View Full Version : Best XFCE ever?
HappinessNow
July 22nd, 2009, 12:37 AM
What are your thoughts?
.Maleficus.
July 22nd, 2009, 12:54 AM
You will probably find that popular belief is the exact opposite.
I can't comment much though, as I've only ever used Xfce on Gentoo and Arch and it didn't last long on either.
RiceMonster
July 22nd, 2009, 12:58 AM
I use Xfce on Arch. If I were to pick a distro that comes default with Xfce though, I guess I'd say Zenwalk.
Agreed that Xubuntu is a bad implementation. It just tries to emulate GNOME, which is a bad idea.
Sealbhach
July 22nd, 2009, 12:58 AM
Zenwalk is rather nice.
.
dragos240
July 22nd, 2009, 01:06 AM
I never really used xfce. I use gnome, and I'm trying KDE, which is quite nice.
SunnyRabbiera
July 22nd, 2009, 01:07 AM
I also vote zenwalk, I gave it a shot once and I kind of liked it.
But being slackware based does have its disadvantages, despite newer versions of zenwalk using its own flair as opposed to another slackware clone.
Simian Man
July 22nd, 2009, 01:14 AM
If for some reason you want a slightly lighter and uglier version of Gnome, then I guess Xubuntu would be OK. Otherwise, go with the unadulterated Xfce that most other distros ship with (Arch, Fedora...).
You can also install plain Xfce in Ubuntu by installing the xfce package - NOT xubuntu-desktop!
chucky chuckaluck
July 22nd, 2009, 03:32 AM
minimal whatever + whatever, for me.
CJ Master
July 22nd, 2009, 04:32 AM
Arch + XFCE, of course. (And I have the same opionion for about every DE...)
handy
July 22nd, 2009, 09:04 AM
I really enjoyed Xfce on Arch, then changed to Openbox using the xfce4-panel, it is so much faster, looks the same on my setup, & has a better menu.
Barrucadu
July 22nd, 2009, 10:30 AM
XFCE on Zenwalk is much nicer than on Xubuntu.
shuttleworthwannabe
July 22nd, 2009, 10:31 AM
Agreed, Xubuntu does hog resources, but it is the only XFCE-based distro that just works--no hardware issues, and applications including printing, and 3G recognition is something--guess it is to do with Ubuntu backing.
S
koleoptero
July 22nd, 2009, 11:25 AM
I also think that the xubuntu is getting more bloated with each release. 7.10 was super for my laptop, used as little as 200mbyte ram with firefox and amarok running. Now it uses almost as much as Ubuntu.
chucky chuckaluck
July 22nd, 2009, 01:37 PM
I really enjoyed Xfce on Arch, then changed to Openbox using the xfce4-panel, it is so much faster, looks the same on my setup, & has a better menu.
i was pretty disappointed in the menu changes for the latest version. and even though you can now set wallpaper from thunar, you can set it better using thunar in openbox with feh.
PC_load_letter
July 22nd, 2009, 01:41 PM
I'm surprised no one mentioned Sidux (www.sidux.com). It's a Debian(sid) based distro, and comes with either XFCE or KDE. I'm installing it in VBox as I'm typing this, will let you know how it turns out. From what I've read about it so far, it seems to be a great distro.
EDIT: it's sid not lenny, corrected!
RiceMonster
July 22nd, 2009, 01:50 PM
i was pretty disappointed in the menu changes for the latest version.
I find it fine once you disable icons so it works like a *box menu. What I don't like is how there's no menu editor now (though the one before sucked), however it's not to hard to edit the xml file for the menu, which you have to do in openbox anyway, or the desktop files.
chucky chuckaluck
July 22nd, 2009, 01:58 PM
I find it fine once you disable icons so it works like a *box menu. What I don't like is how there's no menu editor now (though the one before sucked), however it's not to hard to edit the xml file for the menu, which you have to do in openbox anyway, or the desktop files.
you can use obmenu, saving those of us who find xml files tl/dr.
handy
July 22nd, 2009, 02:11 PM
Agreed, Xubuntu does hog resources, but it is the only XFCE-based distro that just works--no hardware issues, and applications including printing, and 3G recognition is something--guess it is to do with Ubuntu backing.
S
I have a drive drawer that is used occasionally on no.2. machine that has Mint-6-Xfce installed on it. I have found it even easier to setup than Xubuntu, & it is surprisingly fast, considering that Ubuntu is under it.
Actually I would always recommend Mint to any new Linux user, it must be the easiest distro' of them all to install & get to grips with.
sertse
July 22nd, 2009, 02:15 PM
tbh, I found editing the Xfce menu file and .desktop files to be easier then Openbox. And I actually like the changes to the menu system (apart from the lack of editor), following freedesktop standards meant most items are placed sanely "automatically" anyways, and changes are more about tweaking/fine tuning imo. I feel we tend to forget the initial effort we had put in setting up menus, when we compare *box to XFCE. My Fluxbox menu is made up over time, and the thought of having replicate it if I want to switch to Openbox *shudders*. You might feel similar vice-versa :P
For other settings, Fluxbox's plain text configs are clearer then Openboxs xml.
I didn't really take to Openbox as you can see. :P (Running fluxbox with xfdesktop for it's menu for forementioned reasons)
handy
July 22nd, 2009, 02:17 PM
i was pretty disappointed in the menu changes for the latest version. and even though you can now set wallpaper from thunar, you can set it better using thunar in openbox with feh.
From memory, I think I read some time back that the Xfce, dev's plan, is to do what they did in the current release to the menu, which was for some reason a required step on the way to a proper menu editor which I think arrives in the next version of Xfce.
handy
July 22nd, 2009, 02:29 PM
@sertse: I think it comes down to all of our different individual tastes/preferences/usage when it comes to menu systems.
I think I preferred the previous version of Xfce's menu system, it took only a few minutes to setup so that the menu config' file was easily edited.
I find the Openbox menu suits me even better, though I haven't made any changes to it for so long I don't remember which tools I used anymore... :)
That is one of the downsides of using Arch, you set things up & they just stay that way unless you decide to change it, you don't get a refresher course every 6 months, or whenever whatever other time it takes for the particular distro' that you are using to have a new release. So I forget what I do, though I do have backups of all my config' files & such. :)
Though there is a caveat on the above for anyone using ATi GPU's at the moment, as the latest Catalyst drivers are causing trouble for a lot of Arch people (& other's who use these versions) due to there problems with the kernel versions *30 & *31 at the moment, which is a total pain in the you know what.
Eisenwinter
July 22nd, 2009, 04:22 PM
If I were to pick a distro that comes default with Xfce though, I guess I'd say Zenwalk.
I was going to mention Zenwalk, but you beat me to it :P
HappinessNow
July 23rd, 2009, 12:18 AM
I was going to mention Zenwalk, but you beat me to it :P
Is Zenwalk development on a regular cycle?
izizzle
July 23rd, 2009, 12:26 AM
Either Zenwalk or Wolvix. If you like eye candy in XFCE, do take a look at Dreamlinux.
Have you seen THIS (http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-271542.html) thread?
HappinessNow
July 23rd, 2009, 01:30 AM
Either Zenwalk or Wolvix. If you like eye candy in XFCE, do take a look at Dreamlinux.
Have you seen THIS (http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-271542.html) thread?That thread you link to is extremely outdated.
I am more familiar with this thread:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1147820
Where it is uncontested that "Dream Linux = Nightmare Linux" and is one of the top distros to avoid.
Dream Linux (is the absolute worst nightmare!); worst for beginner, intermediate or advanced user of linux, simply look under the hood and you will see why; the code work looks as if it was put together by ADHD (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention-deficit_hyperactivity_disorder) children in a playground that consumed way too much sugar!
izizzle
July 23rd, 2009, 01:32 AM
I found Dreamlinux to be great when I used it about 1.5 years ago. Maybe things have changed with that project...
HappinessNow
July 23rd, 2009, 01:34 AM
I found Dreamlinux to be great when I used it about 1.5 years ago. Maybe things have changed with that project...
Yep, unfortunately they have changed. I too found it good about the same time frame but I think they may be involved with inept new developers or something.
Take a peek under the hood, the code is a mess, it is completely unreliable.
MaxIBoy
July 23rd, 2009, 01:50 AM
Xubuntu isn't a pure XFCE distro. It has a lot of GNOME components.
markbuntu
July 23rd, 2009, 10:42 PM
I am using Kuki on my Aspire One. It uses XFCE which is perfect for this machine. Kuki is a dedicated Ubuntu remix for the aspire one. XFCE, 2.6.30 kernel, Jaunty repos. Small, fast, lightweight, just like the machine it runs on with none of that UNR bloat.
HappinessNow
July 23rd, 2009, 10:46 PM
I am using Kuki on my Aspire One. It uses XFCE which is perfect for this machine. Kuki is a dedicated Ubuntu remix for the aspire one. XFCE, 2.6.30 kernel, Jaunty repos. Small, fast, lightweight, just like the machine it runs on with none of that UNR bloat.
Kuki sounds like a very nice Ubuntu Remix with a dedicated purpose.
Ron G
July 23rd, 2009, 10:47 PM
I would have to say the best XFCE distro is Xubuntu.
What are your thoughts?
I find the best is the one I created with the Ubuntu minimal install, with xfce added as the default desktop. It is so much faster than xubuntu, and it only has the apps. that I want to use, and NO more. It is so fast on this old box of mine at work, I can hardly believe it. I find xubuntu to be so bloated that is slows this thing down to a crawl. I love xfce, but it is so much faster on the minimal install. JMHO
I followed this easy tutorial ; http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/minimal
markbuntu
July 24th, 2009, 03:02 AM
Kuki sounds like a very nice Ubuntu Remix with a dedicated purpose.
Yes, it is. I think we need more of this sort of effort. It is becoming more and more clear to me that too many distros try to be all thing to all people and that is becoming more and more unrealistic, especially with the ever advancing notebooks and netbooks.
If new users could be steered to something that works OOB rather than to something that others think they should use that does not....
HappinessNow
July 24th, 2009, 04:12 AM
I find the best is the one I created with the Ubuntu minimal install, with xfce added as the default desktop. It is so much faster than xubuntu, and it only has the apps. that I want to use, and NO more. It is so fast on this old box of mine at work, I can hardly believe it. I find xubuntu to be so bloated that is slows this thing down to a crawl. I love xfce, but it is so much faster on the minimal install. JMHO
I followed this easy tutorial ; http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/minimal
Care to share "your" distro with others?...where can one download it?
Yes, it is. I think we need more of this sort of effort. It is becoming more and more clear to me that too many distros try to be all thing to all people and that is becoming more and more unrealistic, especially with the ever advancing notebooks and netbooks.
If new users could be steered to something that works OOB rather than to something that others think they should use that does not....
I think more and more fully customizable Distros are the way to go.
Ubuntu Remixes seem they way to go.
TheNosh
July 24th, 2009, 04:17 AM
You can also install plain Xfce in Ubuntu by installing the xfce package - NOT xubuntu-desktop!
+1 having done that a month or so back, it makes me wonder why on earth xubuntu-desktop even exists
also i cast a vote for puppy linux... but that's largely just cause it was my main desktop for about a year and i grew quite attached to it. flexxxpup if i recall properly (not even close to the default puppy set up)
ah, the memories
handy
July 24th, 2009, 04:37 AM
A *buntu installation that offered meta-packages for the various popular DE's/WM's would be nice.
But Ubuntu is dedicated to Gnome, the other versions of *buntu don't get anywhere near the same support, so I can't imagine Canonical being able to afford to support a *buntu install with meta-packages as mentioned above, in their Ubuntu budget.
Possibly in a future where Ubuntu is very profitable it may happen...
I have the impression that Xubuntu is becoming more unpopular with each release.
Mint-6-Xfce (which I use on my 2nd machine) installed perfectly & simply & runs quickly.
TheNosh
July 24th, 2009, 04:43 AM
I have the impression that Xubuntu is becoming more unpopular with each release.
agreed, i used to enjoy xubuntu, now even ubuntu + the standard xfce package offers only a semi-decent performace differance, and xubuntu-desktop offers almost nothing other than loss of some gnome functions
so i decided that, at least as far as ubuntu goes, xfce isn't really all that worth it. so now i use gnome while i tinker a bit with e17
(though speaking of "as far as ubuntu goes" i'm thinking of switching to either arch or debian sid some time when i'm not feeling to lazy)
ugm6hr
July 24th, 2009, 04:53 AM
Ubuntu NBR + xfce4 behaves well on my Mini 9. I started my Ubuntu journey with Xubuntu, but found it poor after 7.04. Discovered the xfce4 package was actually a lot better suited to me after minor customisations.
I have been meaning to try some of the default lighter Ubuntu-derived XFCE derivatives, but just haven't got round to it yet:
http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=zevenos
http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=pcos
I like Network Manager and Bluetooth Applet etc, so can't get away from the Gnome backdrop, unfortunately!
Twitch6000
July 24th, 2009, 04:55 AM
DreamLinux uses xfce4 very nicely.
HappinessNow
July 24th, 2009, 05:07 AM
DreamLinux uses xfce4 very nicely.refer to this post in this thread:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=7661669&postcount=25
Dream/NightmareLinux has the notorious reputation for being the top Linux Distro to avoid.
Ron G
July 24th, 2009, 05:45 AM
[QUOTE=今幸福;7668233]Care to share "your" distro with others?...where can one download it?
Well I would be glad to "share", but I really don't have any way to put it up for a download. It is basically as the link I provided, with the exception of the xfce desktop I added, and my personal preferences as to applications. All I use mine for is internet access, email, and a few other things. The point of the minimal install is easy custom set up. Anyone can do it, and have exactly what they want in their own version with as little, or as much in the way of applications. I have now done the same thing on my home pc, and it is slightly different than the one I did at work. As a for instance, I added printer capabilities here at home, because I don't use a printer at work, so it is completely customizable. I think everyone should give it a try. If I can do it with my limited knowledge, I think almost anyone can do it. :)
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