The Faces of Linux
Desktops and Window Managers of the X Window System
This page may take slightly longer to load than most of
my pages. If you want to see what X Window System desktops and window
managers for Linux look like, you should
wait. To be totally accurate, only the first two are desktops. The
others are really window managers, but more about that below.
Along with a complete operating system, many communications,
educational, business, entertainment, and programming applications, there are
many variations that can be chosen for Linux. This page shows eight
variations of the X Window System desktops and window managers. There are
more. Most of them can be modified with different styles, different colors,
and different background wallpaper. Desktops can even be changed by changing
the window manager driving them. This is not the end of desktop variations
that can be used with the XFree86 graphical user interface, (GUI), that comes
with Linux. This is only the beginning.
As I said above, only two of these views are of desktops, the
rest are window managers. A desktop is kind of an enhanced window manager.
The desktop needs a window manager and often comes with one selected as its
default window manager. A window manager doesn't need a desktop. A desktop is a
GUI environment, the window manager, complete with its own applications. A
window manager provides the GUI environment for any application that is
written to run on it. This paragraph is not intended to confuse, even if it
sounds like it is intended to confuse. The average user may never need to
know the difference between a desktop and a window manager, just how to use
them and which desktop and/or window manager they prefer. For simplicity, I
will refer to all of the window managers and desktops as desktops because
they all provide what would be called a desktop on other operating systems.
You can see any of these desktops in 800x600 resolution
by clicking on the image on this page. Then, to return to this page, use
your browser's return button.
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| Gnome |
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A
very easy to set up and use desktop. This one and KDE look like the most
likely winners in the race. More information is available from
www.gnome.org |
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| KDE |
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A
very easy to setup and use desktop. This one and Gnome look like the most
likely winners in the race. More information is available from
www.kde.org |
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| Ice |
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A
very nice desktop second only to KDE and Gnome. More information is available from
icewm.sourceforge.net |
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| fvwm |
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Another
desktop for the X Window System. Free Virtual Window Manager. More
information is available from
www.fvwm.org |
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| fvwm2 |
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Another
desktop for the X Window System. Free Virtual Window Manager 2. More
information is available from
www.fvwm.org |
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| twm |
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| Another
desktop for the X window System. Tom's Window Manager. |
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| WindowMaker |
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Another
desktop for the X Window System. Free Virtual Window Manager. More
information is available from
www.windowmaker.org |
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| AfterStep |
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Another
desktop for the X Window System. Based on the NeXTSTEP interface. More information
is available from
www.afterstep.org |
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Other window managers or desktops
not displayed
amiwm--------------An Amiga window manager interface
Blackbox------------A fast window manager
Enlightenment
eXode----------------Enhanced X Open desktop
fvwm95-------------Looks like Windows 95-98
mwm----------------Motif
mwm----------------LessTif, (A clone of Motif)
mlvwm-------------Macintosh-like Virtual window manager
qvwm---------------Q Virtual window manager-Looks like Windows 95-98
scwm----------------Scheme Configurable Window Manager
olwm----------------Open Look Window Manager-The Xview window manager
More Linux-Snapshots of some
applications running on Linux under the X Window System
jv
