installing much desktops

[Tim Chase]

On May  2, 2016, Kristoffer Gustafsson wrote:
> can I install many desktops at the same time?

My first interpretation was that you had a lab full of machines and
you wanted to bulk-install across them.  In which case, yes, Debian
can be automated to do that.

However, reading further, I understood that you want multiple desktop
environments (DE) and/or window-managers (WM).  You can certainly
install as many as you want, though can usually only run one at a
time.  It helps if your login manager is DE/WM aware.  I believe the
stock "xdm" is pretty dumb about it, needing an add-on tool that lets
you pick your DE/WM as it starts up.  There are others such as "gdm"
or "slim" that let you choose your DE/WM at startup.

So yes, I have a couple machines with multiple DE/WMs installed and
flip between them as needed.  I spend most of my time in fluxbox
mostly because it's lightweight and easily configured for keyboard
control to launch apps and manipulate windows.  I don't know how
accessible it is though.  But occasionally I switch over to XFCE or
others just to try them.

-tim