An emulation of an early-1990s Linux GUI in a browser <https://www.tomshardware.com/software/linux/nostalgic-developer-recreates-the-1994-linux-desktop-as-a-modern-web-app-for-your-browser-open-source-project-brings-old-school-cde-interface-back-from-the-dead-and-features-classic-90s-web-browser-text-editor-and-more>.

Actually, who says CDE was ever ?dead?? GNU created their own version
of the OSF Motif GUI toolkit, called ?Lesstif?, and it continues to be available in Linux distros to this day.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Am Sat, 28 Feb 2026 22:43:33 +0000 schrub Meister Lawrence D?Oliveiro:

An emulation of an early-1990s Linux GUI in a browser <https://www.tomshardware.com/software/linux/nostalgic-developer-

recreates-the-1994-linux-desktop-as-a-modern-web-app-for-your-browser- open-source-project-brings-old-school-cde-interface-back-from-the-dead- and-features-classic-90s-web-browser-text-editor-and-more>.

Actually, who says CDE was ever ?dead?? GNU created their own version of
the OSF Motif GUI toolkit, called ?Lesstif?, and it continues to be
available in Linux distros to this day.

There is a 'real' modern variant too

https://github.com/NsCDE
https://github.com/NsCDE/NsCDE

https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/28/battle_of_the_retro_desktops/

Works fine.


-
kork der ork k�mmert sich um den traminer

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) writes:

In article <n0hifrFfbu2U1@mid.individual.net>,
rbowman <bowman@montana.com> wrote:

On Sat, 28 Feb 2026 22:43:33 -0000 (UTC), Lawrence D?Oliveiro wrote:

Actually, who says CDE was ever ?dead?? GNU created their own version of >>> the OSF Motif GUI toolkit, called ?Lesstif?, and it continues to be
available in Linux distros to this day.

Lesstif died about 15 years ago and never made it to Motif 2.x that added >>some widgets. OSF/Motif was open-sources with a LGPL license in 2012 that >>made Lesstif redundant.

I don't know how many distros make it available, particularly the ones >>moving to Wayland. If you're planning a little Motif programmimg, you'd >>better have space on the bookshelf for Volume 1 - Volume 6B covering X, >>Xlib, Xt, and Motif. You probably don't need Volume 0. Don't ask me how I >>know :)

Motif mwm continues to be a nice unobtrusive window manager to use in
VNC sessions. (Now if they would get xterm working again in FreeBSD
for that...)

I'm still using Tom's window manager (twm).

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) writes:

In article <77ipR.55919$tm1.18792@fx14.iad>,
Scott Lurndal <slp53@pacbell.net> wrote:

ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) writes:

In article <n0hifrFfbu2U1@mid.individual.net>,
rbowman <bowman@montana.com> wrote:

On Sat, 28 Feb 2026 22:43:33 -0000 (UTC), Lawrence D?Oliveiro wrote:

Actually, who says CDE was ever ?dead?? GNU created their own version of >>>>> the OSF Motif GUI toolkit, called ?Lesstif?, and it continues to be
available in Linux distros to this day.

Lesstif died about 15 years ago and never made it to Motif 2.x that added >>>>some widgets. OSF/Motif was open-sources with a LGPL license in 2012 that >>>>made Lesstif redundant.

I don't know how many distros make it available, particularly the ones >>>>moving to Wayland. If you're planning a little Motif programmimg, you'd >>>>better have space on the bookshelf for Volume 1 - Volume 6B covering X, >>>>Xlib, Xt, and Motif. You probably don't need Volume 0. Don't ask me how I >>>>know :)

Motif mwm continues to be a nice unobtrusive window manager to use in
VNC sessions. (Now if they would get xterm working again in FreeBSD
for that...)

I'm still using Tom's window manager (twm).

That's the default in tightvnc, and the "new windows don't open fully until >you click" is annoying.

That's not a feature of TWM that I'm aware of, and I've been using it
since 1990. Windows open fully and immediately without any user
interaction. It may be the "RandomPlacement" keyword that enables that.



#**********************************************************************
#
# .twmrc
#
#**********************************************************************

# WarpCursor
BorderWidth 2
TitleFont "6x13"
MenuFont "6x13"
IconFont "6x13"

#TitleFont "-adobe-helvetica-bold-r-normal--17-120-100-100-p-92-iso8859-1" #MenuFont "-adobe-helvetica-bold-r-normal--17-120-100-100-p-92-iso8859-1" #IconFont "-adobe-helvetica-bold-r-normal--17-120-100-100-p-92-iso8859-1" ResizeFont "fg-22"

#NoTitleFocus
Zoom 8
RandomPlacement
DecorateTransients
#NoRaiseOnMove
#NoRaiseOnResize
#NoRaiseOnDeiconify
DontMoveOff
#NoGrabServer
#OpaqueMove
SortIconManager
#NoSaveUnders
#NoBackingStore
#ListRings
SqueezeTitle
{
"slp53_1" left 0 0
"slp53_2" center 0 0
"work" right 0 0
}

IconifyByUnMapping
DontIconifyByUnmapping
{
"Xmh"
}

StartIconified {
"Le tX menu"
"login to 129.226.128.11"
"xlock"
"pase70"
}

...



--- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) writes:

Motif mwm continues to be a nice unobtrusive window manager to use in
VNC sessions. (Now if they would get xterm working again in FreeBSD
for that...)

emwm is a bit better if you want mwm though I think I had to do
something different with the xresources file because the as-shipped one
didn't work here.

https://fastestcode.org/emwm.html

If you want to try it and run into the app-defaults/xresources issue
with text not displaying properly, ask and I'll copy/paste my /etc/X11/app-defaults/Emwm .

I had NsCDE (which is actually a fvwm theme plus a few other things)
going when I was using X11. The actual CDE is up on Sourceforge now;
I've not tried building it on modern Linux or Sun. I do like the
look/feel of it when I use Solaris 9.

I recall Lesstif. It was the stand-in for some time before Motif got
opened up for mere mortals to use.

--
PGP Key ID: 781C A3E2 C6ED 70A6 B356 7AF5 B510 542E D460 5CAE
"The Internet should always be the Wild West!"

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 2 Mar 2026 14:35:49 GMT, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:

(Now if they would get xterm working again in FreeBSD for that...)

Does it work in any other BSD?

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) writes:

I'm still using Tom's window manager (twm).

Me too. (Although my documentation says it's "Tab Window Manager": man
twm.)

Only real annoyance so far (after many years) is that some apps refuse
to function without a "tray" provided by the wm. Allegedly there's a workaround but using wicd instead of networkmanager keeps me happy.

--
Mike Spencer Nova Scotia, Canada

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> writes:

scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) writes:

I'm still using Tom's window manager (twm).

Me too. (Although my documentation says it's "Tab Window Manager": man
twm.)

It was renamed between X11R3 and X11R4, if I recall correctly.

/***********************************************************************
*
* $XConsortium: twm.c,v 1.104 89/12/14 14:52:20 jim Exp $
*
* twm - "Tom's Window Manager"
*
* 27-Oct-87 Thomas E. LaStrange File created
*
***********************************************************************/

#ifndef lint
static char RCSinfo[] =
"$XConsortium: twm.c,v 1.104 89/12/14 14:52:20 jim Exp $";
#endif


--- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> writes:

scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) writes:

I'm still using Tom's window manager (twm).

Me too. (Although my documentation says it's "Tab Window Manager": man
twm.)

Only real annoyance so far (after many years) is that some apps refuse
to function without a "tray" provided by the wm. Allegedly there's a >workaround but using wicd instead of networkmanager keeps me happy.

I do prefer twm's icon manager over the modern desktop menubars or docks.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) writes:

Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> writes:

scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) writes:

I'm still using Tom's window manager (twm).

Me too. (Although my documentation says it's "Tab Window Manager": man >>twm.)

It was renamed between X11R3 and X11R4, if I recall correctly.

/***********************************************************************
*
* $XConsortium: twm.c,v 1.104 89/12/14 14:52:20 jim Exp $
*
* twm - "Tom's Window Manager"
*
* 27-Oct-87 Thomas E. LaStrange File created
*
***********************************************************************/

Well and good. Personal credit wherever possible.

Sombody should update the (undated) manpage.

#ifndef lint
static char RCSinfo[] =
"$XConsortium: twm.c,v 1.104 89/12/14 14:52:20 jim Exp $";
#endif

--
Mike Spencer Nova Scotia, Canada

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> writes:

scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) writes:

Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> writes:

scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) writes:

I'm still using Tom's window manager (twm).

Me too. (Although my documentation says it's "Tab Window Manager": man >>>twm.)

It was renamed between X11R3 and X11R4, if I recall correctly.

/***********************************************************************
*
* $XConsortium: twm.c,v 1.104 89/12/14 14:52:20 jim Exp $
*
* twm - "Tom's Window Manager"
*
* 27-Oct-87 Thomas E. LaStrange File created
*
***********************************************************************/

Well and good. Personal credit wherever possible.

Sombody should update the (undated) manpage.

It was renamed _from_ Tom's window manager _to_ tab window manager
by the X11R4 development team intentionally.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)