mandrake newbie & some questions...

i install mandrake 9 last day, it looks easier than mandrake 7
whatever, i'm a newbie on linux...

i don't like kde,gnome like windows gui clones,
i try blackbox, but i can't minimize windows/tray icons...

i try licq, but it never accept my uin pass!
i try another icq clones, but nothin' works...
(my pass works on icq)



how can i organize windows on blackbox?
what is licq's problem?

can anybody help?

Sorry, I don't know anyhting about icq, but I think I can help you with your search for a non-windows like window manager.

I've tried both KDE and GNOME, and they have their good features, but all felt too bloated for me. I've tried Fluxbox, and not only is it fast, it has efficient ways of organizing windows. I'm not sure how much it differs from blackbox, but in flux there is a minimize button on each window (sadly, it looks kinda like the m$'s minimize button). You can also right click on the top of a window and chose iconify.

Also in fluxbox, you can organize windows by tabs, very similar to the tabs in galeon, if you've seen those. You just middle-click-drag the 'tab' above each window onto the tab of another window, and they join together. You switch between the windows by clicking on their tabs. I don't know how much of this works in blackbox. If you ever want to get flux a try, here it is:
http://fluxbox.sourceforge.net/