Desktop environments Archive

Want to try a real Java + Linux based desktop? JD4X and ZerahStar are joining efforts to produce a next generation desktop. It is still in very early stages of development but worth the try.

Window Maker, a window manager for X11 which mimics NEXTSTEP as close as possible, was released today. The most important news are antialiased fonts, UTF-8 support, font configuration in WPrefs, xinerama support, NetWM support (allows running well with GNOME 2.x, KDE 3.x) etc.

The XPde Team released XPde 0.5.1, the release that includes a Start Menu and fixes.

DistroWatch has a quick write up on the current status of FVWM, an old favorite.

IceWM is a lightweight window manager for UNIX-like systems. Although widely used, it is often underrated - there is hardly any IceWM-related content on the Internet. This article is my attempt to share my experiences as a longtime IceWM user. It contains tips and tricks, usage scenarios, and makes use of examples whenever possible to better demonstrate IceWM's features and capabilities. Finally, the article is meant for those with some familiarity with UNIX, but who are new to IceWM.

From Slashdot: Waimea 0.5.0 was released after about a year from the developer disappearing. It turns out he was just working on getting the OpenGL backend for Cairo completed. Waimea is the first window manager that uses Cairo for rendering.

This is the first release of XPDE with a completely rewritten code base. A screenshot can be seen here. Go at TechDigest to pose your question for an interview with XPDE.

FLTK-based Equinox Desktop Environment (EDE) 1.0.1 is released. Current released features: Small memory footprint; Fast loading, comparing to other window managers; Theme support; Window decorations support; Xft support (text anti-aliasing support); Wallpaper support (support for may image formats); Taskbar with configurable menu, cpu status, easy keyboard type switching; Localisation support; Graphical front-end for: xscreensaver configuration, software installation (.rpm, .deb, .tgz), time and time-zone configuration fast file and directory finder.

The latest installment of the DR16 series, Enlightenment version 0.16.6 has been released. Significant new features in this version include full support for the freedesktop.org Extended Window Manager Hints (EMWH) Specifications. This means that E now works excellently with both KDE 3.x and Gnome 2.x desktops and their applications. Automatic menu generation updated to work with Gnome 2.x and KDE 3.x menus. Support for software cursors in XFree86 4.3 or higher. Numerous bugfixes including focus issues, Epplets and more.

AfterStep is an X window manager which started by emulating the NeXTSTEP look and feel and changed along the way. The new version fixes compilation bugs, shaped windows bugs, I18N bugs, move-resize bugs, Pager bugs, and more have been fixed. Mouse cursor changing has been reimplemented in different parts of the window. look.glass has been updated. Desktop session saving and restoring has been implemented. In other X releases, Cairo is an X11 vector graphics library with cross-device output support. Version 1.5 was released today.

After many months of hard work by Sasha, he's happy to announce the birth of AfterStep 2.0 beta to the world, packed with new features and enhancements.

The XPde Team released XPde 0.4.0, a major upgrade to the XPde desktop environment and window manager. Check out the announcement, view the screenshots or read the detailed ChangeLog. Go to the downloads section to get the binaries and sources.

ROX-Filer 2.0.0 has been released. This is a major upgrade to the core component of the ROX Desktop. Use of ROX is centred around the file system, using the same program and interface to manage both applications and data. Originally based on concepts in RISC OS, ROX takes and extends these GUI ideas and merges them with an underlying Unix or Linux system. The release notes have the full story, and the guided tour and screenshots may be useful for new users.

The XPde Team released XPde 0.3.0, a major upgrade to the XPde desktop environment and window manager. Check out the announcement, view the screenshots or read the detailed ChangeLog. Go to the downloads section to get the binaries and sources. Read more for a quick commentary.