Current Linux desktops such as Gnome/Unity are built out of little boxes made of ticky-tacky. Viewports are all about thinking outside of the box. The first sign of the decline of Linux interface design was when viewports were ripped out of Gnome/Enlightenment in 2003 because its developers thought their users were stupid.
But FVWM has always had them, and has them still. And workspaces too. And it avoids the crippling overhead of a desktop while providing you with the ability to do anything you want.
So Why Do You Need a "Desktop"?
The biggest question in the Linux world today seems to be "which Desktop should I run?" The answer is surprisingly simple: none at all. It turns out that you can do everything - run every application - with just a window manager. And if you pick a good one, like FVWM, you can have essential features such as Viewports which have long been missing from "desktop"-driven environments. The only risk is the shock you'll get in seeing how much faster your computer runs.
Basic FVWM Installation in Arch Linux
Installing the underlying X Window System is either very simple (if your video hardware cooperates) or possibly very difficult (if it does not). But that's being overly cautious. I've installed X on many, many systems since the 1990s and have yet to find one that it couldn't handle.
Installing FVWM is dead simple, but you need to be prepared to encounter truly elegant minimalism.
FVWM Configuration and Tweaking
Sample .fvwm2rc file. Sample .Xresources file. An FvwmScript example. Fonts for digital lettering. Automounting USB devices using devmon.
All portions of this document not noted otherwise are Copyright © 2014 by David M. MacMillan and Rollande Krandall.
Circuitous Root is a Registered Trademark of David M. MacMillan and Rollande Krandall.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons "Attribution - ShareAlike" license. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ for its terms.
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