What are some good window managers for linux?

ylang · 09-09-2012, 08:12 PM

Ok,I am building my own distro. I want to know some good lightweight and easily themable window managers for linux.

evo2 · 09-09-2012, 08:53 PM

Hi,

awesome meets all three criteria you specify, but it's not everyone's cup of tea.

http://awesome.naquadah.org/

Note also that it is not "for linux", but "for X", so it will run on most GNU/Linux systems.

Evo2.

ylang · 09-09-2012, 09:01 PM

Thank you evo2,Is openbox also good for theming??

evo2 · 09-09-2012, 09:08 PM

Hi,

I used openbox for a few years, and yes I guess you could say that.

BTW, what is the purpose of this distribution you plan to create?
If you tell people what it is for, they are more likely to be able to give you useful feedback.

Evo2.

snowday · 09-09-2012, 09:13 PM

"Distribution" derives from the verb "to distribute," so the question to ask yourself is: "what window manager is desired by the users to whom I plan to distribute?"

If the answer is irrelevant (i.e. users choose your distro unique for reasons having nothing to do with its look & feel) then my advice is to go with something popular and well-known like Xfce.

frankbell · 09-09-2012, 09:17 PM

Fluxbox is the bee's knees. It's been my favorite for years.

SalixOS has done some really nice stuff to integrate it with their Fluxbox flavor.

ylang · 09-09-2012, 09:27 PM

I aim for the distro to be easy to use and understand for people who are from a windows or Mac background.

suicidaleggroll · 09-09-2012, 09:28 PM

Will they be doing their own admin or will they just be users on a system maintained by somebody else? If they're just users and somebody else will be admin, I find just about any WM/DE to be easy enough to pick up and use. Even my girlfriend who is pretty much useless at computers was able to use XFCE without a problem.

evo2 · 09-09-2012, 09:34 PM

Hi,

Quote:

Originally Posted by ylang

I aim for the distro to be easy to use and understand for people who are from a windows or Mac background.

In that case I'd suggest that you need a full desktop environment. XFCE would probably be a good choice.

Note also that there are already many distros for the "market" you describe.

Evo2.

snowday · 09-09-2012, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ylang

I aim for the distro to be easy to use and understand for people who are from a windows or Mac background.

Have you considered getting involved with an existing project with similar goals, such as Mint?

ylang · 09-09-2012, 09:52 PM

They will be administrating. I plan to distribute the system.

ylang · 09-09-2012, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snowpine

Quote:

Originally Posted by ylang

I aim for the distro to be easy to use and understand for people who are from a windows or Mac background.

Have you considered getting involved with an existing project with similar goals, such as Mint?

Yes,I have but I would like to create my own distro as I do not like mint and its design.

evo2 · 09-09-2012, 10:09 PM

Hi,

ok what about Debian (with xfce or lxde), xubuntu or lubuntu?

Evo2.

snowday · 09-09-2012, 10:17 PM

Ah, cool, so you're going to make like Mint, only better... I'm sure it will be very popular if you can pull it off.

ylang · 09-10-2012, 04:44 AM

I am basing it off arch linux.