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This was on my shortlist when I first moved to Arch before I landed on just plain i3. Am I missing anything by not trying it?

by recuter 12y ago

chunkstuntman 12y ago
I enjoyed using xfce as a nice desktop environment around a tiling window manager (bspwm), I'm sure i3 would plug in similarly.
tarentel 12y ago
I switched from xfce to i3. I keep them both installed though. I have a hard time using i3 with programs that have a lot of floating windows like gimp. So if I know I'm going to be doing something like that I'll switch to xfce. I also had an easier time setting up i3 the way I wanted it to look with xfce stuff than I did with gnome stuff.
- platz 12y ago
  I use i3 but also use a lot of the xfce widgets/apps as they work nicely with i3. Can't wait for the power manager fix for systemd
- thrownaway122 12y ago
  Gimp has had single window mode for years now. window -> single window mode
dredmorbius 12y ago
It is trivial to try out a different desktop environment on Linux. The process doesn't commit you, and you can back out to your previous environment at any time. 1. Install the environment(s) you want to try. 2. Log out of your present desktop session and select the new alternative at your display manager (log-in) prompt. That's it. Or, if you don't want to log out entirely, create a new test account, and use that (with a new session -- yes, you _can_ run multiple desktop sessions at a time) and try out different desktop environments / window managers. Or, use Xephyr, a nesting X server, to run X within your present X session. Or, use a virtual machine to test a different OS entirely (heavier weight than other options). Lots of alternatives.
- Gracana 12y ago
  If you use lvm snapshots (which are very well documented in the arch wiki), you can try horrible system-destroying changes and just roll back if you don't like it or want to have another go. I had a lot of fun doing that when I first tried arch.
  - dredmorbius 12y ago
    That presumes you're using LVM partitions in the first place. I've generally found those to be a level of fussery that's sufficiently 1) advanced and 2) rarely exercised that I prefer _not_ dealing with them. Easier to either rely on a package management system which doesn't betray you (among the reasons I tend to like Debian and its derivatives -- and no, I haven't played with Arch or its PM, though the OP clearly is), or set up a specific test account for such things.
- mkartic 12y ago
  I don't think the OP has a problem figuring out how to try a new DE. The question was whether it's worth it. The nuanced answers of users with considerable experience is more valuable (IMHO) than just firing up Xfce for a session or two.
  - dredmorbius 12y ago
    The effort to do so is so low that yes, if you're curious, it's worth it.
- sampo 12y ago
  Not entirely true. Installing xubuntu-desktop on Ubuntu, changes the greeter (the login screen) and it takes some googling and editing config files to get back the more modern looking Unity greeter. If one cares about such details.
  - dredmorbius 12y ago
    Fair point that. lightdm got itself installed on my Debian laptop a ways back, it's sufficiently non-annoying that I've left it be. The GNOME desktop manager bugs the crap out of me. I'm old-school enough to still somewhat like xdm, though I've used wdm (windowmaker / GNUStep) and kdm. I interact with any of them so infrequently that it's really not a concern.

This was on my shortlist when I first moved to Arch before I landed on just plain i3. Am I missing anything by not trying it?

by recuter 12y ago

This was on my shortlist when I first moved to Arch before I landed on just plain i3. Am I missing anything by not trying it?

chunkstuntman 12y ago

I enjoyed using xfce as a nice desktop environment around a tiling window manager (bspwm), I'm sure i3 would plug in similarly.

tarentel 12y ago

I switched from xfce to i3. I keep them both installed though. I have a hard time using i3 with programs that have a lot of floating windows like gimp. So if I know I'm going to be doing something like that I'll switch to xfce. I also had an easier time setting up i3 the way I wanted it to look with xfce stuff than I did with gnome stuff.

platz 12y ago
I use i3 but also use a lot of the xfce widgets/apps as they work nicely with i3. Can't wait for the power manager fix for systemd
thrownaway122 12y ago
Gimp has had single window mode for years now. window -> single window mode

dredmorbius 12y ago

It is trivial to try out a different desktop environment on Linux. The process doesn't commit you, and you can back out to your previous environment at any time. 1. Install the environment(s) you want to try. 2. Log out of your present desktop session and select the new alternative at your display manager (log-in) prompt. That's it. Or, if you don't want to log out entirely, create a new test account, and use that (with a new session -- yes, you _can_ run multiple desktop sessions at a time) and try out different desktop environments / window managers. Or, use Xephyr, a nesting X server, to run X within your present X session. Or, use a virtual machine to test a different OS entirely (heavier weight than other options). Lots of alternatives.

Gracana 12y ago
If you use lvm snapshots (which are very well documented in the arch wiki), you can try horrible system-destroying changes and just roll back if you don't like it or want to have another go. I had a lot of fun doing that when I first tried arch.
- dredmorbius 12y ago
  That presumes you're using LVM partitions in the first place. I've generally found those to be a level of fussery that's sufficiently 1) advanced and 2) rarely exercised that I prefer _not_ dealing with them. Easier to either rely on a package management system which doesn't betray you (among the reasons I tend to like Debian and its derivatives -- and no, I haven't played with Arch or its PM, though the OP clearly is), or set up a specific test account for such things.
mkartic 12y ago
I don't think the OP has a problem figuring out how to try a new DE. The question was whether it's worth it. The nuanced answers of users with considerable experience is more valuable (IMHO) than just firing up Xfce for a session or two.
- dredmorbius 12y ago
  The effort to do so is so low that yes, if you're curious, it's worth it.
sampo 12y ago
Not entirely true. Installing xubuntu-desktop on Ubuntu, changes the greeter (the login screen) and it takes some googling and editing config files to get back the more modern looking Unity greeter. If one cares about such details.
- dredmorbius 12y ago
  Fair point that. lightdm got itself installed on my Debian laptop a ways back, it's sufficiently non-annoying that I've left it be. The GNOME desktop manager bugs the crap out of me. I'm old-school enough to still somewhat like xdm, though I've used wdm (windowmaker / GNUStep) and kdm. I interact with any of them so infrequently that it's really not a concern.