Both of these environments put a PC-like wrapper around what is
basically a no-frills Unix-based system suitable for personal
computers. For some people this is a good thing. But if you don't want
a lot of dialog boxes cluttering up the screen, and you're comfortable
editing configuration files to customize your environment, you might
instead try the fvwm2 window manager.
You can run applications on any of the screen pages you want and
navigate the entire desktop in a variety of ways. And if the default
environment doesn't suit you, well, you can specify a grid of any size
you like. How about three screens across and two down? No problem.
And if that isn't enough space for you, you can also have multiple
desktops, each composed of multiple pages! You might use separate
desktops for different applications or different projects, whatever
you like. fvwm2 provides the tools for
you to navigate whatever space you design.
fvwm2 is also customizable in a vast
number of other ways, some of the more significant of which this
chapter will summarize. What it all boils down to is maximum workspace
and maximum flexibility.