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Originally Posted by EvilGardenGnome
...what is the difference between a Windows Manager like the *boxes and a Desktop Environment like Xfce?
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OpenBSD supports nearly forty different window managers which range from the feature-rich environments offered by KDE & GNOME down to very the very minimal such as
cwm(1). One site which pictorially compares a number of window managers can be found at the following:
http://xwinman.org/
As for the choices you mention, XFCE lies closer to the KDE/GNOME end of the continuum, & fluxbox/blackbox lies closer to cwm. The default window manager configured on OpenBSD is
fvwm(1), however cwm is also installed. Given only 128MB RAM, I would recommend staying away from KDE/GNOME, however you can likely run them, but you will also see the system work at keeping up with the eye candy. XFCE is most likely a better choice, but personally, I prefer fluxbox which is quite popular amongst many on these forums. The best advice anyone can give is to urge you to experiment by installing different window managers & choose for yourself.
Quote:
My understanding is that the DE's are more like Windows and Gnome, but I'm really at a loss for how WM's compare to that. Is a WM just a collection of windows?
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Window managers are optional, however attempting to do daily work without a window manager is laborious. Window managers allow multiple windows, & the decorations required to resize, reposition, minimize, & expand windows. Window managers usually provide some means to graphically select applications to execute as well as manage whatever features the window manager provides.
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Do you do all the interaction through terminal?
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KDE/GNOME/XFCE have file managers which allows a graphical interface for managing files & directories, however file managers can be installed on lighter weight window managers such as Fluxbox. Rox is a common choice. Personally, I use
xterm(1)-like applications like aterm for most system interaction, but I also use more mainstream applications like Firefox, OpenOffice.org, Adobe Reader, & GIMP as well. Running any of these applications can be done with any window manager.
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...any hints/links are greatly appreciated.
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Given that you have already mentioned OpenBSD, you will save yourself
significant time by familiarizing yourself now with the information found in the official FAQ:
http://openbsd.org/faq/index.html
...as well as OpenBSD's application system
(known as packages & ports system...):
http://openbsd.org/faq/faq15.html
Good luck!