Pages from the fire

Notes on window managers (Desktops)

Last updated: 2025-10-22

Sway

I tried it very briefly. It’s an experiment in a keyboard first desktop environment. I suspect that if I spent a little time setting up short cut keys to my favorite programs I could enjoy the various tiling modes etc.

Truth is, GNOME (and now that I’ve discovered it, GNOME classic) offers both mouse driven discovery as well as short cuts, and the optional tiling (triggered by the Mode key) is enough convenience for me.

On a lighter note: I had a panic moment when I started it up because there was just a blank screen with a tiny “1” on the top left and the date and time on the top right. I started to mash keys and key combinations at random and discovered how to switch desktops. I had to search the internet for how to exit and launch a terminal. It was like playing an escape room game.