If you were to design a desktop environment or a window manager, what features would you like to see in it? In particular, list those features which aren't in the current Linux desktop environments and window managers.

Personally, I'd like to do away with panels, taskbars, slits, and main menus. The desktop would only show the wallpaper, and any windows which are currently open. Programs would be accessed by clicking anywhere on the desktop background, whereupon a popup menu appears, containing all running and non-running programs.

And what about a truly 3D desktop system? Sounds a bit silly, I know. Perhaps we could have 3D Quake-like rooms where various "program boxes" were kept. Open a box to execute the program. Blow it up with your rocket launcher to delete it.

It's hard to come up with truly unique ideas.

Have you tried the other WM's like ICEWM, WindowMaker, FVWM and others? Some do what you describe.

Take a look at fluxbox, it is the window manager that rules all. see sig!

If you build Fluxbox without toolbar and slit, this is pretty much what you get.

That would be a lot of fun....but I'd destroy my system too quickly =o)

I'd like to be able to switch the Alt+drag usage to another key in Fluxbox, rather than just turn it off.
Can't really think of anything else missing in my window manager.

JDS - Java Desktop System developed by Sun is a 3D environment. Also known as Codename: Looking-Glass, it makes your desktop into a cube - instead of switching to desktop 1, 2, etc you rotate the cube to one of the 6 desktops.

But what's the point? I mean, what advantage does this have over a regular 2D desktop with 6 workspaces? I can't really think of any. There must be a better way of utilising 3D for the desktop environment. I just can't think of any.

Well, think about it for a second. Obviously, you wouldn't have any real advantage, but there would be a "coolness factor" added in. Eye candy, man, eye candy. ;>

I would like to see gdesklets, with various displays come with major distros. Their so useful and look real cool And practical and so forth. http://gdesklets.gnomedesktop.org/

The 3-d desktop from sun is really cool. You can hang your various programs along the sides etc. I saw a demo i the sun site and was blown over. Search there as I have forgotten the url. And, I think we already have a zillion DE for every user, some of which are used only by their authors

I am perfectly satisfied with FVWM2. It does everything I need and looks nice and clean. Couldn't be happier. Of course, the main reason I use it over something like fluxbox, is that it can pretty much do the same things as other WMs, but I already know the config file.

I like a clean, simple desktop without much eye-candy. FVWM2 does this perfectly.

i hvae always wanted to see a 3d desktop.... but i thinking more of a 360degree zoom in and out type deal.. instead of a quake style map. but either way.. id like a 3d desktop

I'd like a 3d desktop just for the hell of it. You know, for fun. Otherwise, Dropline Gnome suits me just fine. I'm very content with it.

alright, yeah, the sun website is PHAT! gotta get a good video/display card...
check it out before you bash it too much... http://www.sun.com/software/looking_glass/details.html
does anyone use this thing tho?

-spencer

Have you tried SawFish natively? Sounds just like it. Nothing to clutter up your screen except what you expressly put there. Middle-click to get a menu, from which you can select programmes to run, or programmes that are already running.No...! I actually found a programme the purported to do just that (it was a Windows programme... and this was before I even heard of Linux, so pre-1998ish). It was truly horrible. An idea that looks good "on paper" but works out to be truly dire. May I suggest this be filed under "What was I thinking"?

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Ooh... I just thought of something. It is sort-of on the 3D lines, but not really. I would like it is windows/dialogues would be shrunk when they're not focussed. So, for example, if you lowered an application it'd get smaller. The lower the application the smaller it gets.
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i like that one, thymox. hey, anyone know of a desktop that has real transparency as a feature? i've seen it implemented well in mac OSX; a friend had it set up so that he could program in a shell that was transparent on top of a web browser - that way he could use his refrence without having to bring it up or size it all weird. i know that my terminal application has a transparency feature, but it doesn't show the programs beneath it - only the desktop image comes up. cool looking, but otherwise kinda stupid. any suggestions?