So for a long time pretty much every computer used the traditional like windows layout with moveable windows that minimized or maximized and had a taskbar and start menu and whatnot. You had some minor changes with Mac and stuff, but now you can really have some radically different ways to use a computer.

Personally I have differing preferences if I’m using a laptop or a desktop.

On my desktop I prefer a dock and to use the mouse to click around. More of the windows style. Then on a laptop (which I use most often) I use a heavily gesture based navigation.

Currently I have Gnome modified so that when I am in a program, like the web browser I’m in typing this, it is full screen. The top bar is hidden, and there’s no dock of any kind. Not even one that pops up when I move the mouse to the edge of the screen. Instead I have everything for navigation hidden inside the task view. I swipe up on the trackpad with 3 fingers to bring it up. That’s how I see time, battery life, and the other topbar stuff too. If switching quickly between two things I put one of them in a 2nd desktop and use a 3 finger side swipe to move back and forth.

I’m curious to know what other unique or highly custom navigation methods people are using on Linux. I know tiling window managers are pretty popular. Is there a general consensus on what’s best these days? Or is everyone doing slightly different things?

  • LeapSecond@lemmy.zip
    1·
    3 hours ago

    I like the windows/kde style window navigation and always have a touchpad, not always a mouse. I’ll generally use what the system offers with some requirements:

    1. Changing between windows should be deterministic with no need to look at the screen
    2. You should be able to do as much as possible from each input method (keyboard/touchpad/mouse) but not require combining them for an action
    3. You should be able to do “emergency” actions (like locking or sound control) one-handed

    Some general preferences:

    • Single desktop
    • Dock and top panel always visible, no fullscreen apps unless it’s a video
    • Keyboard+touchpad shortcut to change between windows (not apps)
    • Shortcut to bring up specific app from dock
    • Touchpad shortcuts for sound and brightness control
    • Shortcuts for moving windows between screens and snapping them to the sides

    KDE and gnome can be configured for all of the above. Windows already does most of it. MacOS breaks almost everything and is surprisingly hard to configure (I don’t understand how it’s considered good ui). I haven’t tried tilling managers, they’ll probably pretty usable too.