Fedora 8 with Enlightenment Window Manager

Linux Window Manager definition:
Wiki defines Window Manager as:
n X window manager is window manager under the X Window System, a windowing system mainly used on Unix-like systems.

Here's the shortest definition of Window Manager I could find, with the help of Google.
Linux window manager is a graphical interface which is commonly know as X11 or more simply as 'X'.

Unlike the Apple Macintosh and Microsoft Windows platforms, which have historically provided a vendor-controlled, fixed set of ways to control how windows and panes display on a screen, and how the user may interact with them, window management for the X Window System was deliberately kept separate from the software providing the graphical display.

This linux blog entry chooses one of those popular and widely used linux window manager, Enlightenment.

Enlightenment is a window manager. Enlightenment is a desktop shell. Enlightenment is the building blocks to create beautiful applications. Enlightenment, or simply e, is a group of people trying to make a new generation of software.

The latest version of Enlightenment is DR17. DR17 of the Enlightenment window manager represents an evolution into the next generation of desktop environments: the desktop shell. DR17 will provide integration between files and your environment in a seamless manner while encompassing a graphically rich and flexible architecture. It will not compete with GNOME or KDE, but be a completely new way of visualizing your desktop, based around the EFL which was built from the ground up for this task.

Still in heavy development, several applications that will be part of the DR17 release and examples of what is possible are already available in CVS, such as Entice, Entrance, and Evidence.

Enlightenment Installation

Here are 3 steps on how to install Enlightenment (E16 version) on Fedora 8.

1. Grab the rpm package for Fedora 6. Click here.

Alternatively, install enlightenment directly using rpm package manager like so

# rpm -ivh http://garr.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/enlightenment/e16-0.16.8.10-1.fc6.i386.rpm

2. Logout from Linux X and login back again using Enlightenment instead of GNOME/KDE window manager or hit Ctrl+Alt+Backspace to restart Linux X window manager.

3. Customize your window layouts, progam menus and desktop behavior using left and right clicks of your mouse from the Enlightenment window manager desktop.

Take note that you can still use GNOME X manager while Enlightenment window manager is enabled by choosing E-GNOME during the login setup.

You can switch back to your original X window manager by logging out and logging back in into your original window manager.

Here are serveral Enlightenment desktop screenshots.




Check out Enlightenment website, click here.
See more of shared enlightenment screenshots from here and here.

Enjoy and happy weekend!