Microsoft has confirmed that Windows 11 Shell and every associated core feature and element are actually broken, and have been like this for many months.
I’ll adjust and say that you’re, in my eyes, a “power user”, since I had not considered running my daily driver “headless” with WMs instead of with a DE until your comment. If “strong opinions” is too “strong”, I’ll also adjust and say I am interested in said evolving preferences and, more importantly, the reasoning behind them.
Though, I don’t think “headless” is the correct term there.
I asked Mistral LLM to check…
define headless, in terms of computing
In computing, “headless” refers to a system, device, or software that operates without a graphical user interface (GUI) or direct user interaction via a monitor, keyboard, or mouse. Instead, it is controlled remotely or through command-line interfaces (CLIs), APIs, or network protocols.
Key Aspects of Headless Computing:
No Local Display: The system lacks a physical screen or input devices attached directly to it.
Remote Management: Users interact with the system over a network (e.g., SSH, RDP, or web interfaces).
Common Use Cases:
Servers: Headless servers are standard in data centers, where administrators manage them remotely.
Embedded Systems: Devices like Raspberry Pi or IoT gadgets often run headless to save resources.
Virtualization: Headless virtual machines or containers are managed via hypervisors or orchestration tools.
Automation: Headless browsers (e.g., Puppeteer, Selenium) automate web tasks without rendering a GUI.
Example:
A headless Raspberry Pi might run a home automation script, accessible only via SSH or a web dashboard, with no monitor or keyboard connected.
Would you like examples of headless software or tools?
Some do use their GNU+Linux (or BSD or others), running in just TTY, just the terminal, without X11 or wayland, but even then that does not necessarily mean no GUI, with some graphical tools (like “mpv” is a good example) able to run without a graphical server (and certainly at least TUI… the web browser “browsh” is a good example). And not necessarily not headless either, with either direct use, or perhaps ssh’ing in through a network, or just running things configured to automate (as per the example the LLM gave). “Dumb terminals” are another related thing, where the “head” is separate.
I’ll adjust and say that you’re, in my eyes, a “power user”, since I had not considered running my daily driver “headless” with WMs instead of with a DE until your comment. If “strong opinions” is too “strong”, I’ll also adjust and say I am interested in said evolving preferences and, more importantly, the reasoning behind them.
Good stuff.
Though, I don’t think “headless” is the correct term there.
I asked Mistral LLM to check…
Some do use their GNU+Linux (or BSD or others), running in just TTY, just the terminal, without X11 or wayland, but even then that does not necessarily mean no GUI, with some graphical tools (like “mpv” is a good example) able to run without a graphical server (and certainly at least TUI… the web browser “browsh” is a good example). And not necessarily not headless either, with either direct use, or perhaps ssh’ing in through a network, or just running things configured to automate (as per the example the LLM gave). “Dumb terminals” are another related thing, where the “head” is separate.