I think I have Openbox installed...

[Georgetoon]

But I'm not sure I understand it.

Is is like the other DEs?  Anything special I should know?  I'm just looking around to see what out there.  So, far, I've tried LXDE, E17, KDE, Gnome, and XFCE.   As I recall, Openbox was a bit less of a GUI?  I'd have to check my system again.  But before I boot into it, I'd just like to know what to expect.

[T6]

gui to use

kde4
gnome
lxde
xfce4
e17(enlightenment)
icewm
openbox
fluxbox
afterstep
windowmaker
xmbc(this one is a de but designed to be for music and videos mostly)

i think there was another that looks like windows 95, maybe icewm, can't remember

there was also compiz as a de but too much modifications required to make it work

the differences between all those are if based on qt or gtk and similar languages, also how simple/complex the desktop is, what resource it access(transparencies/opengl and similar) and if the desktop is fast or slow while using more or less resources and being or not compatible with other tools available in other desktops

remember not to install all of them, if you do it is possible we won't see you again, take food and water with you on this travel 

[melodie]

But I'm not sure I understand it.

Is is like the other DEs?  Anything special I should know?  I'm just looking around to see what out there.  So, far, I've tried LXDE, E17, KDE, Gnome, and XFCE.   As I recall, Openbox was a bit less of a GUI?  I'd have to check my system again.  But before I boot into it, I'd just like to know what to expect.

Hi,

Openbox is a window manager, not "a little less than a gui". Just a window manager, but with some advanced features to allow shortcuts to be used and configured for anything and for all uses. (See the wiki Openbox for information if you are interested to use more the keyboard and less the mouse). If you start to Openbox only, you will probably get a plain black screen (the root of X) with a funny right-click menu providing entries to programs that you may not even have.

This is of course if you installed only the package "openbox". Even if it comes along with a theme.

If you installed task-openbox, you will get a little more, as Leiche has done a good meta-package which pulls in several applications I think are needed to make it more like a desktop manager, but, you will still have a little work to do : read the post-install messages and copy some files from one place in the system to another in your home, so that the right-click menu contains entries to what you really have in the machine, and not the default.

But, if you have Lxde, then you already have Openbox, as window manager, therefore you may want to stick to it, because Lxde is a desktop manager, and brings in all that is needed to complete Openbox, which doesn't provide panel, menus, etc...

Finally, if you have the wish to try Openbox standalone, with configurations ready to use and easy to start with, I invite you to read the presentation of the PCLinuxOS Openbox edition, here:
OpenBox Desktop

and the presentation of the PCLinuxOS Openbox Bonsai a little lower on this page, and here.

[coffeetime]

remember not to install all of them, if you do it is possible we won't see you again, take food and water with you on this travel  

LOLL

T6 forgot to mention AwesomeWM.

OpenBox is very easy, light, fast WM. Just try it out and have fun. Here's my latest screenshot.

You can also check the OpenBox videos:

click me

clickme

[aguila]

There's also WMii: http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php/topic,84400.0.html which is a window manager without a desktop.

Maybe this is useful for you: http://xwinman.org/

We have Openbox with KDE apps e.g., and all DE versions are nicely tweaked with menus and themes to make it easy for the newcomer to a DE. Stick with PCLOS basics, get new gui  

Melodie and Crow put together an Edu Edition based on Openbox: http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php/topic,84534.0.html, you'll find it very easy to use.

If you want "vanilla" DEs there are LiveCDs available from the DEs / WMs themselves, not tweaked for comfort, looks, or branding. Just check out their websites. Try the same DE on different distros, everybody tends to implement things differently.

I think to really find out if you like or dislike a DE / WM, you'll have to use it for at least a couple of months, as there's a learning curve with every one of them. Quite a couple of people seem to like LXDE, but you have to put your hands on it to add ease-of-use.

I haven't left the KDE corner so far, tried (like you I guess) the others, but quickly got annoyed with some things that weren't there, so I leave it for now. I'm always in to trying new things, but it's also good to be able to return /home  

Maybe when my computers grow "old" I'll give the leightweight ones a try, am just preparing my old desktop with XFCE to give it to my parents. XCFE to me seems to be the best choice for "low profile" 60+ users (Internet, E-Mail, Word Processor, basta) who switch from XP to Linux.

[Aradalf]

Openbox is a Window Manager, not a Desktop Environment, unlike KDE, Gnome, XFCE, LXDE, CDE, and others. Here's a link to a page with info about different desktop environments. A desktop environment is a combination of a window manager and other utilities. As a result, it might feel more "complete" at first start than a window manager. But only the first time you start it. That's not to say standalone window managers are bad, though, as I've tried many and some are great(a few of them are Openbox, Fluxbox, WMii, and Awesome). Kde uses the KWin window manager, Gnome uses Metacity, LXDE uses Openbox, and XFCE uses XFwm. Here's a page with info about different window managers.

[T6]

if there is no mouse it is not a gui for me 

"Openbox is a Window Manager, not a Desktop Environment, unlike KDE, Gnome, XFCE, LXDE, CDE, and others"

so thin that line, almost can't see it

that list i put there is for things i used, there is more i know but that list is available on synaptic for you to install and use

[Aradalf]

that list i put there is for things i used, there is more i know but that list is available on synaptic for you to install and use

But awesome and WMii are in Synaptic.

[T6]

"But awesome and WMii are in Synaptic"

i didn't said it wasn't, i said that the list i made was available, my list is limited to what i have used and know, not to what is on repos

[Aradalf]

"But awesome and WMii are in Synaptic"

i didn't said it wasn't, i said that the list i made was available, my list is limited to what i have used and know, not to what is on repos

Oh okay, I get what you mean.

[Yankee]

Openbox is a Window Manager, not a Desktop Environment, unlike KDE, Gnome, XFCE, LXDE, CDE, and others.

I just installed OpenBox Bonsai and it looks like you could do everything LXDE can do with it, but
not KDE or Gnome.  All these WM's or DE's could use a good menu editor, they always miss one
or two programs somewhere. 


Patrick013

[Taco.22]

Openbox has a gui menu editor called obmenu.  It's in the repos.  It saves having to play with menu.xml if you you're not into that.

[Georgetoon]

Wow!:) Thanks, guys!:)  PCLinuxOS is simply awesome!

[melodie]

Hi,

One day I would like to take the time to ask you how you use obmenu. I tried it, I was simply scared to mess my config files if I used that. Does it change menu.xml by the way or rc.xml ? You have noticed the section "personalised configurations" in the rc.xml, haven't you ? With all the shorcuts predefined (that can changed, of course !)

Obconf doesn't help to change the entries in the main menu... but help you change the window theme, and several other interesting items.

[Yankee]

Hi,

One day I would like to take the time to ask you how you use obmenu...

Obconf doesn't help to change the entries in the main menu... but help you change the window theme, and several other interesting items.

I hope obmenu can change main menu entries, have not tried it yet.
Sometimes the computer puts things in office instead of internet, etc.
or just leaves an item out completely.  Have to try it someday but this
OpenBox Bonsai I installed is going to stay very small for awhile.

Patrick013