Reviews of Docks for XFCE

[rv_happy]

Hello everyone

I just wanted to share some reviews of 6 different docks that I have done on my blog:
http://linuxthemer.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/xfce-docks_3.html

I am actually using Debian rather than Ubuntu, but thought it may be of interest to Xubuntu users...

Docks covered:
AWN
Cairo/GLX
DockbarX
Docky
Plank
Simdock

I hope this is useful for a few of you.

Kind regards :)

[ajgreeny]

You haven't mentioned the possibility of using a separate xfce4-panel as a launchbar type dock, rather like that of unity, which is what I already use and have done for some time in my Xubuntu 12.04 and now in 14.04.

I realise it is not a true dock in the way that the six you mention are, but I still think it is worth letting users know that they can easily make a dock type bar using what is already available in xfce. You can also, of course, do the same with lxde, and probably gnome and kde though I don't really know those last two DEs.

[rv_happy]

Yes that's a good point and I'll update the post later. I have already gone to some detail in an earlier blog post on how to use xfpanel to create a chrome os type dock, but in this instance I was specifically interested in docks with windows control.

I do love xfpanel's flexibility and that is why i ultimately chose DockbarX as the winner as it meant i could keep xfpanel and have an integrated dock.

Cheers

[ibjsb4]

And when it comes to panels, there are several of those in the respiratory.

[pqwoerituytrueiwoq]

i use cairo dock
http://i.imgur.com/WCsSQdcs.png (http://i.imgur.com/WCsSQdc.png)

[rv_happy]

i use cairo dock

Do you find it buggy? It crashed for me on numerous occasions (on Debian Jessie)... Highly configurable, but I just couldn't live with it or recommend it to others (yet).

[pqwoerituytrueiwoq]

Do you find it buggy? It crashed for me on numerous occasions (on Debian Jessie)... Highly configurable, but I just couldn't live with it or recommend it to others (yet).
only during some updates

[Rob Sayer]

You haven't mentioned the possibility of using a separate xfce4-panel as a launchbar type dock, rather like that of unity, which is what I already use and have done for some time in my Xubuntu 12.04 and now in 14.04 ...

That's exactly what I do in xubuntu. Frankly it seems a lot simpler and more reliable than installing conkys or docks or whatever. I just don't see the point in taking something like xfce and trying to make it something else, and the 1st thing I'll do with it is turn off all the effects/eye candy. YMMV.

Personally I like the idea of having a DE that's really ugly and looks like some 90s windows version but works more like OS X, which is also of course Unix derived. Lubuntu would be the ultimate expression of this aesthetic (if that's the word) but I found lubuntu 14.04 a total bugfest so it's Xubuntu for me.

[rv_happy]

ajgreeny[/COLOR]]You haven't mentioned the possibility of using a separate xfce4-panel as a launchbar type dock, rather like that of unity, which is what I already use and have done for some time in my Xubuntu 12.04 and now in 14.04 ....

I have updated my blog post now to clarify what I am talking about :)


Personally I like the idea of having a DE that's really ugly and looks like some 90s windows version but works more like OS X, which is also of course Unix derived. Lubuntu would be the ultimate expression of this aesthetic (if that's the word) but I found lubuntu 14.04 a total bugfest so it's Xubuntu for me.

But surely if you want something to work more like OS X you would want a dock? After all, it's one of its stand-out features which has been much copied since... ;)

[Rob Sayer]

I have updated my blog post now to clarify what I am talking about :)



But surely if you want something to work more like OS X you would want a dock? After all, it's one of its stand-out features which has been much copied since... ;)

Sensing some confusion here ... I didn't say I wanted ubuntu to work more like OS X. I said that ubuntu, like all Linux distros, inherently works more like OS X than Windows because they're both derived from Unix. Any use of a dock has nothing at all to do with this.

As far as any DE goes irrespective of the underlying advantages of linux/unix, the main thing I wouldn't want to give up is the ability to have multiple virtual workspaces. OS X also has this because Unix does. And on a small netbook screen like I'm typing on now it's incredibly useful.

As I said, I do pretty much the same thing as any dock app does with the simple addition of an additional XFCE panel. Easy, doesn't consume any significant additional resources, and it's faster to use than the whisker menu.

Overall I think it's just silly to install a relatively minimal DE like Xfce and then bloat it with eye candy/doc apps. There are even some people who install compiz on Xfce systems, which I find particularly silly. Why not just use KDE (which I use on my more powerful laptop) and get real power?

[rv_happy]

Sensing some confusion here ... I didn't say I wanted ubuntu to work more like OS X. I said that ubuntu, like all Linux distros, inherently works more like OS X than Windows because they're both derived from Unix. Any use of a dock has nothing at all to do with this.
OK fair enough!


Overall I think it's just silly to install a relatively minimal DE like Xfce and then bloat it with eye candy/doc apps. There are even some people who install compiz on Xfce systems, which I find particularly silly. Why not just use KDE (which I use on my more powerful laptop) and get real power?

Dockbarx only increases RAM usage by 10-20MB at most which I would not class as bloat. I use Windows 7/8 everyday at work and I do find the taskbar helps productivity in a small way. So i am glad to be able to get that functionality in XFCE.

I agree with compiz though. I hate the effects, makes me feel seasick!