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Openbox VS Ubuntu Unity

Compare Openbox VS Ubuntu Unity and see what are their differences

Openbox logo Openbox

Openbox is a highly configurable, next generation window manager with extensive standards support.

Ubuntu Unity logo Ubuntu Unity

A powerful blend of Ubuntu and Unity - to give you the most complete and cohesive Linux Desktop Experience.
  • Openbox Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-06
  • Ubuntu Unity Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-05

Openbox features and specs

  • Lightweight
    Openbox is a highly efficient window manager that requires minimal system resources, making it an excellent choice for older hardware or systems with limited resources.
  • Customizable
    Openbox offers extensive customization options, allowing users to tailor the look and feel of their desktop environment to their specific preferences.
  • Fast Performance
    Due to its lightweight nature, Openbox provides fast and responsive performance, resulting in quicker application launches and smoother overall desktop experience.
  • Comprehensive Keybindings
    Openbox supports complex keybindings, enabling power users to create efficient workflow setups through keyboard shortcuts.
  • Extensible
    Openbox can work seamlessly with other tools and additional software, allowing users to extend its capabilities with tools like panels, widgets, and additional plugins.

Possible disadvantages of Openbox

  • Steep Learning Curve
    Openbox requires a more hands-on approach and can be challenging for beginners to set up and configure due to its extensive customization options.
  • Limited Out-of-the-box Features
    Unlike full desktop environments, Openbox does not come with many built-in features, requiring users to install and configure additional software to achieve a fully functional desktop.
  • No Desktop Icons by Default
    Openbox does not support desktop icons natively, so users need to rely on additional tools like 'xfdesktop' or 'pcmanfm' to add this functionality.
  • Minimalistic Appearance
    While some users appreciate the minimalistic look, others might find it too bare-bones compared to more feature-rich environments like GNOME or KDE.
  • Manual Configuration
    Most customizations in Openbox require editing configuration files manually, which can be time-consuming and error-prone for users unfamiliar with text-based configurations.

Ubuntu Unity features and specs

No features have been listed yet.

Openbox videos

Get Rid Of That Bloated Desktop Environment And Install Openbox

More videos:

  • Review - Manjaro Openbox: First Impressions and Review
  • Tutorial - Openbox V8S Review- How to get Free TV!!!
  • Review - Open Box Review (Bx8 M-Audio Speakers) #Openbox #SpeakerReview
  • Review - Openbox A1 - Review
  • Review - OPEN BOX - @ikmultimedia TONEX #fyp #opening #openbox #review #guitar

Ubuntu Unity videos

Ubuntu Unity 23.10 - A Great Linux Distro - Review !

More videos:

  • Review - What happened to Ubuntu Unity??
  • Review - Ubuntu Unity: Ubuntu's Biggest Regret? (First Impressions)

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Openbox and Ubuntu Unity)
Linux
84 84%
16% 16
Window Manager
100 100%
0% 0
File Manager
0 0%
100% 100
Utilities
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Openbox and Ubuntu Unity

Openbox Reviews

Top 10 Best Desktop Environments in 2020
People who’re deep into Linux, love Openbox’s simplicity. It’s extremely lightweight, and comes with only a text-based right-click menu that lists all your applications. The menu is customizable too, and you can add scripts or functions within the menu as a link.

Ubuntu Unity Reviews

We have no reviews of Ubuntu Unity yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Ubuntu Unity seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 5 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Openbox mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Openbox yet. Tracking of Openbox recommendations started around Mar 2021.

Ubuntu Unity mentions (5)

  • Omakub – Opinionated Ubuntu Setup
    > Ubuntu out of the box is not a great experience. I personally went with Linux Mint, because it doesn't try to push snaps and honestly the Cinnamon desktop is lovely and gets out of the way, a bit like XFCE but in some ways more polished: https://www.linuxmint.com/ It's nice that I don't even need custom scripts, it's pretty good out of the box. That said, contrary to popular opinion, I actually liked back when... - Source: Hacker News / 11 months ago
  • The KDE desktop gets an overhaul with Plasma 6
    Unity is back. An enthusiast resurrected it and now it's an official Ubuntu flavour again: https://ubuntuunity.org/. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Rethinking Window Management in Gnome
    > I wish Unity didn't die Hi from Unity on Ubuntu 23.04. I am running the Unity flavour: https://ubuntuunity.org/ It uses the latest Unity 7.7, released earlier this year: https://gitlab.com/ubuntu-unity/unity-x/unityx I run it on 3 or 4 machines, one of which has 2 screens and one of which has 3. Works great, scales well, handles modern Ubuntu just fine. I use it with the Waterfox browser, which integrates... - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • Rolling release between Arch and Rhino(Ubuntu based)
    I'm sorry, but Ubuntu Unity takes the cake for the best distro website https://ubuntuunity.org/. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Question about changing desktop environments
    Canonical dropped development of Unity in 2017 (if I remember correctly), but there is https://ubuntuunity.org/ which is not affiliated with Canonical. Source: about 2 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Openbox and Ubuntu Unity, you can also consider the following products

i3 - A dynamic tiling window manager designed for X11, inspired by wmii, and written in C.

pcmanfm-qt - pcmanfm-qt is a QT port of PCManFM that is the default file manager for the LXQR desktop.

dwm - dwm is a dynamic window manager for X. It manages windows in tiled, monocle and floating layouts. All of the layouts can be applied dynamically, optimising the environment for the application in use and the task performed.

nnn - Fast and resource-sensitive file manager for the terminal

awesome - A dynamic window manager for the X Window System developed in the C and Lua programming languages.

ranger - The most up-to-date breaking news for the New York Rangers including highlights, roster, schedule, scores and archives.