Tiling Window Managers Are Just A Waste Of Time

Summary

The script discusses the user's experience with tiling window managers on Linux, comparing them to traditional floating window managers. It highlights the productivity and efficiency benefits of tiling but acknowledges the learning curve and potential inefficiencies of manual tilers. The speaker recommends starting with I3 or Sway due to their ease of use and customization, and suggests using dynamic or hybrid tiling for better adaptability. The video also addresses misconceptions about mouse usage and the flexibility of window sizing in tiling environments, concluding that the choice of window manager should align with individual workflow preferences.

Takeaways

• 😀 The speaker uses tiling window managers like I3, bspwm, and sway on Linux and recommends them for increased productivity, ease of use, and efficient screen real estate.
• 🤔 Some users may not find tiling window managers as efficient as expected, especially when their workflow requires dynamic window sizing.
• 🛠️ The speaker suggests that I3 is a good starting point for new users due to its power, customization options, and well-documented features.
• 🔄 The inefficiency of manual tilers comes from the need to manually decide the direction of tiling for each new window.
• 🔄 Dynamic tilers automatically place windows based on an internal layout, which can be more efficient and user-friendly.
• 🔄 Hybrid tilers like bspwm offer a mix of both manual and automatic tiling, providing flexibility for the user.
• 📚 The speaker recommends trying out auto-tiling scripts to enhance the experience with tiling window managers like I3 or Sway.
• 🖱️ Using a mouse with a tiling window manager is not only acceptable but can also be more convenient for certain tasks.
• 🔄 Users can still control window sizes and switch between full-screen modes easily in tiling window managers.
• 📝 The speaker advises new users to learn the default hotkeys and observe how others use the environment to adapt their workflow.
• 💻 The choice between using a tiling window manager on a desktop or a laptop does not significantly change the user experience, as the same principles apply.
• 🔧 The speaker emphasizes that if a tiling window manager does not suit a user's needs, there are alternative floating window managers to explore.

Q & A

What is a tiling window manager and why are they popular among Linux users?

A tiling window manager is a type of window manager that automatically arranges windows in non-overlapping frames, maximizing the use of screen space. They are popular among Linux users due to their increased productivity, ease of use, and efficient use of screen real estate.

What are some common tiling window managers mentioned in the script?

The script mentions i3, bspwm, and sway as common tiling window managers used on Linux.

Why might some users find tiling window managers less efficient than expected?

Some users might find tiling window managers less efficient because of the dynamic nature of their work, where they frequently switch between applications requiring different window sizes, which can be cumbersome to manage in a tiling environment.

What is the difference between a manual tiler and a dynamic tiler?

A manual tiler requires the user to decide the direction in which new windows will tile, which can be inefficient. A dynamic tiler, on the other hand, places windows based on an internal layout, which can be more efficient and easier to manage.

What is the role of a hybrid tiler like bspwm?

A hybrid tiler, such as bspwm, combines the features of both manual and dynamic tilers, allowing for an internal layout while also providing the ability to manually move and arrange windows as needed.

Why is i3 often recommended as a first tiling window manager?

i3 is recommended for beginners because it offers a lot of power and customization, has well-documented features, and comes with a lot of third-party tooling. It's also pre-configured, making it easier to start with.

What is the advantage of using a dynamic tiler for new users?

A dynamic tiler is advantageous for new users because it automatically places windows into a layout, reducing the need for manual management and making the transition to a tiling window manager smoother.

How can users control window sizes in a tiling window manager?

Users can control window sizes in a tiling window manager by using hotkeys and mouse actions, such as holding down a modifier key and right-clicking to resize windows.

Outlines

00:00

🖥️ Tiling Window Managers in Linux

The speaker discusses their experience with tiling window managers on Linux, such as I3, bspwm, and sway, and their preference for them over time. They acknowledge the productivity and efficiency benefits often touted by tiling window manager users but express a personal struggle to see these benefits in their own workflow, which involves dynamic window sizing needs for tasks like web browsing, email, word processing, coding, and heavy Excel use. The speaker also touches on the learning curve and customization aspects of these managers, suggesting that while they offer powerful features, they might not suit everyone's needs immediately.

05:01

🛠️ Adapting to Tiling Workflows and Tools

This paragraph delves into the different types of tiling window managers, including manual, dynamic, and hybrid tilers, with a focus on the inefficiencies of manual tilers and the flexibility of dynamic and hybrid options like bspwm. The speaker recommends dynamic tilers for new users due to their ease of use and customization, despite the initial complexity compared to I3. They also mention the use of auto-tiling scripts to enhance the experience and the importance of understanding and adapting one's workflow to the tiling environment. The speaker emphasizes that tiling window managers do not restrict window size control and that it's perfectly acceptable to use a mouse for various tasks within these environments.

10:03

🔄 Transitioning from Floating to Tiling Window Managers

The speaker addresses the challenges of transitioning from a floating window manager to a tiling one, highlighting the need to adapt one's workflow rather than forcing the new system to fit an old one. They discuss the misconception that tiling window managers are mouse-unfriendly and argue that using a mouse is not only acceptable but can be more convenient in certain situations. The speaker also points out that it's okay to use floating windows within a tiling environment when it makes sense. They conclude by suggesting that the choice between a tiling and floating window manager should be based on personal preference and workflow, and that there are many options available to suit different needs.

Keywords

💡Tiling Window Manager

A tiling window manager is a type of window manager that automatically arranges windows in non-overlapping frames, or 'tiles', on the screen. It is a key topic in the video, as the speaker discusses their experience and preferences for tiling window managers on Linux. The script mentions I3, bspwm, and sway as examples of tiling window managers, emphasizing their efficiency and productivity benefits.

💡Linux

Linux is an open-source operating system that is widely used for servers, desktops, and increasingly on mobile devices. The video script refers to Linux as the platform where the speaker primarily uses tiling window managers, indicating that the operating system's flexibility and customization options are conducive to the use of tiling window managers.

💡Productivity

Productivity in the context of the video refers to the efficiency and effectiveness with which tasks are completed, often attributed to the use of tiling window managers. The script mentions that people 'rave about' the increased productivity that tiling window managers offer, suggesting that they can help users work more efficiently by managing screen real estate and window organization.

💡Screen Real Estate

Screen real estate is a metaphorical term referring to the space available on a computer screen for displaying windows and applications. The video discusses the efficient use of screen real estate as a benefit of tiling window managers, as they allow for better organization and utilization of the available space without overlapping windows.

💡I3

I3 is a specific tiling window manager for Linux that is mentioned in the script as a good choice for those new to tiling window managers. It is highlighted for its power, customization options, and ease of transitioning to other window managers like sway or Weyland.

💡Dynamic Tiler

A dynamic tiler is a type of tiling window manager that automatically places new windows into a layout without manual intervention. The video script contrasts dynamic tilers with manual tilers, suggesting that dynamic tilers offer a more efficient workflow by automatically arranging windows according to an internal layout.

💡Hybrid Tiler

A hybrid tiler combines the features of both manual and dynamic tilers, allowing for both automatic window placement and the ability to manually move and resize windows. The script mentions bspwm as an example of a hybrid tiler, which offers the flexibility of both tiling approaches.

💡Weyland

Weyland is a display server protocol that is mentioned in the script as a platform for running window managers like sway. The speaker discusses the use of sway over Weyland as part of their experience with tiling window managers, indicating a broader ecosystem of tools and protocols that support tiling window management.

💡Mouse Usage

Mouse usage in the context of the video refers to the act of using a mouse to interact with a computer, including resizing windows, focusing on different windows, and other tasks. The script emphasizes that using a mouse is not discouraged in tiling window managers and that it can be more convenient in certain situations, challenging the notion that tiling window managers require a keyboard-centric workflow.

💡Window Rules

Window rules are a feature in some tiling window managers, like I3, that allow users to set specific properties for windows, such as size and position, that are applied every time the window is opened. The script mentions window rules as a way to maintain consistency in window management, showing how tiling window managers can be customized to fit individual workflows.

💡Full-Screen

Full-screen refers to the display mode of a window that occupies the entire screen, hiding all other windows and applications. The video script discusses the ease of toggling windows to full-screen mode in tiling window managers, showcasing the flexibility and control users have over window visibility and organization.

Highlights

The speaker uses a tiling Window Manager on Linux and prefers it over Windows and Mac OS for its productivity and efficiency.

Tiling window managers are often recommended for their increased productivity, ease of use, and efficient screen real estate utilization.

The speaker's personal use case involves dynamic window sizing, frequently switching between web browsers, Excel, and text editors.

I3 is recommended as a powerful and customizable tiling Window Manager with good documentation and third-party tooling.

Sway is a one-to-one drop-in replacement for I3, offering an easy transition for those interested in the Weyland project.

Manual tilers can be inefficient due to the need to manage window direction and size manually for each new window.

Dynamic tilers automatically place windows based on an internal layout, offering a more efficient workflow.

Hybrid tilers like bspwm combine the benefits of both manual and dynamic tiling, allowing for both automatic and manual control.

The speaker suggests starting with a dynamic tiler for a more accessible tiling experience, despite I3's easier configuration.

Auto-tiling scripts can enhance the experience by automating window placement while still allowing manual control.

Control over window sizes is still possible in tiling window managers, with examples given for awesome WM.

The speaker advises new users to learn the default hotkeys and observe others' usage on YouTube to better understand tiling workflows.

Using a mouse with a tiling window manager is not only acceptable but can be more convenient in certain situations.

Floating windows can be used within a tiling window manager when needed, and window rules in I3 can set specific properties for consistent behavior.

The speaker's use case is not uncommon, and the challenge is adapting existing workflows to fit within a tiling environment.

Both desktop and laptop use cases for tiling window managers are addressed, with no significant difference in workflow.

The speaker concludes by stating that while tiling window managers offer many benefits, they may not be suitable for everyone, and other options like floating window managers are available.

Transcripts

I use a tiling Window Manager on Linux

and I pretty much always have whether

it's I3 bspwm or some WM or sway over on

the Weyland side and I probably always

will going into the future and while

there are certainly some tiling like

experiences on Windows and Mac OS

certainly much better than the offering

used to be the first time that most

people experience a tailor is when they

start using Linux and it seems like

everybody using a tailor is constantly

Shilling them I being one of those

people but upon trying them some people

realize they may not be what they're

cracked up to be and that leads to posts

like this tiling window managers what am

I missing I know tiling window managers

have been discussed Ad nauseam but I

hope this is different I'm not here to

offer opinions one way or another but

rather ask if I'm missing some key point

or functionality I'm not going to read

the entire post but we'll go through

some of the key takeaways people seem to

Rave about tiling window managers for

their increased productivity ease of use

and efficient use of screen real estate

I've tried I3 briefly and I could not

see where the efficiency comes from my

main personal use in Windows had been

web browsers email and occasionally word

along with some recreational coding my

work use is similarly emails web

browsers word but also text editors and

some very heavy use of excel so these

use cases often involve me switch

between a web browser Excel and a text

editor very frequently the key issue

being the size I want the window is

extremely Dynamic sometimes I want Excel

being full screen other times I want the

web browser full screen other times I

want the text editor to be in a very

small space just to copy some text

across another example sometimes only to

flick off a couple of quick emails and

in that case I don't want the email full

screen other times I might sit down for

a solid hour or two of customer service

when I want the email open full screen

my home use is fairly similar but to a

lesser extent but still to an extent

where there is no fixed rule that says

if I'm using this app then make it this

specific size now this post is a couple

of weeks old but I still thought it'd be

nice to go and offer this guy my advice

and maybe anybody else out there who

might be new to a tailor or maybe

thinking of trying one out so we need to

address a couple of things firstly I3 I

think is a great choice for your first

tiling Window Manager it offers a lot of

power it offers a lot of customization

that is fairly well documented there's a

lot of third-party tooling and it's

fairly well pre-configured I don't like

this slightly offset Vim keys but that

can be really easily addressed most of

the other stuff is really good and if

you want to go and try out Weyland it

gives you a direct path to do so sway is

a one-to-one drop-in replacement for I3

nothing new to learn no new

customization no new configuration it's

exactly the same and it gets you into

the mindset of using a tailing Window

Manager

but and this is the very big butt it is

a manual tailor and they are horribly

inefficient so the idea of a manual

tiler is when you make a new window just

like any tiling Window Manager it is

going to be placed inside of a tile

unlike a floating window a tiled window

is going to appear as basically the

exact same size every time if my desktop

is empty this is how the window is

always going to look but when you make

your second window this is where you

start seeing inefficiencies you have to

decide the direction is going to tile

towards is it going to tile above below

left or right now this offers a lot of

really powerful use cases you can make

really crazy custom layouts where you

have like this semi-grid and then things

around the side of it that is really

cool but also you have to go and manage

that you have to decide every time the

direction you want to go to actually get

to that point that's kind of inefficient

but I am not using a manual tiler I am

using a dynamic tiler a dynamic tiler

you spawn windows in the exact same way

but the way they are placed is based on

an internal layout so right now I'm

using the master stack layout so I have

the masternode on the left and then the

stack on the right and this is how they

are always going to be placed but if I

don't like this I could always go and

swap to a different layout for example I

could use the Mast stack with the Mast

on the right Master on the top Master on

the bottom or I could use the golden

ratio layout now the layouts that are

available depends on which Window

Manager you're using right now I'm using

awesome WM but there are other things

like dwm X monad and plenty of other

things like that I'll leave a list of

examples in the description down below

but there's also another option called a

hybrid Tyler there aren't many options

out there but the most notable is bspwm

bspwm has this internal layout but you

also have the ability to manually move

stuff around as well so you get sort of

a mix of Both Worlds I would love to

recommend a dynamic tile off of people's

first tiling Window Manager the problem

though is none of them are as easy to

configure as I3 is and that's why I3

keeps getting recommended now I do use

sway over on Weyland but what I would

recommend for a more tolerable

experience is downloading one of the

auto tiling scripts this is the one that

I personally use it works pretty well it

basically takes I3 or Sway and then

kinda turns it into a hybrid tailor

things will get automatically placed

into a layout but you can still go and

manually control stuff if you want to I

just generally don't use the manual

control so one thing it does bring up

quite often is control

wanting to have a certain app being a

certain size and this is really

important I'll get into this in just a

moment but I think it's also important

to consider the way that most Windows

users use their desktop is something

like this you just have all of these

floating windows all over the place all

in the exact same space and it's hard to

work out what exactly is going on having

things being you know a little bit more

structured might be a little bit of an

improvement it may not be for every

single use case but I think this is a

lot easier to deal with but when it

comes to control it's not like having a

tiling Window Manager takes away your

ability to control the window sizes

let's say for example I have this window

here and it has b top open and I want

this to be a lot more of the screen well

in I3 in Orson WM in bspwm in Swain

pretty much every window manager whether

it's manual hybrid or dynamic you have

the ability to control the window size

in awesome WM if I hold down this super

key and then use my right click I can do

so with my mouse and it works like you'd

expect it to but also jumping back and

forth between full screen was mentioned

this is also quite simple on pretty much

every tailor let's say I want my browser

to be full screen what I can press super

F now it's full screen if I want beat up

to full screen super F now it's full

screen this over here full screen not

full screen this should be bound by

default in I3 I think a good idea when

you first start using a tailor is one

read all of the default hotkeys and two

just go on to YouTube and look at how

other people are using that environment

another thing I want to address is am I

just so indoctrinated into using a

floating window manager from using

Windows now the way way that a lot of

people use a tiling Window Manager can

seem incredibly intimidating because it

seems like a lot of people are terrified

of their Mouse and there are two ideas

that I wish would really go away when it

comes to tailors firstly when you're

using a tiling Window Manager you don't

have to shy away from your mouse you've

probably noticed throughout this video

I've been doing a lot of things by using

my mouse whether it's resizing Windows

whether it's focusing on a different

window whether it's something like you

know moving Windows between where they

are on the screen all of these things I

commonly do with my mouse I do have

hotkeys to do them as well but I don't

necessarily always use them in a lot of

cases using my mouse is actually more

convenient and it's the same way I use

something like Vim sure I could do

everything on my keyboard with the

various shortcuts but sometimes I just

like to scroll through vim and sometimes

I like to click a line in Vim also

totally fine you're allowed to do that

you're not participating in a cult

you're just using a computer use it the

way you feel more comfortable along with

that there's nothing wrong with using a

floating window for example my notes for

this video right now they're a floating

window and that's fine usually when I

open up my notes for anything that's

also a floating window a lot of the time

I'll make like a terminal window or

floating window because it's just easier

to deal with it's okay to use a floating

window in a tiling Window Manager the

functionality is there and in cases

where you always want it to be floating

or you always wanted to be a set size

things like I3 for example have this

system known as window rules which will

fly a bunch of different properties to a

window and it'll be set up in that exact

way every single time you open it I

don't think this guy's use case is truly

uncommon I think the problem that he's

having is he's dumped himself into this

tiling environment and doesn't know how

to take the workflow he was doing before

and then adapt it to fit into this

tiling workflow plus he went to the

manual tiler which is the least

productive and least efficient way of

actually using a tiling system but the

last thing he says is a bonus question

does the answer to the above differ

depending on whether it is a laptop or a

desktop a laptop seems to be the

ambiguous case since having no mouse is

a big plus for a tiling manager but the

having one small screen is a big

negative I already addressed the mouse

issue we're not living in 1960 if you

want to use a mouse go and use a mouse

that's as simple as that but when it

comes to the desktop or the laptop use

case for me nothing really changes I use

a tiler just as I would on a desktop and

a laptop obviously the desktop gives me

a lot more space to spread out I use a

triple monitor setup I have my main

horizontal monitor I have a vertical

Monitor and I have a another vertical

monitor used for my video notes so I can

like partially look at the camera I use

a tile on a laptop for two or so years

it worked fine that's pretty much all I

have to say about that but I'm not here

to sell you on a tiling window manager

in the end maybe a tailor just isn't for

you in which case that's totally fine

maybe you want to try out the floating

on something like gnome maybe you want

to try it out on something like KDE or

maybe you want to go and try out

something like open box and still get

the window manager experience but have

it be floating instead all of these

options are available and much much more

so let me know your thoughts down below

are you using a tiling Window Manager

have you tried them out before or you

just sort of first getting into them now

and trying to find out if it's something

for you I would love to know if you like

this video I'm gonna go and like the

video If you really like the video and

you want to become one of these amazing

people over here go check out my patreon

scrubscribe Linked In the description

down below I've got a podcast called

Tech over T I've got a gaming channel

called brother Robson plays that's gonna

be it for me and

I'm out

[Applause]

[Music]