vsbabu.org

Trying out XFce4

I used XFce when it was in version 3. The current beta version is 4. It is pretty good. Doesn't use as much memory as Gnome, but still provides a pleasant environment.

You can download Mandrake 9.1 RPMS.

These RPMs don't automatically integrate with Mandrake's menu structure. I wrote a quick Python script to Convert Fluxbox menus to XFce menu.xml. I probably should've figured out how menudrake stores the menu entries and written a converter for that. Anyway, I used to use Fluxbox most of the time…

Screenshot showing Firebird and midnight commander below.

I'm going to try out XFce4 for a week. Already, I think I'll stick to it. In any case, I dislike KDE and Gnome for the unnecessary resources these use up. Don't get me wrong - both are terrific desktop environments and very usable. I still prefer minimal environment. I usually use around 6-7 common software - so if the environment provides me easy keyboard shortcuts to run these, and to switch between workspaces, I'm pretty much OK.

1. I'm just starting to use xfce4 -- I think its my desktop of choice.

   One little thing I've discovered that I thought I'd pass on. Bluefish Editor is a light GPL XML editor for Linux that is also GTK based. It makes a very logical addition to XFCE4.

   http://bluefish.openoffice.nl/

   I think it really should be bundled with XFCE4 -- it is that good a fit.

   Posted by: Bo Vandenberg on September 19, 2003 04:34 PM

2. If you are minimalist you should try fluxbox. It looks good and runs fast. http://fluxbox.sourceforge.net

   Posted by: justin on September 28, 2003 04:17 PM

3. Yes, Fluxbox is what I use most of the time. When I need to demo something, I prefer a desktop environment that can do a little more - XFCE is a good compromise.

   http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/2002/09/15/blackbox_fluxbox.html

   Posted by: Babu on September 28, 2003 04:33 PM