It's now a lot easier to install on Ubuntu.

It's now a lot easier to integrate with panels such as gnome-panel or xmobar.

It's now a lot easier to try out various layouts, and there are more layouts to choose from.

They think that maximizing a window as much as possible whenever possible is useful. I think that's true with terminals and chat windows, but less so for many other windows. For instance, I always want GVim to be 80 columns wide.

They think that minimizing windows to very small sizes is more acceptable than allowing windows to overlap. I disagree.

They think that forcibly resizing windows won't break them. Unfortunately, forcibly resizing windows makes the Gimp look terrible, and it often cuts off the last line of text in GVim.

They think that I don't care about having an integrated desktop environment such as the one GNOME provides. In reality, I like the idea of using weird window managers as part of my GNOME desktop. I really like all those things that Ubuntu puts on my gnome-panel such as the network manager, update manager, mixer, etc.

It works with the gnome-panel.

It has layout managers that can take hints from applications so as not to chop off the last line of text in GVim.

It can create exceptions for certain applications, such as the Gimp, placing them in a "floating" layer that is more suitable for such applications.

It has layouts that allow windows to overlap in useful ways.

Having the computer help you manage your windows using smart algorithms is a good idea.

Trying bold, new ideas in user interface design is a great idea.

xmonad is a tiling window manager. If you don't know what I'm talking about, take a peek at one of the screencasts . I've been using xmonad for the last couple weeks. It's been a couple years since I tried it last, and it's really improved:Every time I try out a tiling window manager, I am reminded of the fact that I fundamentally disagree with the premise:Fortunately, of all the tiling window managers, xmonad is the most understanding of my needs:Hence, xmonad is my favorite among all the tiling window managers that I've tried. There are a couple premises that I fundamentally agree with:That last point is important. There's a great saying in The Myths of Innovation : "Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. If they're any good, you'll have to cram them down people's throats!" Not every new idea is good, butlots of new ideas is very good.xmonad exemplifies what I'd like to see more of in the Linux world. Linux has always been a little behind in terms of user interface design. Instead of cloning Windows or OS X, I really like the idea of creating our own new, interesting, and clever approaches to user interface design. Do you remember the time when neither Windows nor OS X had virtual desktops? I like having things that those guys don't have, which is why I'm happy to see the innovation that xmonad is providing.