Desktop GUI Poll 2008

[wowbag1]

I use KDE, but on older machines I use Xfce or an older KDE. It's great to play with the other smaller window managers as well like twm etc. So I sometimes swap just to play.

[bucky]

Although KDE and gnome are very popular for new systems I run several old machines and find that TWM, Jwm, fluxbox and xfce, etc are all very different and offer a uniqueness to what ever they are on...this variety is one of the interesting things about linux...windows is ...well...windows...although many arguments may be made for which WM is better, I think they are all interesting and my handfull are very functional and offer variety and novelty to my boxs

[jayd512]

Been using Gnome, so that's how I voted. But since my box is getting a little long in the tooth I'm making a switch to IceWM just to see how I like it. Gonna give Flux a shot, too.

[elija]

I voted KDE as that is what drives the latest distros I have tried.
When I first used it, I wasn't that keen but it seems to be growing
on me.

I do like XFCE though and use that on my laptop and my eee

[oz]

After testing and using just about every DE and WM out there multiple times over the last few years, I still can't make up my mind what I want to stick with. I've switched back and forth between Gnome, KDE, and XFCE at least a dozen times in the last couple of months (I never mix any of them on the same system). Gnome keeps getting better and I really like it, but KDE always feels snappier on my machines and seems to break less often after upgrades. Xfce is nice and fast, but it isn't as polished as the other two, and somehow it always feels slightly incomplete, to me.

I spent a couple of years going through the various window managers and found FVWM to be my favorite, but it can be lots of work at times, especially when you first create your own configuration files for it. Fluxbox was probably my next favorite, and is pretty easy to configure.

Sometimes, I think it's nothing more than shear boredom that drives me to another DE/WM.

[Jason Coplen]

Generally XFCE, but I vary it up depending on my mood.

[kveldulf980]

Hmmm, no Xfce? It's what I have been using lately (woo for speed) so I guess "other".

[IsaacKuo]

I've been using IceWM for over five years. It's highly configurable and blindingly fast. If there is a faster window manager I don't know what it is.

I use IceWM also. Not only is it fast, but it's also highly functional (I appreciate how gaim and nm-applet applets work, and the taskbar shortcut icons, among other things).

In the past, I suspected that I might use something even more lightweight if I ever got my hands on a Toshiba Libretto--only 32megs of RAM. But during my testing, IceWM was faster and used less RAM than fluxbox and jwm. IceWM-lite used (a hair) less RAM than twm!

The amount of RAM IceWM uses depends on the theme used, of course. My favorite is IceCrack2--which is good looking as well as lightweight in RAM usage.

As far as I can tell, IceWM is the king of window managers. It's the fastest, lightest, most functional, most configurable, and possibly the prettiest (with the right themes). What's not to love?

[Dapper Dan]

My favorite is IceCrack2--which is good looking as well as lightweight in RAM usage.

Hi IsaacKuo! I'd dearly love to see your IceWM desktop! Do you have one posted anywhere?

[bidi]

I had to vote for "other". I've been using a GNUstep environment for a while now, and it's really nice. I got back to GNOME every once in a while but I like how GNUstep function better.