Click to See Complete Forum and Search --> : Blackbox vs Fluxbox vs Openbox Vs anyother...?
asklepios
03-06-2004, 03:04 PM
yeah thats what i want to know.
i m currently running Fluxbox 0.98 but i have a big problem. whenever i see a cool screenie, i start thinking...wow!!! should i try that one? i can see that there is a HUGE list available as a sticky in this forum but i just want to know from all you experienced people that which one of all the light weight window managers do you guy prefer and why? (please incline a bit more towards eye candy ;) )
is Fluxbox the best thing available or is there something better? thanx for reading :)
Well, I used blackbox forever. then switched to fluxbox,
most themes that i have used , or written, worked fine in either one, transparency, works between both
I cant say anything for openbox or hackedbox , since i have never used them,
but they are all based off the blackbox code
Arjay
03-06-2004, 08:32 PM
Is WindowMaker as lightweight as the rest? Dunno!! Anyway i used to use it on my old desktop, once you got all the menus sorted configured and got a couple of descent themes then it is a lovely desktop, especially all those little docking apps you can get :). Since i got a more powerful machine i have been using KDE mostly. Never spent much time with any of the others so i can't comment really.
Cheers
Openbox (3) no longer has any code in common with the other *box Window Managers.
It now uses XML files for its configuration except the theme files which are similar but not compatible with teh other *box WMS.
It comes with a script to convert the old *box themes over.
OB3 is a standards complient, stable WM that was coded from the ground up to be that way. They made it stable before they even considered the theming engine.
squeegy
03-06-2004, 09:25 PM
PekWM (http://www.pekwm.org) works nice very light weight very functional.
asklepios
03-07-2004, 09:44 AM
Hayl thanx for that explanation about OB3 man :)
can you please tell me whether it is any better than Fluxbox?
Pekwm looks nice too. does it support desktop icons? Fluxbox supports it using fbdesk but transparency is not there. what about Pekwm? will i be able to use KDE icons as desktop icons?
thanx for all the replies guys :)
Originally posted by asklepios
Hayl thanx for that explanation about OB3 man :)
can you please tell me whether it is any better than Fluxbox?
I don't want to get trapped in that game of which is better or worse. Some people won't like OB3 some won't like Fluxbox. It's entirely up to you... try both and see. (however I will say that I used to use Flux a long time ago and switched to OB2 and then OB3 and will never use Flux again)
Pekwm looks nice too. does it support desktop icons? Fluxbox supports it using fbdesk but transparency is not there. what about Pekwm? will i be able to use KDE icons as desktop icons?
no WMs support desktop icons (KDE/Gnome are not WMs - a WM only draws Windw decorations and provides minimize/maximize, move, resize, etc. functionality). you have to run additional code to have icons on the desktop.
fbdesk can be used alongside any WM you want to enable icons on the desktop. you can also use iDesk or Rox Filer with any WM to provide icon support.
asklepios
03-07-2004, 10:00 AM
Originally posted by Hayl
I don't want to get trapped in that game of which is better or worse. Some people won't like OB3 some won't like Fluxbox. It's entirely up to you... try both and see. (however I will say that I used to use Flux a long time ago and switched to OB2 and then OB3 and will never use Flux again) got your hint :)
nice diplomatic answer.
I started on Blackbox and moved to Flux for one simple reason:
Dock with active windows for minimise and maximise!
I can use the dock to shrink and expand windows without going through the menus.
I know it's a dumb reason but I loved Blackbox so to step to Flux was logical as it had a feature that I really wanted.
I have not used any other *box WMs though:)
Loki3
03-09-2004, 11:57 PM
I've used both openbox and fluxbox. Fluxbox has more bling-bling like transparent menus and rounded windows, openbox has the advantages/disadvantages (depends on how you look at it right?) that Hayl listed. Currently using fluxbox cause of the transparency features... I'm not afraid to admit it. Openbox always seemed a little more polished than fluxbox but then again I use the development version of fluxbox.
WayStar
03-10-2004, 12:50 PM
I've been using BlackBox. I can get FluxBox to look just like my BlackBox setup, but I haven't yet figured out how to jump between workspaces and apps in Flux...I'm so accustomed to the way it works with BlackBox.
Sometimes I switch away for awhile, but then I only go as far as IceWM...never Gnome or KDE (although I have them installed and use their apps). Maybe I should give OpenBox a try...
-Waylena
asklepios
03-10-2004, 04:26 PM
thanx for the replies guys. i m going to try openbox once this Gentoo box i m compiling gets up.
Originally posted by Loki3
openbox has the advantages/disadvantages (depends on how you look at it right?) could you please tell us those advantages/disadvantages from your point of view. it will be very nice of you :)
UltimaGuy
03-12-2004, 05:52 AM
You guys have not mentioned XFCE. IMHO it is the best, as it is both light and also very complete :cool:
Loki3
03-14-2004, 02:47 PM
Originally posted by asklepios
thanx for the replies guys. i m going to try openbox once this Gentoo box i m compiling gets up.
could you please tell us those advantages/disadvantages from your point of view. it will be very nice of you :)
They both have the same Blackbox-esqe feel. However Fluxbox's development version has some nice transparent menus, and the "slit" where dock apps are stored can also be transparent. The themes also supported rounded window corners. The menu and theme configs are easier to learn how to edit but less logical compared to the XML config's of Openbox. Fluxbox has a lot of little quirks in that annoy me. For example when I open up an Eterm it leaves a little black line at the bottom until I resize the menu.
Openbox has a lot less "bling-bling" but feels much smoother once you get used to the XML config files. It doesn't seem as chunky as fluxbox.
If eye-candy is what your after flux wins if you can put up with it's quirks. Keep in mind only the development version supports transparency.
I'd try both and see what you like better.