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by F3nd0 10 days ago
Window Maker is still really cool! Not a full desktop environment, though. I tried using it with GNUstep for a while, but while the base libraries are apparently still actively developed and maintained, a lot of the applications are antiquated, and they’re very hard to make blend in with EFL/GTK/Tk/Qt apps.

Sometimes I wonder what the desktop landscape would look like today if that branch of software gained wider adoption in the free software communities. :-)
2 comments
naves 10 days ago
You should then give NEXTSPACE a try: https://github.com/trunkmaster/nextspace

I think it’s the closest thing to that dream today.

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F3nd0 10 days ago
Oh, it’s still alive! Development stalled a while back, so I was worried something may have happened to the author, with their land being invaded and all.

It seems more focused on the retro aesthetic, which I personally don’t love, but it’s still really nice to see.

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datakan 10 days ago
> Sometimes I wonder what the desktop landscape would look like today if that branch of software gained wider adoption in the free software communities. :-)

It's derived from GNUStep which was from NeXstep who Apple bought. OSX and now macOS are descendants of that design. That's where the macOS dock comes from. Not a 1 to 1 design obviously but a marriage between the operating systems thanks to Steve Jobs.

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em-bee 10 days ago
early versions of MacOS X were really just reskinned NeXTSTEP/OpenStep. in the first versions you could even switch through some trickery, i think.
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