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?

  • [object Object]@lemmy.ca
    8·
    1 day ago

    I really like the terminal, most of my use is a web browser or terminal with tmux.

    I use hot keys like cray, but I haven’t found a timing window manager I like yet (I don’t like when things shift automaticallly, it breaks my mental model), and I haven’t found a Linux desktop with the keyboard ergonomics of macOS.

    But 95% of my time is with full screen terminals, so I’m actually pretty okay. I have customized vim and tmux to the hilt, and I like that.

      • [object Object]@lemmy.ca
        1·
        10 hours ago

        No, I doubt really use it for launching apps. On most OSes now you press cmd/windows/super button and it opens a text field to launch apps.

        Mostly I use CLIs or TUIs in the terminal for 80% of my computer use, and a many apps that are just browser tabs now.

        My vim config has dozens of custom hot keys and functions for all sorts of things. Same with tmux and my dot files or user local script bin, they’re full of utilities and scripts and customizations.

        That’s never going to help me organize a photo album or be a good existence for checking my email (I know I can check my email from a tui, but I don’t want to)

      • kuerbiskernoel@feddit.org
        2·
        21 hours ago

        Id guess from the terminal itself

        Look into:

        • fish
        • zoxide
        • starship
        • eza (with ls alias)
        • helix editor (or neovim, helix doesn’t need setup)
        • yazi file explorer
        • many many more
      • [object Object]@lemmy.ca
        1·
        10 hours ago

        I tried this one but I never finished configuring it, I should try again though.

        My Linux journey over 1.5 years has been fedora gnome, then cosmic, then KDE, then nix+niri but doing both at one was a mistake. After that I just decided to embrace KDE and learn nix, and that’s where I am many months later.