I'm looking forward to trying this
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| ComputerBob Jan 17, 2011 10:55 AM EDT |
I've been using Xfce 4.6 ever since last February, (http://www.computerbob.com/guides/my_debian_adventure_3.php), and I love it. It looks like 4.8 will be even better, with a bunch of useful, functional improvements. Thanks, Xfce team, for giving me a sensible alternative to KDE. |
| vainrveenr Jan 17, 2011 1:39 PM EDT |
Quoting:Thanks, Xfce team, for giving me a sensible alternative to KDE.Openbox 3.x for KDE and GNOME is also claimed to be a fast and "sensible" alternative to their default WM's; see http://openbox.org/ Openbox 3.x might or might not run as smoothly as Xfce 4.x alone though. Also, Openbox setup within KDE and GNOME is not always as straightforward for much less advanced users as its developers and supporters would wish, e.g., see http://openbox.org/wiki/Help:Installing Still, Openbox and similarly proposed KDE/GNOME "improvements" are worthwhile mentioning in passing. |
| ComputerBob Jan 17, 2011 5:36 PM EDT |
There are plenty of options out there, but I did a lot of research before I finally moved from KDE to Xfce 4.6 last year. Xfce 4.6 (with just a few tweaks) gave me most of the functionality that I had loved in KDE 3.5 without all of the junk that I hated in KDE4. Since then, everything I have read has confirmed to me that switching to Debian Testing Xfce was the best/right decision for me -- and now Xfce 4.8 confirms it even more. During the past year, I retired the my first Linux PC -- the one that I built 8 years ago. In fact, for the past several months, I've been running both a 64-bit PC and a dual-core 64-bit PC that are each perfectly capable of running anything out there -- but they both run only Debian Testing Xfce, by choice. ;) |
| Bob_Robertson Jan 17, 2011 6:57 PM EDT |
I'll second that. I have been very happy with XFCE on three different systems that I have, not including the TrinityDE system. There is only one KDE4 system in my care at this time, my mother's, and even though it's frustrating for her too, it's functional and she doesn't want to change. Remember that "It works, don't mess with it"? That's her. I wonder how long it will be before 4.8 makes it into Debian Sid? Well, when it does, I'll have it. It's time to go back and try to log into the XFCE community web site. I signed up a long time ago, and it was such a delay between when I signed up and when I received the confirmation email that I didn't have the question I wanted to ask any more. Oh well. |
| tuxchick Jan 17, 2011 7:12 PM EDT |
Me3. XFCE is nice. also on Debian Sid, and Arch Linux. They are happy together. I've always like how easy it is to try different graphical environments. The underpinnings are all the same-- user accounts, configurations, data storage. Some things are bit nuisance-y, mainly harmonizing various Gnome and KDE features with other environments, but underneath it's all the same Linux. |
| Bob_Robertson Jan 17, 2011 7:34 PM EDT |
> but underneath it's all the same Linux. Now I remember the question! XFCE had changed the way it loaded menus, so the "standard underpinnings" didn't work any more, and all the KDE applications didn't show up in the XFCE menu lists. Clearly from the fact that everything is showing up now, that problem has been resolved. |
| Ridcully Jan 18, 2011 2:49 AM EDT |
ComputerBob, (or anyone who knows), I have for some time toyed with the idea of mvoing to Xfce if I could not get KDE4 to work for me. Okay......I got KDE4.4.4 to work for me and I'm currently pretty happy with the results, but Xfce remains a DE that I would very much like to investigate and I have a test laptop on which this could be done. The question is really simple: KDE allows you to open the main menu on the bottom panel and drag and drop icon links to the desktop so that software packages you use all the time are immediately available on the desktop; can Xfce do this ? In other words (and ignoring menu options), is Xfce able to provide an equivalent to the traditional KDE3.5 desktop ? I have tried to find out a few times from the web, but always ended up in a maze of answers that didn't answer, if you know what I mean. |
| ComputerBob Jan 18, 2011 9:34 AM EDT |
I'm certainly not qualified to speak for the Xfce project, but here are a couple of answers, from the best of my recollection:Quoting:XFCE had changed the way it loaded menus, so the "standard underpinnings" didn't work any more, and all the KDE applications didn't show up in the XFCE menu lists.IIRC, Xfce 4.6 used a different type (non-standard?) of menu system that was incompatible with its past menu systems, and it didn't work with any menu-editing packages out there. Xfce 4.8 has reportedly returned to a standard menu system, so you can use Alacarte and other menu-editing packages on it. Quoting:KDE allows you to open the main menu on the bottom panel and drag and drop icon links to the desktop so that software packages you use all the time are immediately available on the desktop; can Xfce do this ? In other words (and ignoring menu options), is Xfce able to provide an equivalent to the traditional KDE3.5 desktop ? It's been awhile since I tried to do it, but I don't think that Xfce 4.6 allows you to simply drag items from the main menu onto the desktop to create shortcuts (I don't really remember, and I'm not at home right now), but it does allow you to create desktop shortcuts to your frequently used applications (IIRC, I think I've done it by opening /usr/bin/ and using the applications' icons themselves). So while I don't think that Xfce 4.6 lets you accomplish it the exact same way that you do it in KDE, it does allow you to have a KDE-type desktop with icons all over the place, if you want. I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing that Xfce 4.8 has similar functionality. |
| Steven_Rosenber Jan 18, 2011 1:36 PM EDT |
Being able to use Alacarte is pretty much a killer feature in Xfce, which has lacked a menu editor for far too long. Speaking of GNOMEishness, I'm fond enough of NetworkManager at this point that I'd probably use it, too, unless I can come to terms with Wicd (which so far has been less than stellar in my tests). |
| Bob_Robertson Jan 18, 2011 1:46 PM EDT |
> Wicd (which so far has been less than stellar in my tests). While I have no complaints about WICD so far for what it does, I don't like the lack of IPv6. "Future feature", I've been told. |
| helios Jan 19, 2011 3:08 PM EDT |
I'm not sure if the DE that Wicd operates in is an issue but I do remember a couple of years ago, I had absolute fits with Network Manager in gnome/Ubuntu but when I employed Wicd, all my wireless connection problems disappeared and I didn't have to do anything extra to make it do so. I have become truly lazy of late and just use what is available at my fingertips as long as it works for me. Network Manager seems to do so, however I am a big fan of Wicd... h |
| Jeff91 Jan 21, 2011 2:35 PM EDT |
Since we are discussing desktops... Enlightenment is always worth a look ;) ~Jeff |
| Bob_Robertson Jan 21, 2011 2:57 PM EDT |
> I had absolute fits with Network Manager in gnome/Ubuntu but when I employed Wicd, all my wireless connection problems disappeared and I didn't have to do anything extra to make it do so. Speaking of which, Debian Lenny (the present Stable) installs all the Network Manager stuff by default. Backports.org has Wicd for Lenny, but if you install Wicd and then not un-install Network Manager, nothing works. > Enlightenment is always worth a look Indeed, I impressed several people with an E-Live CD once. |
| Steven_Rosenber Jan 21, 2011 6:30 PM EDT |
I don't think the Debian Lenny Xfce install has Wicd (i could be wrong), but I think the Squeeze Xfce install puts Wicd in there. Debian's Xfce differs from Ubuntu and Fedora's in that Debian doesn't include any GNOME bits, whereas Ubuntu and Fedora include many. |
| ComputerBob Jan 21, 2011 6:39 PM EDT |
Quoting:...I think the Squeeze Xfce install puts Wicd in there.Yes, both of my Debian Squeeze Xfce installs came with Wicd instead of Network Manager. And only the bottom panel, instead of the top and bottom panels that I often see in Xfce reviews. |
| Steven_Rosenber Jan 21, 2011 6:58 PM EDT |
I've had the standard Debian Xfce install of Lenny on an ancient laptop for a very long time ... |
| Bob_Robertson Jan 21, 2011 8:31 PM EDT |
ComBob, Agreed. Squeeze comes with Wicd by default, and with only one Xfce bar at the bottom. Lenny Xfce install put two panels, on top and bottom, and had no Wicd in the primary depositories at all. I am so very happy they changed their minds, I _hate_ that. |
| jdixon Jan 21, 2011 9:22 PM EDT |
> And only the bottom panel, instead of the top and bottom panels that I often see in Xfce reviews. That a customization added by the distro. Slackware comes with a single bottom panel also. |
| Steven_Rosenber Jan 21, 2011 9:47 PM EDT |
If you look at Xfce in Debian, Slackware or any of the BSD projects, you'll see it just as it ships from upstream. One little hack that I noticed and actually used a bit when I was running Xubuntu a while back (I think it was 10.04, but it could've have been 8.04) - you can log in with the Xubuntu desktop environment, or the plain Xfce desktop environment and have a more "pure" Xfce session if you choose. |
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