559 lines
9.6 KiB
HTML
559 lines
9.6 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
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<HTML
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>Window Managers and Desktops</TITLE
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>The X Window User HOWTO</TH
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect1"
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><H1
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CLASS="sect1"
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><A
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NAME="windowman"
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></A
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>6. Window Managers and Desktops</H1
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><P
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> We shall not delve into configuring Window Manager's and Desktop Environments.
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There is just too much to try to cover in one document. It is important to
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realize that the two are not the same. There are many, many Window Managers
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available.
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</P
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect2"
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><H2
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CLASS="sect2"
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><A
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NAME="AEN1023"
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></A
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>6.1. Window Managers</H2
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><P
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> Window Managers are highly configurable. Many aspects of user interaction can
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be controlled by the Window Manager.
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</P
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><P
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> Some of the most popular Window Managers:
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</P
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><P
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></P
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><TABLE
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BORDER="0"
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><TBODY
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><TR
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><TD
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> aewm: <A
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HREF="http://www.red-bean.com/~decklin/aewm/"
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TARGET="_top"
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>http://www.red-bean.com/~decklin/aewm/</A
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>
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</TD
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></TR
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></TBODY
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></TABLE
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><P
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></P
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><P
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></P
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><TABLE
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BORDER="0"
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><TBODY
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><TR
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><TD
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> AfterStep: <A
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HREF="http://www.afterstep.org/"
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TARGET="_top"
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>http://www.afterstep.org/</A
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>
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</TD
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></TR
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></TBODY
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></TABLE
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><P
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></P
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><P
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></P
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><TABLE
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BORDER="0"
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><TBODY
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><TR
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><TD
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> BlackBox: <A
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HREF="http://sourceforge.net/projects/blackboxwm"
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TARGET="_top"
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>http://sourceforge.net/projects/blackboxwm</A
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>
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</TD
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></TR
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></TBODY
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></TABLE
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><P
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></P
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><P
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></P
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><TABLE
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BORDER="0"
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><TBODY
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><TD
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> Enlightenment: <A
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HREF="http://www.enlightenment.org/pages/main.html"
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TARGET="_top"
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>http://www.enlightenment.org/pages/main.html</A
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>
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</TD
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></TR
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></TBODY
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></TABLE
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><P
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></P
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><P
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></P
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><TABLE
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BORDER="0"
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><TBODY
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><TR
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><TD
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> Fluxbox: <A
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HREF="http://fluxbox.sourceforge.net/"
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TARGET="_top"
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>http://fluxbox.sourceforge.net/</A
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>
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</TD
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></TR
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></TBODY
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></TABLE
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><P
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></P
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><P
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></P
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><TABLE
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BORDER="0"
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><TBODY
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><TR
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><TD
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> fvwm: <A
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HREF="http://www.fvwm.org/"
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TARGET="_top"
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>http://www.fvwm.org/</A
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>
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</TD
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></TR
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></TBODY
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></TABLE
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><P
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></P
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><P
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></P
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><TABLE
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BORDER="0"
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><TBODY
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><TR
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><TD
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> IceWM: <A
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HREF="http://www.icewm.org/"
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TARGET="_top"
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>http://www.icewm.org/</A
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>
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</TD
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></TR
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></TBODY
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></TABLE
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><P
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></P
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><P
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></P
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><TABLE
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BORDER="0"
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><TBODY
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><TR
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><TD
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> olwm (OpenLook Window Manager):
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<A
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HREF="http://www.plig.org/xwinman/olvwm.html"
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TARGET="_top"
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>http://www.plig.org/xwinman/olvwm.html</A
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>
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</TD
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></TR
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></TBODY
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></TABLE
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><P
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></P
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><P
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></P
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><TABLE
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BORDER="0"
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><TBODY
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><TR
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><TD
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> Sawmill: <A
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HREF="http://sawmill.sourceforge.net/"
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TARGET="_top"
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>http://sawmill.sourceforge.net/</A
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>
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</TD
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></TR
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></TBODY
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></TABLE
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><P
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></P
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><P
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></P
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><TABLE
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BORDER="0"
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><TBODY
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><TR
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><TD
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> WindowMaker: <A
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HREF="http://www.windowmaker.org/"
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TARGET="_top"
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>http://www.windowmaker.org/</A
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>
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</TD
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></TR
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></TBODY
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></TABLE
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><P
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></P
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><P
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></P
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><TABLE
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BORDER="0"
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><TBODY
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><TR
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><TD
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> XFce: <A
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HREF="http://xfce.org/"
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TARGET="_top"
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>http://xfce.org/</A
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>
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</TD
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></TR
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></TBODY
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></TABLE
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><P
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></P
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><P
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> There are many, many lesser known ones as well.
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<A
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HREF="http://www.plig.org/xwinman/"
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TARGET="_top"
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>http://www.plig.org/xwinman/</A
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>
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has an updated list of Window Managers, and related information.
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There is always <A
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HREF="http://freshmeat.net"
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TARGET="_top"
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>freshmeat</A
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> too.
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</P
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><P
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> <SPAN
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CLASS="application"
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>GNOME</SPAN
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> and <SPAN
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CLASS="application"
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>KDE</SPAN
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>
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both have their default Window Manager, but support other, compliant Window
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Managers as well. Your distribution probably has included at least several.
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Try them all if you don't already have a favorite. Your distribution probably
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also has a method of switching dynamically between Window Managers (and Desktop
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Environments too).
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</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect2"
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><H2
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CLASS="sect2"
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><A
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NAME="AEN1066"
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></A
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>6.2. Desktop Environments</H2
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><P
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> Desktop Environments are not really new, but their popularity has increased
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with advent of the two big names: <SPAN
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CLASS="application"
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>KDE</SPAN
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> and
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<SPAN
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CLASS="application"
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>GNOME</SPAN
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>. To a certain extent, the Desktop
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Environment functionality overlaps the Window Manager's. They both can be
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responsible for the root window background, root window menu, icons,
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taskbars, etc. Generally speaking, if a Desktop Environment is running, it is
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controlling these aspects. That is the main idea behind them -- to integrate
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the various components into a cohesive, consistent whole. Desktop
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Environments also add some interoperability and ease-of-use features that a
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simple Window Manager cannot.
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</P
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><P
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> Oh, another point: Desktop Environments also try to do as much
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<SPAN
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CLASS="application"
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>X</SPAN
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> session configuration as possible. Any of their
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compliant clients will more than likely be configured by the Desktop, or have
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it's own configuration that conforms to the Desktop's style. This is at
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least partly to avoid much of the seemingly helter-skelter text file
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configuration we looked at in the above sections, and make life a little
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easier for the user.
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</P
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><P
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> There is a trade-off in this additional functionality, and that is that it
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takes memory and system resources to oversee all this. If you have plenty of
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memory and a fast computer, this is no problem. But in low memory situations,
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this can cause a slowdown (see the <A
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HREF="performance.html"
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>performance
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section</A
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> below). 64M of RAM is probably borderline with either
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<SPAN
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CLASS="application"
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>KDE</SPAN
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> or <SPAN
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CLASS="application"
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>GNOME</SPAN
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>.
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</P
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><P
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> So do you need a Desktop Environment? That is up to the user. They are
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certainly not required to run <SPAN
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CLASS="application"
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>X</SPAN
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>, but do add
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features that many users want or expect in a GUI. Which one is better? Ah,
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but that is up to you to decide!
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</P
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><P
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> <SPAN
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CLASS="application"
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>KDE</SPAN
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> has been around longer than
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<SPAN
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CLASS="application"
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>GNOME</SPAN
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>, and some would say maybe a little more
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mature. <SPAN
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CLASS="application"
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>KDE</SPAN
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> is based on the QT widget toolkit. A
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quote from the <A
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HREF="http://kde.org"
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TARGET="_top"
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>KDE home page</A
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>:
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</P
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><A
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NAME="AEN1084"
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></A
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><BLOCKQUOTE
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CLASS="BLOCKQUOTE"
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><P
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>
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KDE is a powerful Open Source graphical desktop environment for Unix
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workstations. It combines ease of use, contemporary functionality, and
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outstanding graphical design with the technological superiority of the Unix
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operating system.
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</P
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><P
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> KDE is a mature desktop suite providing a solid basis to an ever growing
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number of applications for Unix workstations. KDE has developed a high
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quality development framework for Unix, which allows for the rapid and
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efficient creation of applications.
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</P
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></BLOCKQUOTE
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><P
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> <SPAN
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CLASS="application"
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>GNOME</SPAN
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> is based on the GTK+ toolkit.
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And a quote from the <A
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HREF="http://gnome.org"
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TARGET="_top"
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>GNOME home page</A
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>:
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</P
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><A
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NAME="AEN1090"
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></A
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><BLOCKQUOTE
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CLASS="BLOCKQUOTE"
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><P
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> GNOME stands for GNU Network Object Model Environment. The GNOME project
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intends to build a complete, user-friendly desktop based entirely on free
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software. GNOME is part of the GNU project, and GNOME is part of the Open
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Source(tm) movement. The desktop will consist of small utilities and larger
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applications which share a consistent look and feel. GNOME uses GTK+ as the
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GUI toolkit for all GNOME-compliant applications.
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</P
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></BLOCKQUOTE
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><P
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> <SPAN
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CLASS="application"
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>XFce</SPAN
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> is a lighter weight, less featureful Desktop
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Environment that does not get as much attention as the others.
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<SPAN
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CLASS="application"
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>XFce</SPAN
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> is also based on the GTK+ toolkit. And a
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quote from the <A
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HREF="http://xfce.org"
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TARGET="_top"
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>XFce home page</A
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>:
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</P
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><A
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NAME="AEN1096"
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></A
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><BLOCKQUOTE
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CLASS="BLOCKQUOTE"
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><P
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> The XFce project was first started because I needed a simple, light and
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efficient environment for my Linux System.
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</P
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><P
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> I believe that the desktop environment should be made to increase user
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productivity. Therefore, the goal is keep most system resources for the
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applications, and not to consume all memory and CPU usage with the desktop
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environment.
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</P
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></BLOCKQUOTE
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><P
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> All these have their own extensive documentation. If you can't find what you
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need installed on your system, check the respective home pages.
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</P
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