- #1
FulhamFan3
- 134
- 0
What is the difference between a desktop environment and a windows manager? Why do I need them both?
FulhamFan3 said:I've been a windows/dos guy my whole life. I'm pretty much trying to find something that mirrors windows 3.1 where the graphical environment is pretty much a visual shell for DOS. I have a computer than ran windows 98 pretty competently(pentium 233). I've tried KDE and that was horribly slow and bloated. People tell me that redhat should work at least as well as Win98 but that's BS. They tell me for my system I can only run the command line but if Win98 runs well then some sort of linux GUI should work at least as well. Any recommendations?
A desktop environment is a complete suite of software that provides a graphical interface for a computer's operating system. It includes a window manager, as well as other tools such as a file manager, desktop icons, and a control panel. A window manager, on the other hand, is a standalone program that controls the appearance and placement of windows on the screen. It is responsible for drawing the borders, buttons, and other decorations around windows, and managing their movement and resizing.
Yes, in most cases, you can use a different window manager with your current desktop environment. However, some desktop environments are tightly integrated with their default window manager and may not work properly with a different one. Additionally, some features of the desktop environment may not be available when using a different window manager.
The process for switching between window managers varies depending on your operating system and desktop environment. In some cases, you can choose a different window manager from the login screen. In others, you may need to manually edit configuration files or use a command line tool. It is recommended to research the specific steps for your setup before attempting to switch window managers.
Some popular desktop environments include GNOME, KDE, Xfce, and Cinnamon. Popular window managers include Openbox, i3, Awesome, and Fluxbox. Keep in mind that there are many more options available, and the best one for you will depend on your personal preferences and needs.
Yes, desktop environments and window managers can have an impact on system performance. Generally, more lightweight options such as Xfce and Openbox will use fewer system resources and may result in better performance on older or slower hardware. However, modern hardware can typically handle most desktop environments and window managers without significant performance differences.