...

Maybe I am putting to much thought into this, but that is my nature. I've dl'd all the managers, but I've only briefly tried Blackbox and Fluxbox. I'm trying Openbox and Waimea asap.

That's exactly how to go about it, IMO. Try them all, and then choose what you like. It's all a matter of individual preference---and thank goodness we have just that in the oss community.