Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

I used to joke it was ironic how people in management would always have their presentations up and running almost immediately while programmers seemed to always struggle with projectors.

These days however nothing seems to work for anyone.



Management is typically running a stock Windows Dell/HP/Lenovo or a Mac.

Programmers are running some custom Linux distro with a custom window manager and other customizations.


The window manager won't matter at all in the HDMI/EDID negotiation with the projector.

Windows vs the X server may make a difference. But which X11 WM you use should be irrelevant.


Technically yes, but since the WM usually comes as part of a desktop environment that also includes utilities and daemons which help with that sort of thing, to many folks "my WM makes a big difference in how easy it is to set up external monitors" is often true.

It drives me crazy that there's not a long running named process in e.g. GNOME the DE that if I run will cause my fn-volume keys on my laptop keyboard to change the volume any WM, the same as when I'm running GNOME? Why isn't that piece separated out? Or at least, where is the code so I can separate it out?

Questions and experiences like that cause many to conflate behavior and experience with WM/DE.




Consider applying for YC's Winter 2026 batch! Applications are open till Nov 10

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: