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Xfce is great

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Re: Xfce is great

#171

Post by kelipso »

laxis96 wrote: post #166
liampulles wrote: post #108

I'm a longtime fan of XFCE. I try all sorts of DEs from time to time on spare computers, but I reliably come back to XFCE, which is really just a fairly low-resource, stable embodiment of the classic GNOME feel. I used mainline Ubuntu for a few years until they released GNOME 3 (which I hated then and hate now) and then I switched to Xubuntu and was happy again. I made a conscious decision a few years ago (after tryi…

I'm genuinely wondering why everybody hates modern GNOME. I have long been running Linux on headless systems but Windows on my daily, and only recently switched to dailying a Linux desktop. I started with Kubuntu LTS, it was easy to switch from Windows (shortcuts, UX) but it felt too "complicated" and distracting, not very good looking OOTB and had some graphical glitches here and there (w/ nvidia). Now I'm on Fedora…

People who say “clean and modern design language” might like it? It’s very unconfigurable and impossible to adjust it to your tastes.

Re: Xfce is great

#172

Post by kristopolous »

thw_9a83c wrote: post #140
anthk wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Instead of Maxx Desktop, check EMWM plus the goodies: https://fastestcode.org/emwm.html I won't consider XFCE vintage but sane, boring but working. Vintage would be a vanilla FVWM, or MWM, or TWM/CTWM. But not so much, as things come full circle. EvilWM would look outdated and crappy under Slashdot threads in 2001 or close, because it looked something from the 80's, altough some bright users stated that it saved tons…

EMWM is really nice. Too bad that Wyaland will make alternative WMs like this one very hard to use and obsolete in the long run.

Wayland isn't going to become defacto until this difficulty disappears.

X "just works" well enough for too many use cases

Re: Xfce is great

#173

Post by lproven »

Nursie wrote: post #92
ntnsndr wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure I agree. It takes getting used to, and the default designs tend to feel old-fashioned, giving a false impression that it won't do what you need. The settings feel like you're almost in a config file. Except for on old computers, Gnome or Cosmic are safer starting points. I guess I assume "BS" means "UX flourishes that most end users are used to," and I'm not sure minimizing it immediately is the best app…

> The settings feel like you're almost in a config file. What on earth? No, the config has dialogues and intuitive controls. There is a settings-editor you can go into if you need to, with a bit more of a regedit kinda feel, but I haven't looked in there in years. > Gnome or Cosmic are safer starting points. In Gnome, can I move the UI elements to locations I want them in? Or are we still in a situation where it's op…

> In Gnome, can I move the UI elements to locations I want them in?

No.

> Or are we still in a situation where it's opinionated and you have to seek plugins to get an experience that you actually want?

Yes, 100%.

COSMIC feels like GNOME but done right to me. It's not as pretty but while it looks and works pretty much the same by default, you can choose what goes where.

Saying that, I still much prefer Xfce.

Re: Xfce is great

#174

Post by lproven »

electroly wrote: post #30
Fiveplus wrote: post #11

While I appreciate the author's enthusiasm for the traditional desktop metaphor, this analysis conflates interface familiarity with architectural efficiency . It is a pleasant sentiment please don't get me wrong but technically a bit short sighted. The author praises xfce's modularity and unix-like separation of components (xfwm4, xfce4-panel, xfdesktop), failing to realize that this design pattern is actually a perf…

XFCE is X11-only, isn't it? Wayland support is still in development/experimental. I personally use XFCE with X11 to this day.

OpenSUSE Leap 16 has Wayland-only Xfce 4.20, using LabWC as the WM/compositor.

It works but keyboard-driven window management is broken: LabWC doesn't understand the standard (i.e. Windows) keystrokes.

Re: Xfce is great

#176

Post by rabf »

k__ wrote: post #149
voidfunc wrote: post #25

Loved XFCE but it's borderline unusable with high DPI monitors and dual monitor setups that aren't the same.

Yeah, everything on my notebook is quite small. But now I have so much screen real estate, I'm almost considering using a tiling window manager.

Make sure you have a HiDPI theme selected and that you set a custom DPI that matches your screen in Settings->Appearance->Fonts.

Re: Xfce is great

#177

Post by mrktf »

margalabargala wrote: post #48
Fiveplus wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hmm, I'd say that on a 2018-era machine, you won't measure this in raw CPU throughput. In all probablity, your cores are fast enough to mask the context switching. The performance deficit here is strictly in the domain of motion-to-photon latency or frame pacing. I guess my point is that in xfce's split architecture, the compositor acts as just another X11 client. This enforces a path where window contents often roun…

My newer desktop (2020 era with a 3070) has 4x 4k monitors attached running XFCE and I have never noticed the lag you speak of. I don't run external monitors on it but my thinkpad x200 with a core 2 duo also does great with xfce. I have no doubt the issues you speak of exist in theory but they do not seem to matter in practice.

You shouldn't notice lag. On modern Xorg the only round-trip is context switches between server and compositor, because the only thing what is shared is texture dma-bufs (there is inefficiency in mesa code for GLX_EXT_texture_from_pixmap extension, but it is other story). And if dma-bufs is working (Xorg needs to test and pull one MR) you have buffer direct scanouts as in wayland.

Re: Xfce is great

#178

Post by rabf »

Grom_PE wrote: post #32

I've found Xfce with Wallis theme to be quite comfortable after I ditched Windows 7. Been using it for 3 years now. Also I enjoyed how easily I could modify it: - xfwm4: zoom only to multiples of integer, nearest neighbor only - xfwm4: stop moving zoomed area after the cursor when Scroll Lock is on - xfce4-screenshooter: supply custom actions with parameters %x %y %w %h of a selected rectangle, allowing me, for examp…

The file chooser can be somewhat tamed in the settings editor. For example to get the buttons back to the bottom of the dialog where they belong: disable the "DialogsUseHeader" setting under "xsettings" in xfce4-settings-editor

Re: Xfce is great

#179

Post by vdupras »

Let me join on this XFCE love fest. I also think it rocks, but it's more than that. It's also my go-to install for "friends and family" linux installs (Debian stable and XFCE).

I've been doing a couple of these over the years, and the great thing about XFCE is that it doesn't change, while at the same time being fairly intuitive and discoverable to the tech-unsavvy people.

So, with XFCE, I explain things once and I don't have to explain things to that person ever again. It stays as is over the years!

One only have to make sure to disable the virtual desktop (4 screens by default) thing and be sure to only keep one. That's the most confusing thing to non-tech-savvy that ever was. "Where have all my windows gone?! I moved the mouse and poof! they were gone"

Also, it runs great on old hardware. It's mostly what I've been doing. Family and friends tell me how they'll need to buy a new computer because theirs can't go on the internet anymore. I tell them "no you won't!". And then their computer becomes super fast again. Make my Computer Great Again.

Re: Xfce is great

#180

Post by bmacho »

Daunk wrote: post #96
pred_ wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The workaround for me is to always resize by clicking Alt, right click, and drag. At the end of the day, that's probably just straight up easier, since you never need to bother getting close to the borders of the windows.

I recommend changing the key to Super. As holding down Alt and clicking/dragging is often used by many applications and simply won't work then.

Yes, it is best to use Meta/Windows key for system related actions (copy/paste, screenshot, application start, various windowing actions), and let Ctrl and Alt be used by the applications.
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