I3wm, any progress?

[Linux for blind general discussion]

And why do you all not like mate?


MATE is very good, and it is probably more accessible than just about 
any full desktop environment currently available. But for some older 
machines with less than 2GB of RAM, even MATE, as lightweight as it is, 
can get slow. MATE is not just a window manager; its window manager is 
called Marco, which I believe can also be used standalone if desired. 
MATE is a full desktop environment complete with file management, 
panels, menus, pretty much everything you would expect from a full 
desktop. On the other hand, a window manager just manages application 
windows, allowing them to be arranged, switched, resized, etc. Yes, the 
window manager is a very important component of a desktop environment, 
as a desktop environment just won't work without a window manager. But 
it's just a part of a full desktop environment, not the whole thing. The 
main reason one would use a window manager without a full desktop 
environment would be to get more life out of an old machine or to 
customize the other components as needed, or to forego them altogether.


> I understand that testing new things is interesting, but whats wrong 
> with Mate and why should I switch to another WM eventualy and what 
> will those other desktop environments make better?


You don't need to switch at all. If MATE is your thing, definitely stay 
with it. It's what I run here, and I like it very much, although I do 
test things once in a while just to see how far things are coming along. 
A standalone window manager is not my thing at all, and it doesn't have 
to be, and it's the same for you. It's good though that some of these 
are getting some love from the accessibility side of things.

~Kyle