Do you think the gnome/kde interfaces waste space?

[Mazza558]

I think it's in interesting how Microsoft have always opted for small, crisp text (as well as no space wasted) and the Mac and Linux interfaces are huge and smooth with large text and a feeling of a spacious desktop.

On our desktop PC I recently installed 8.04 with Wubi, and, with a tiny 15 inch LCD screen, things actually feel pretty cramped in Ubuntu. Even when you shrink the text down to 8 pt, the buttons and widgets remain the same size. I can understand when some people go straight back to Windows when they see this.

On the other hand, my laptop has a higher resolution and bigger screen - 17 Inches at 1280 x 800, and I don't really feel cramped.

[23meg]

Do you think the gnome/kde interfaces waste space?

No, specific themes do.

[popch]

I take no issues with desktop themes taking up space.

However, I find it more than a bit ridiculous how screens are wider than they are tall, how they become even wider, and how most word processing programs I know eat space from both the top and the bottom of the screen by their arrangement of tool bars, menu bars, title bars, status bars, foo bars and whatnot bars.

I work for the government where I have yet to see one single report or letter written in landscape format. Also, I haven't noticed any corporate designs taking to correspondence or technical manuals in the landscape orientation. All text documents worth mentioning are taller than they are wide.

That's much more wasteful of space than a few oversized icons on the desktop.

[Mazza558]

No, specific themes do.

Well, the vast majority of them do, to be honest.

[hessiess]

I take no issues with desktop themes taking up space.

However, I find it more than a bit ridiculous how screens are wider than they are tall, how they become even wider, and how most word processing programs I know eat space from both the top and the bottom of the screen by their arrangement of tool bars, menu bars, title bars, status bars, foo bars and whatnot bars.

I work for the government where I have yet to see one single report or letter written in landscape format. Also, I haven't noticed any corporate designs taking to correspondence or technical manuals in the landscape orientation. All text documents worth mentioning are taller than they are wide.

That's much more wasteful of space than a few oversized icons on the desktop.

A widescreen can be rotated 90 degrees, so that it fits documents better, though im not sure if its posable in Linux.

[Mazza558]

Well, after trying a more compact theme and font, I think I'm in love. My screen feels nice and big again, and I can get more done this way.

See the attachment.

[aimran]

Mazza I agree with you. May I ask what gtk theme did you use to solve it?

[popch]

A widescreen can be rotated 90 degrees, so that it fits documents better, though im not sure if its posable in Linux.

Yes, that's true, but only for desktop systems. I use laptops at home.

[macogw]

A widescreen can be rotated 90 degrees, so that it fits documents better, though im not sure if its posable in Linux.

It can, don't worry. System -> Preferences -> Screen Resolution has a rotation option.

[legolas_w]

Hi Mazza558,
Can you explain about your configuration, what theme have you used?

Thanks.

[LaRoza]

GNOME and KDE (and Windows, an OS X) do waste a lot of space. A tiling window manager gives you your screen back.

[Mazza558]

It's called Murrine Compact, and available at gnome-look.

[thenes]

I ran fluxbox (http://fluxbox.sourceforge.net/) on top of os x for a while. That window manager certainly does not waist any space. Its great if you do not mind using terminal.

[cgrenier]

I've tried the Murrina and Clearlooks compact themes, and they are ok if a bit lacking in certain aesthetic respects. My solutions are the Elegant Brit and Elegant Mine themes (particularly the latter) which are actually *more* compact that the Murrina and Clearlooks-compact themes, and more clean and... elegant, in my opinion.

It's actually the first dark theme in any desktop that I've liked enough to use, and I don't feel like going back to an ordinary light one.

Elegant Mine Metacity and GTK + Jungle (black) icon theme

[zcal]

A lot of users try to imitate OS X's Dock. I can't begin to understand why anyone would want to do this, especially on a laptop. It just seems to me a ridiculous waste of screen real estate.