[olug] xfce and the other guys

[Tim & Alethea Larson]

Dave Thacker wrote:
> In your opinion, what are the features that set a "Desktop Environment" apart 
> from a "Window Manager"?   

The little, subtle things that make a desktop feel like a single 
coordinated cohesive experience.  Like copy-and-paste that works the 
same across all apps, for instance.  A window manager alone lets you do 
basic operations in a GUI/WIMP setting, because it is window-centric: 
manage the windows and you're 90% of the way there.  It's the other 10% 
that's hard.

This partly explains why the Linux desktop has not taken over the world, 
I think.  It has, in a large way, suffered from the unix "small tools" 
mindset.  Use this WM, this taskbar, this widget, that doohickey, etc 
etc, and HEY I can do all the things I'd expect to do at a workstation. 
  But most users want a single consistent user experience, not the 
overhead of learning five different ways of doing what is essentially 
the same thing just because they're in different parts of the desktop.


Tim

-- 
Tim & Alethea
christtrek.org