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I3: Improved Tiling Window Manager

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Re: I3: Improved Tiling Window Manager

#221

Post by siraben »

I've used i3 for several years[0], and it's one of my favorite window managers out there. I had a couple of failed attempts on Debian/Ubuntu but NixOS made it so easy to switch to i3 and use XFCE as the desktop environment, which is great when you want to use i3 but not worry about setting sleep settings/keybindings for volume and display, etc., so I recommend i3+xfce for anyone wanting to give i3 a try without investing too much time configuring.

Also, i3/Sway handles external displays well, better than macOS IMO. When a display is disconnected, macOS merges the windows into the laptop display, but on tiling window managers they just stay in the same workspace number, which can be switched to on the laptop display, this is much more predictable and simpler.

[0]

I switched to Sway recently, the main reason being is that when you have an external display with a different DPI than your laptop display (which in my case is a HiDPI Retina Display), it's quite hacky to get it work under X, but it works flawlessly in Wayland. See my user config[1] for more, let me know of any questions regarding program compatibility under Wayland.

The configuration syntax is essentially compatible with i3 as well.

[1] https://github.com/siraben/dotfiles/blob/master/home-manager...

Re: I3: Improved Tiling Window Manager

#222

Post by ruste »

krebs_liebhaber wrote: post #214
stfwn wrote: post #66

I used to be all in on Apple. On macOS I had a little program called Magnet to snap windows to sides and corners, and on my iPad (with external keyboard) I SSH’d into a VPS to write and run code there. I used Alfred and had all kinds of workflows in there. I thought it was great. But then during my AI studies I wanted some beefier hardware, which was just not affordable for me within Apple’s ecosystem, plus they only…

I dont like Microsoft operating systems and wanted to try something different. I installed Linux. The installation process was very painful. Getting it to cooperate with the hardware was worse, and of course there is no real support. I finally got it halfway working. At that point, I found it was hard to learn, harder to get used to, and hardest to do anything useful since none of the programs were familiar. Two days…

I've been using linux for over a decade and never even _heard_ of this or something similar happening. AFAIK the only typical way to configure these things is through the BIOS, well below the OS level. It sounds like something got borked and the computer repair shop decided it was easier to blame linux than to figure out or explain what happened.

Re: I3: Improved Tiling Window Manager

#224

Post by p2t2p »

nicolapcweek94 wrote: post #213

I never really understood TWMs. They look incredibly pretty after heavy configuration, and I get the appeal of that, but for daily use my workflow - on two 27' 4k monitor - is to keep a window maximized on each and alt-tab through them when I need something else, which will replace one of the two maximized windows with its own. Occasionally I "tile" two windows side by side for comparisons etc, but that is disappeari…

Right now I have two columns. Wide, left with Idea and right with 3 terminals vertically. I can switch to any terminal with single key press, without needing to look for it among other windows when alt-tabbin. I also have multiple tags and on other tag I have a similar arrangement for another project that I keep an eye on. On second monitor I have 3 fullscreen apps on separate tags - zoom, slack and spotify and each one of them has a dedicated shortcut.

When I was using mac, I had similar setup using snap and keyboard maestro, only I had to ctr-tab in iterm like crazy if I had several projects. Not anymore.

Overall I feel that I manage all of it way less and have to go through way less stuff to find what I need.

Re: I3: Improved Tiling Window Manager

#225

Post by wwright »

krebs_liebhaber wrote: post #214
stfwn wrote: post #66

I used to be all in on Apple. On macOS I had a little program called Magnet to snap windows to sides and corners, and on my iPad (with external keyboard) I SSH’d into a VPS to write and run code there. I used Alfred and had all kinds of workflows in there. I thought it was great. But then during my AI studies I wanted some beefier hardware, which was just not affordable for me within Apple’s ecosystem, plus they only…

I dont like Microsoft operating systems and wanted to try something different. I installed Linux. The installation process was very painful. Getting it to cooperate with the hardware was worse, and of course there is no real support. I finally got it halfway working. At that point, I found it was hard to learn, harder to get used to, and hardest to do anything useful since none of the programs were familiar. Two days…

I don't mean to bring back the forum lifestyle of the 00s, but this is just plainly FUD. Linux does not cause hardware issues like this with any high frequency (of course it may occasionally, but any software will damage that hardware eventually). I've installed Linux, and helped others install Linux, on dozens of machines over my life. I've worked with others who install Linux on everything they touch. I've literally never heard of a story like this.

So it is POSSIBLE that Linux might have caused your issue. Your computer repair guy, however, is probably just wrong. And I would personally guess that your damage was due to power or environmental issues rather than Linux.

Re: I3: Improved Tiling Window Manager

#226

Post by kmstout »

I've been an i3 user for a few years. (I discovered Ratpoison many moons ago and found the tiled approach an efficient way to use a laptop.) My configuration is nothing special, but here are a couple things I've found helpful:

1. Opacity follows the focus (see compton's "-i" option). If I look at a window and see my wallpaper showing through, I know that whatever I type won't be going there.

2. A generously sized terminal window lives in the scratchpad. Since I'm on a laptop, I sometimes find myself bouncing among workspaces fairly often--yet the same terminal is always a keystroke away.

Also, not i3-specific, but having a key binding for opening a specific notes file in an editor ensures that I make notes much more often.

Re: I3: Improved Tiling Window Manager

#227

Post by activitypea »

siraben wrote: post #221

I've used i3 for several years[0], and it's one of my favorite window managers out there. I had a couple of failed attempts on Debian/Ubuntu but NixOS made it so easy to switch to i3 and use XFCE as the desktop environment, which is great when you want to use i3 but not worry about setting sleep settings/keybindings for volume and display, etc., so I recommend i3+xfce for anyone wanting to give i3 a try without inves…

any tips on getting i3 and xfce to work together?

Re: I3: Improved Tiling Window Manager

#228

Post by zxexz »

krebs_liebhaber wrote: post #214
stfwn wrote: post #66

I used to be all in on Apple. On macOS I had a little program called Magnet to snap windows to sides and corners, and on my iPad (with external keyboard) I SSH’d into a VPS to write and run code there. I used Alfred and had all kinds of workflows in there. I thought it was great. But then during my AI studies I wanted some beefier hardware, which was just not affordable for me within Apple’s ecosystem, plus they only…

I dont like Microsoft operating systems and wanted to try something different. I installed Linux. The installation process was very painful. Getting it to cooperate with the hardware was worse, and of course there is no real support. I finally got it halfway working. At that point, I found it was hard to learn, harder to get used to, and hardest to do anything useful since none of the programs were familiar. Two days…

It would be truly impressive if the thousands of developers of the Linux kernel had, over the course of 30 years, managed to create an operating system that physically destroys your computer. I've half a mind that this comment is meant to be humorous.

Anyway, sounds like your computer repair place was looking for a quick buck. At the very least, they have no idea what they're talking about.

Re: I3: Improved Tiling Window Manager

#229

Post by pjmlp »

pimeys wrote: post #120
octoberfranklin wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This was more or less my path as well. I will never, ever forgive Apple for removing two-dimensional virtual desktops (I think they called it "spaces"). Then just to spite all of us, a few releases later they made it impossible for TotalSpaces (a hack that gave us back this functionality) to do the kernel code-injection wizardry that they sold for the incredible bargain price of $12 or something like that. Because, y…

Exactly this. And why I nowadays only use open source software is that I know my experience stays the same for good. I use i3 because it works just like it worked 10 years ago. I don't need a new experience with every release, new graphics, new ways to use my computer. I just need a utilitarian desktop with my editor, browser and a terminal.

Not being long enough on FOSS space?

My AMD drivers, and a couple of sysadmins might want to have a talk.

Re: I3: Improved Tiling Window Manager

#230

Post by siraben »

activitypea wrote: post #227
siraben wrote: post #221

I've used i3 for several years[0], and it's one of my favorite window managers out there. I had a couple of failed attempts on Debian/Ubuntu but NixOS made it so easy to switch to i3 and use XFCE as the desktop environment, which is great when you want to use i3 but not worry about setting sleep settings/keybindings for volume and display, etc., so I recommend i3+xfce for anyone wanting to give i3 a try without inves…

any tips on getting i3 and xfce to work together?

For NixOS it's just a matter of adding the following to your system configuration, I'm not sure about other distros.

  services.xserver = {
    enable = true;   
    desktopManager = {
      default = "xfce";
      xterm.enable = false;
      xfce = {
        enable = true;
        noDesktop = true;
        enableXfwm = false;
      };
    };
    windowManager.i3.enable = true;
    displayManager.defaultSession = "xfce+i3";
  };
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