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WindowMaker desktop manager development resumes

When the chief scribe first starting using Linux regularly some years ago, he ventured slightly further than the usual Gnome and KDE desktops, occasionally getting to grips with the slightly more esoteric WindowMaker window manager.

An earlier version of the WindowMaker desktop manager. Picture courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Slashdot now reports that a new team of developers has recently resumed development of WindowMaker. The new development team has added many new features, including improved support for the freedesktop standard menu layout and Mac OS X style application and window switching from the keyboard. The team’s work has now culminated in a new release, 0.95.2, following hard on the heels of the release of version 0.95.1; these are the project’s first releases since 2006. Keep up the good work; it’s great to see you back! 🙂

3 Responses to WindowMaker desktop manager development resumes

  1. Fri13 February 20, 2012 at 9:43 am #

    Windowmaker has not lost its effectiveness, as I see it used in many KIOSK devices with a very limited features (like possibility to open WWW browser, text editor, videoeditor and skype) and it works great, people who never has used it, understand it right away.

    Windowmaker has already features what Microsoft is adding to Windows 8. Tiles what surrounds the information. And now more than ever, Windowmaker works even better as we have stupid 16:9 format screens wasting space. Even that Windowmaker was designed and is great for 4:3 format, it works even today well.

    Few things what I am waiting for, are a new themes, icons and actually updating the whole environment to modern time. Think KDE Plasma as the theme engine where we would have transparent and glass effect for tiles. A Oxygen iconset used in tiles and shadows under window.
    Just updating the Windowmaker look would bring it to modern era and even to “post-PC” time what everyone are trying to market

    • Steve Woods February 20, 2012 at 1:22 pm #

      Many thanks for your informative comment, Fri13. 🙂

  2. MJ Ray February 21, 2012 at 9:49 am #

    Esoteric? I think you mean undervalued. It works, hasn’t changed in backwards-incompatible ways and isn’t trying to mimic Microsoft. I’ve used it for years.