[linux-audio-user] Re: favorite window Manager for making music?

[tim hall]

On Tuesday 21 February 2006 20:39, Lee Revell was like:
> Gnome does not do this.

Some people just don't like GNOME, deal with it.

Not all decisions that people make in computing are based on the relative 
grace or brokenness of the implementation. There are considerations of style, 
ergonomics, hardware limitations, personal choice and pure emotive fluff.

Both GNOME and KDE have improved immeasurably since the people who don't like 
them tried them last. ;) They both provide great environments. Some people 
enjoy the familiarity of a Windows/Mac-like environment. Some people 
specifically don't. I like the combination of Openbox + fbpanel + rox that I 
use because it gives me the best of GNOME and Fluxbox-like features and 
everything is configurable in a way that I find easy to understand. I also 
enjoy the challenge of making my personal working environment as 
un-Windows/Mac-like as possible and the challenge of turning recycled 
hardware into useful multimedia machines. As you say, running KDE or GNOME 
doesn't affect the audio, the problem comes when you can't get the GUI to 
respond to your clicks on the 'Stop' button because the system is already 
doing double time trying to avoid xruns in the audio stream. You already did 
a sub 500MHz CPU disclaimer on that one, so fair enough. I've spent a lot of 
time working out how to soup up old bangers. 

I don't like a lot of the GNOME configuration utilities with their limited 
choices and I can't abide nautilus. Fairly major reasons for not using GNOME. 
I really, really have _tried_ to like it too. Fluxbox and Openbox have become 
popular with musicians for good reason, they stay out of the way, but can 
still be easily made to look good if need be. One day I will understand why 
people like fvwm too. ;] 

I rather enjoy these roundabout discussions on the merits and demerits of this 
and that software, it really is great to have such incredible choice. I 
usually point most Linux newbies at GNOME, despite my reservations, my son 
loves it and that's good enough recommendation for me. 

Personally I have just figured out devilspie and xmodmap, so my desktop 
experience is now near perfect and my multimedia keys now pop up the 
appropriate applications on the same desktop each time, no matter where I 
call them from. Neat. Right next I have to figure out LASH and I can start my 
entire studio from a single key! It was all a question of putting the right 
commands into a couple of text files, now that's what I call user-friendly!
-- 
cheers,

tim hall
http://glastonburymusic.org.uk/tim