Discussion Give me ideas for a desktop environment with a 90s feel for my old Dell desktop.

[TheDarkEnigma]

I have an old Dell Optiplex with a Celeron D processor and 2 gigs of RAM that I'll be installing Devuan to. What desktop environment or window manager should I install for that ultimate nostalgic 1990s feel that goes along with some good house music or UK garage? I can only install one WM. Also, do you think a Windows 95 or macOS 9 look would be better or a 90s UNIX/Motif look?

1) CDE

2) FVWM

3) Window Maker

4) Trinity DE

5) IceWM

6) Openbox

7) Enlightenment

8) Xfce

9) olwm

10) twm

Music for inspiration

View: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvikqW8Efn-6M8ZA3brr58I7OXoDjf5V0

View: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL72m51gbgq4FfnOi3vgIN0xlIJ_vAc_06

View: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL72m51gbgq4EWnGDe6vq1kjpgh6mTdJhw


Tagging all the *NIX users and boomercels out here
@proudweeb
@C&UNIX
@OscarAllius
@Linux User
@ihateamogus
@Emba
@InMyCellInHell
@FrothySolutions
@FinnCel
@Hoppipolla
@evilguy
@FACEandLMS
@Feces
@Diocel

 

[OscarAllius]

i would recommend xfce, since it's really customizeable, you can make it have a 90s GUI, and if you decide to change it to a modern look you can easily do it. it may be the heaviest one of the bunch, but i think you can install only xfwm.

but besides that, CDE may be the best choice if you want only the retro look.

 

[TheDarkEnigma]

i would recommend xfce, since it's really customizeable, you can make it have a 90s GUI, and if you decide to change it to a modern look you can easily do it. it may be the heaviest one of the bunch, but i think you can install only xfwm.

but besides that, CDE may be the best choice if you want only the retro look.

I have Xfce on my main PC with the Numix theme. It's my favorite modern desktop enviroment and it's well suited for my main PC too since it's almost 15 years old.

I know you can theme it to look like Windows 95 or macOS 9, as well as make it look close to CDE/Motif (but not quite especially with the bottom dock-style panel).

 

[proudweeb]

I'd go with enlightenment tbh ngl

 

[TheDarkEnigma]

I'd go with enlightenment tbh ngl

It was really popular back in the day because of it's effects and theming.

 

[OscarAllius]

It was really popular back in the day because of it's effects and theming.
View attachment 553255
View attachment 553256

it certainly gives off that late 90s/early 2000s vibe,but i prefer something simpler, like the windows 95 interface

 

[TheDarkEnigma]

it certainly gives off that late 90s/early 2000s vibe,but i prefer something simpler, like the windows 95 interface

I know you can make XFCE look like Windows 95. For example:

I like it but I want a more UNIXy feel to it than a Windows feel since it's Linux after all and not Windows. Same with the classic macOS look.

I know if I want a truly 90s UNIX experience I could choose between CDE or Window Maker, or make FVWM look like Motif or Windows 95. IceWM also looks similar to Windows 95.

 

[FrothySolutions]

You said 90s? CDE is good. Everything else looks too new, or too old. olwm looks the oldest.

 

[Deleted member 39787]

get a Mac and stop being an obscure tasteless incel

 

[TheDarkEnigma]

get a Mac and stop being an obscure tasteless incel

I have an iMac G5 from 2005 with Mac OS X Tiger at least.

You said 90s? CDE is good. Everything else looks too new, or too old. olwm looks the oldest.

olwm and twm are from the 80s but were popular in the early Linux days.

FVWM, WindowMaker and IceWM also have that 90s feel, and you can make Openbox look old too. Trinity DE is more mid-2000s since it's based on KDE 3.5.

 

[TheDarkEnigma]

bump

 

[Transcended Trucel]

bump

Do you plan on Linux maxxing for a job btw in the far future.

 

[Emba]

Try abacus

 

[proudweeb]

I know you can make XFCE look like Windows 95. For example:
View attachment 553276
I like it but I want a more UNIXy feel to it than a Windows feel since it's Linux after all and not Windows. Same with the classic macOS look.
View attachment 553279
I know if I want a truly 90s UNIX experience I could choose between CDE or Window Maker, or make FVWM look like Motif or Windows 95. IceWM also looks similar to Windows 95.
View attachment 553281
View attachment 553283

FVWM is definitely a strong contender as well. I like the older GUIs better, they just feel "instant", no lag at all

 

[TheDarkEnigma]

Do you plan on Linux maxxing for a job btw in the far future.

Yep, that's what I'm doing. Improving my computer and programming skills.

FVWM is definitely a strong contender as well. I like the older GUIs better, they just feel "instant", no lag at all

I like FVWM because of it's customizability and also because it iconifies windows to the desktop like Windows 3.11. And you can make it look like Motif or Windows 95.

Though I don't like FVWM 3 since they added that built-in sidebar so I'm going to try to find FVWM 2.

 

[Deleted member 36666]

Looks comfy ngl

 

[TheDarkEnigma]

Looks comfy ngl

I know most would consider it ugly by modern standards but at the same time it looks so cool.

 

[TheDarkEnigma]

bump

 

[TheDarkEnigma]

@ordinaryotaku thoughts?

 

[senses fail]

i like twm im getting deus ex cozy computer terminal vibes

 

[TheDarkEnigma]

i like twm im getting deus ex cozy computer terminal vibes

twm is pretty 80s, ngl

 

[senses fail]

twm is pretty 80s, ngl
View attachment 561227

thats a bit more abyssal darkness than anticipated
trinityDE was my second choice because it reminds me of a powerpoint slide

 

[TheDarkEnigma]

thats a bit more abyssal darkness than anticipated
trinityDE was my second choice because it reminds me of a powerpoint slide

Another screenshot of twm:

Although Trinity DE is a bit more modernish (2002-2008). And the problem with it while it's still supported it still uses a fork of an old version of Qt and it's barely modernized.

 

[senses fail]

Another screenshot of twm:
View attachment 561228
Although Trinity DE is a bit more modernish (2002-2008). And the problem with it while it's still supported it still uses a fork of an old version of Qt and it's barely modernized.
View attachment 561231

Truthfully man, i dont understand a lot of that because im not very smart. i would just choose what makes my eyes hurt less and what makes me happy. Which of these choices do you like the most and why bro? like i said trinity de reminds me of an old powerpoint slide so that makes me feel nostalgic and comfortable.
That other screenshot of twm is an improvement and i still think its a cool desktop environment.

 

[TheDarkEnigma]

@Cobalt1257

 

[TheDarkEnigma]

View: https://youtu.be/M3y88LUW42w

 

[Cobalt1257]

kinda late to the party but CDE is probably the best option if you want a classic UNIXy feel. it's a bit clunky to use though.

based song btw

 

[TheDarkEnigma]

kinda late to the party but CDE is probably the best option if you want a classic UNIXy feel. it's a bit clunky to use though.

I compiled CDE once on one of my old PCs running Devuan Linux and it took a really long time.

Ended up ditching it and installing Motif WM instead since I didn't like the huge ass taskbar at the bottom.

 

[Cobalt1257]

I compiled CDE once on one of my old PCs running Devuan Linux and it took a really long time.

Ended up ditching it and installing Motif WM instead since I didn't like the huge ass taskbar at the bottom.

yeah it's definitely not for the faint of heart. i gave up on using it after like 2 hours. still one of the coolest looking DEs though.

 

[TheDarkEnigma]

yeah it's definitely not for the faint of heart. i gave up on using it after like 2 hours. still one of the coolest looking DEs though.

Yeah, I still do like the old interface. On my Dell PC I have four window managers installed: IceWM, Window Maker, Motif WM and notion. Don't have a login manager, I use use startx. For file manager I use Xfe and for web browser I use links2 and Dillo. I mostly use Motif or Athena based GUI apps or terminal apps. I avoid GTK 2 since that's been phased out and what's not in the Debian/Devuan repos I just compile from source.

Do you play around with virtual machines a lot?

 

[Cobalt1257]

Yeah, I still do like the old interface. On my Dell PC I have four window managers installed: IceWM, Window Maker, Motif WM and notion. Don't have a login manager, I use use startx. For file manager I use Xfe and for web browser I use links2 and Dillo. I mostly use Motif or Athena based GUI apps or terminal apps. I avoid GTK 2 since that's been phased out and what's not in the Debian/Devuan repos I just compile from source.

Do you play around with virtual machines a lot?

Sometimes I do. I switched back to Winshit because of school a while ago (while i would use it in a VM, my PC is just too slow + I've never been able to get GPU acceleration working) but I still have an Ubuntu server VM that I use via WSL all the time for certain programs. Never actually used a WM by itself with no DE attached but I'd like to try it sometime. Have you ever used Openbox?

 

[nazianime]

windows 2k

 

[TheDarkEnigma]

Sometimes I do. I switched back to Winshit because of school a while ago (while i would use it in a VM, my PC is just too slow + I've never been able to get GPU acceleration working) but I still have an Ubuntu server VM that I use via WSL all the time for certain programs.

What specifically do you need Windows for?

If you need to use Microsoft Word you can use LibreOffice instead (though it does save in a different format, .odt, not sure if it saves .docx files) or use Google Docs online.

Also, Ubuntu is going the way of shit dude. Switch to Linux Mint Debian Edition or MX Linux, or go straight for vanilla Debian Linux or Devuan Linux.

Never actually used a WM by itself with no DE attached but I'd like to try it sometime. Have you ever used Openbox?

I know on Linux you can use Virt-Manager + QEMU which I recommend over VirtualBox unless you're on Windows. I also played around with DOSBox and PCem, and SheepShaver for classic Mac OS VMs.

I have used Openbox and I really do like it. I know LXQt and its predecessor LXQt used it, but I've used it standalone with tint2 and SpaceFM. But since those use GTK, I have instead used IceWM since it comes with a Windows-style taskbar by default and it's also pretty customizable.

 

[TheDarkEnigma]

windows 2k

One of the best versions of Windows IMO since it was still business oriented and not designed to appeal to normies. I like Windows XP better only because it's has more updates and you can use the Classic theme with the login screen disabled if you don't want to use the Luna theme.

 

[TheDarkEnigma]

@ordinaryotaku @Copexodius Maximus

 

[Copexodius Maximus]

@ordinaryotaku @Copexodius Maximus

7 looks the best. If not that, then 10.

 

[Emba]

Mdos

 

[TheDarkEnigma]

7 looks the best. If not that, then 10.

OG Enlightenment was one of the most customizable window managers back in the late '90s and early 2000s so early ricers would use that lol.

E16 is still up for download. Don't know if it's still in the Debian repos.

Enlightenment E16

www.enlightenment.org

 

[ordinaryotaku]

Enlightenment looks beautiful. Go with that one.

 

[TheDarkEnigma]

Enlightenment looks beautiful. Go with that one.

E16 is still updated. Might install in on my Dell when I get home.

 

[TheDarkEnigma]

7 looks the best. If not that, then 10.

Enlightenment looks beautiful. Go with that one.

View: https://youtu.be/S6IlazonteM

 

[Copexodius Maximus]

OG Enlightenment was one of the most customizable window managers back in the late '90s and early 2000s so early ricers would use that lol.

E16 is still up for download. Don't know if it's still in the Debian repos.

Enlightenment E16

www.enlightenment.org

What are some good windows managers today?

 

[TheDarkEnigma]

What are some good windows managers today?

The classic window managers that are still being developed today, I'll list them below:

CDE - Common Desktop Environment

Download CDE - Common Desktop Environment for free. The Common Desktop Environment, the classic UNIX desktop. The Common Desktop Environment was created by a collaboration of Sun, HP, IBM, DEC, SCO, Fujitsu and Hitachi. Used on a selection of commercial UNIXs, it is now available as open-source...

sourceforge.net

EMWM - Enhanced Motif Window Manager

Enhanced Motif Window Manager Homepage

fastestcode.org

Window Maker: Home

www.windowmaker.org

Trinity Desktop Environment

trinitydesktop.org

Enlightenment E16

www.enlightenment.org

IceWM

Window Manager

ice-wm.org

EDE - light and fast desktop environment

Light desktop environment for UNIX operating systems

edeproject.org

CTWM — Home

www.ctwm.org

F? Virtual Window Manager

FVWM is an extremely powerful ICCCM-compliant multiple virtual desktop window manager for the X Window system.

www.fvwm.org

Notion - Free Tiling Tabbed Window Manager

notionwm.net

 

[TheDarkEnigma]

I know LXQt and its predecessor LXDE used it

Meant to say LXDE, which used GTK+ 2 before it switched to Qt.

Though LXDE stopped development I think it's still included in current distros for the time being at least.

 

[TheDarkEnigma]

based song btw

View: https://youtu.be/OolRl2XFY_I

 

[TheDarkEnigma]

View: https://youtu.be/Xm2a1Ibr8QY


View: https://youtu.be/tpvSzv7ug8c

 

[TheDarkEnigma]

Also, check these out:

RetroImages.net's Linux Distribution -- RetroImages.net

Hotdog LINUX

hotdoglinux.com

 

[TheDarkEnigma]

Retro XFCE themes:

GitHub - grassmunk/Platinum9: Mac OS 9 Theme for Xubuntu

Mac OS 9 Theme for Xubuntu. Contribute to grassmunk/Platinum9 development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

GitHub - grassmunk/Chicago95: A rendition of everyone's favorite 1995 Microsoft operating system for Linux.

A rendition of everyone's favorite 1995 Microsoft operating system for Linux. - GitHub - grassmunk/Chicago95: A rendition of everyone's favorite 1995 Microsoft operating system for Linux.

github.com