Which Xfce Distro?

MagnusBerg · 2013-05-05 13:04:54

stqn wrote:

MagnusBerg wrote:
Right now I run Xfce4 4.10 that's not in unstable yet... And more "unstable" than unstable is the Debian Experimental repository. I took the main Xfce4 4.10 packages from there. The Xfce4 4.10 plugins packages have I taken from the Ubuntu repository.
Your post makes me want to switch from Arch to Debian unstable, or at least make it high in my list, but it’s weird that Xfce 4.10 is not in unstable yet! It’s one year old and I haven’t had any problem with it since it was introduced into Arch.

I got a better tips, than mix repositories, in this tread
http://forum.xfce.org/viewtopic.php?id=7946

demosthenese wrote:

It is not generally considered a good idea to mix debian and ubuntu repositories. You can install 4.10 from the following repository for sid:
deb http://ftp.spline.de/pub/siduction/xfcenext/ unstable main
There is no apt-key, so you will need to ignore the warning about lacking a public key.

Siduction is a Debian live cd version that I don't know anything about. ;-) But the packages works great in Sid.

Last edited by MagnusBerg (2013-05-05 13:07:53)

ComputerBob · 2013-05-05 16:11:43

ninos wrote:

Fedora 18

Wow, you've convinced me to switch. wink

ruziel · 2013-06-20 18:48:41

When I first moved from XP to Linux in December last year, I first tried Mint before discovering the wonderfully light, fast rolling release that is Manjaro Linux. Xfce is the default desktop & after 5 months of running my business & general virtual life on it, I have never looked back. It's still in beta but already rock solid. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a fast & light distro with a well integrated Xfce DE.

MountainDewManiac · 2013-06-22 03:34:47

Just wanted to mention that Mint 15's Xfce DE version is now in the testing stage.

http://community.linuxmint.com/iso

bhatta · 2013-06-27 15:44:58

Hi there...
Am using Ubuntu Studio...
By default it has Xfce...
Am loving it...

Thanks...

MountainDewManiac · 2013-06-27 23:54:16

bhatta wrote:

Hi there...
Am using Ubuntu Studio...
By default it has Xfce...
Am loving it...
Thanks...

I was under the impression that only Xubuntu used Xfce for the default DE.

Out of curiousity, after you first boot Ubuntu Studio, the desktop loads, and the hard drive activity light goes out, how much RAM is being used at that point?

If you aren't sure how to tell, you can add System Load Monitor to one of your Xfce panels and hover your mouse cursor over the "mem" bar for a few seconds.

Thanks,
MDM

EDIT: Courtesy requires that I post my own results: I am running 32-bit Mint 14 Xfce, with all the updates that adding the Xfce 4.10 and 4.12 PPAs bring. On a fresh boot to the desktop, and after waiting approximately three minutes to make sure that everything is loaded (and giving Update Manager enough time to do its check, I suppose), I see 166 megs of RAM being used. That's with two desktop panels (one on top of the screen, one on the bottom) and a bunch of applets running on the panels - including the XfApplet applet, which I use to run "mintMenu 5.3.8" Advanced Gnome Menu. I think someone said it takes close to 20 megs by itself, but I am not sure. I'm wondering if this figure - 166 megs - is considered good (low), high, or about average.

Last edited by MountainDewManiac (2013-06-28 00:08:04)

bhatta · 2013-06-28 04:50:47

I was under the impression that only Xubuntu used Xfce for the default DE.
Out of curiousity, after you first boot Ubuntu Studio, the desktop loads, and the hard drive activity light goes out, how much RAM is being used at that point?

I checked that out.. and got nearly 400 megs after the software updation notification was complete... so i am guessing urz is on the lower side...

Also , UStudio hav been using Xfce from sometime in '11 or prior to that, if I am not mistaken ... had Ustudio 12.04 installed n that also had Xfce DE by default...
Ustudio loads up quiet a few things at start up so am guessing thatz what is causin the ram usage.. Also I boot up F.lux on start up n i hav no clue how much ram that uses... btw, my total ram is 3430 megs....

I hav 2 panels... the top 1 is customized n lower panel only has the 4 workspaces to it n nothing else.. if u want u can hav a look at my desktop here:

http://artbhatta.deviantart.com/art/Scr … -381021192

Thanks...

bhatta · 2013-06-28 07:57:05

sakamoto wrote:

Ubuntu is fine to get started for newly converted ex Windows users But after the learning period of 2 years distro hopping almost all users will move to distributions like Debian, Suse and Fedora. For me personally, there is only 1 distribution and it is Debian :-)
Debian all the way my friends... because of its stability, its philosophy, its developers, its high quality packaging system,... because Debian is a way of life
In case someone is interested to move to Debian... please use already the 'soon-to-become-stable' wheezy version as squeeze is too outdated right now.

I wanted to install debian wheezy a month back.. used it in VBox and felt this is the distro for me... after all it is the 'father' of all buntus right..

once installed in my laptop i spent 3 sleepless nights and couldn't get the ati driver to work....
let go of debian then...

am not new to linux but come on man some things should be easy... right? like a right driver for a ati 6 series card !!!

i am no computer xpert n debian ain't helping me out..
their forums say things in a way that take into account that u r at least an advanced user...
I am not!

really sorry had to say goodbye to Debian.. but i liked the little xperience i had with it...
thanks...

MountainDewManiac · 2013-06-28 13:29:41

bhatta wrote:

I hav 2 panels... the top 1 is customized n lower panel only has the 4 workspaces to it n nothing else.. if u want u can hav a look at my desktop here:
http://artbhatta.deviantart.com/art/Scr … -381021192

Figured I'd make a screenshot as well. I normally have my panels set to auto-hide, and I have Xfce set to change my background image every minute, so for the most part my desktop just shows one of a number of nature scenes/landscapes, lol. I've also got RadioTray running, which adds (?) megs to my RAM usage. Thumbnail opens full-sized image (hosted on zimagez):

And one showing the extra menu I added (largely so I could set it up with "favorite" apps):

BtW... I think I replied to you in another thread thinking that you were using Debian as your only distro. Apologies for being confused.

Regards,
MDM

bhatta · 2013-06-28 16:07:59

okiez... apology accepted..
cudn't make head or tail of what u wrote there anyway...

Yep I use UStudio n not debian... tried it for a week , liked it tho'....

ComputerBob · 2013-06-28 17:07:13

MountainDewManiac wrote:

I was under the impression that only Xubuntu used Xfce for the default DE.

http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.com/2013 … asion.html

cub · 2013-07-25 14:47:46

I mainly use Ubuntu Studio 12.04 which is distributed with Xfce as default. I used to run Xubuntu on my eee pc but recently switched to Debian Wheezy with Xfce instead since it used a bit less resources and I liked the idea of coming closer to the source. Since *buntu is based on Debian, why not run Debian directly. But for my main laptop it's still Ubuntu Studio since I do some audio and video editing. I like the look and convenience.

jsalpha2 · 2013-07-25 20:21:33

Quote "really sorry had to say goodbye to Debian.. but i liked the little xperience i had with it..." you may want to try SolydX
http://solydxk.com/ It is Debian based, but is easier because it has non-free built in. You get the real Firefox with plug-ins, and
driver installation is handled by the Device Driver Manager. The forum is friendly and will help and be glad you are there.

martinbaines · 2014-11-23 13:07:36

An old thread I know but I thought I would add my thoughts.

For systems with reasonable disk space (100Gb+), my current preferred distro is Xubuntu - well configured out of the box without being too bloated and as others have pointed out things like the audio are well set up out of the box. For lighter weight systems (e.g. the aging 1Gb RAM, 4Gb storage eeePC I use as download controller) I go for a minimal Ubuntu install and build up a lightweight XFCE install with just what I want. Since it gets accessed remotely for fixed task no need to worry about audio/video and definitely no need for loads of "end user" applications.

Comments on other Distros -

Other apt based Distros:
Mint XFCE. I used Mint for a while and if you treat it as a black box end user system it's pretty good (possibly the best Linux to start a newbie on). However I got extremely frustrated by all the changes that get made under the skin from Ubuntu/Debian, many very poorly documented, so for experienced users and tweekers like me it got to be a nightmare. Going back to Xubuntu lost a tiny bit of polish but got back familiarity and almost never a need to go on under the cover hunts to work out what changes had been made. Another gripe (which is not unique to Mint) is that XFCE feels like a second class DE - often with a lag before being released and not nearly so polished as Xubuntu feels regarding OS tool integration. Finally my absolute biggest beef with Mint - Upgrades. Their religious hatred of in place upgrades means in reality you either have to live with a 2 year LTS support cycle or reinstall every 6 months. Yes I know in the past Ubuntu broke a few things on upgrades but that has not been a major issue (for me) for years. It is interesting to note that the Mint team seem to have now changed from following each Ubuntu release in favour of building on LTS releases - probably good for complete newbies but I suspect likely to result in further divergence from the *buntu base.

Debian. My initial "in" to Linux after years of being a Unix (Solaris) person and a long stint at the Evil Empire doing very not *x things so I definitely still have "feelings" for it as they say in in the movies. Sadly though I think Debian has got stuck in a political and conservative rut. Its main stable release is just too far behind modern systems and for anything that is not a complete throwaway system I am just not going to run "testing" as fix times are just too unpredictable.

Other Distros:
I will admit bias - the whole apt package system is so hard coded in my fingers and life anything else feels alien although sometimes that can be fun and interesting.

Fedora (and it's commercial parent RHEL). I actually really quite like Fedora and it's probably my favourite non apt Distro. It feels solid and very professional, if sometimes a little too "corporate" out of box (but what do you expect given its heritage?). Things like the firewall being on for a standard install niggle me but probably make sense if I put my "enterprise" hat on not my fiddler one. I also have a love hate relationship with "systemd" and since they have made the transition I often have to stop and double think before doing familiar tasks. On the upside, I think the change to systemd is more or less inevitable (ok throw rocks at me now Debian diehards) and Fedora shows how it can be pretty solid and performant. Probably my other small gripe about Fedora is that the XFCE "spin" can lag release from the main release and does not feel as well integrated into the core system as Xubuntu does - much more like a DIY XFCE install over the standard system. It also lacks a minimal "spin" that tracks the main releases anything like as closely as the Ubuntu one does so building a very light system can be a challenge if you want to be on the latest release (e.g. there is not even one yet for Fedora 20 with 21 just a few weeks away).

Arch. I love the minimalist approach and enjoy fiddling with it. I also like the rolling distribution model. In fact about the only thing I dislike really is it using an (almost) unique package system. Great for DIY systems but not what I would put on my day to day boxes and certainly not what I would be advising commercial clients to use.

I am aware all these are pretty mainstream Distros, so I would still really like to see comments on less obvious ones I may have missed.

rijnsma · 2014-11-23 14:35:04

I tried Xubuntu 14.04 but QARecord suddenly did not work and some more recorders. In the very very good 12.04 they did.
So I went searching. I tried Mint 17 MATE, it was the same, Linux Lite Xfce also (and there was an iconproblem), so I understood it was something of the Xubuntu/Debian-flavour. Then I went PCLOS. But I'm fond of the smoothness of Ubuntu-distro's so after some time I again tried Mint 17 (LTS until 2019!!) or so. Now we don't have bugfree Remastersys anymore I'm afraid to say. But there's still Clonezilla (only for backup, not for portabillity of OS-es of course no livecd of your system...). I'm not fond of other backups.

But this Mint Qiana will do for now, together with PCLOS. I love the simplicity of Mint, I have used it more than once. :wink:

Last edited by rijnsma (2014-11-23 14:38:11)

sixsixfive · 2014-11-23 14:36:50

None, I tried a lot of these so called xfce distros and they were all pretty heavy eg: the come with a bunch of gnome apps which compleety kills the lightweight thing in xfce....

I personally often just use the debian testing netinstall(https://www.debian.org/devel/debian-installer/) to get a basic debian system without any xserver, cups or whatever and after the first boot I log in as root and do something like:

apt-get --no-install-recommends install xinit x11-common connman xfce4-session xfce4-panel ...

after finishing my work desktop(replacing getty with fgetty, systemd with sysvinit and installing my prefered apps) i do something like

dpkg --get-selections | awk '{if ($2 == "install") print $1}' >~/installed

so that I always can revert to this with(this is useful since I often build inkscape or gimp myself to get rid of some annoying dependencies)

apt-get remove `diff ~/installed ~/installed-new | sed -e '/^[1-9]/d' -e '/</d' -e 's/>//'`

Last edited by sixsixfive (2014-11-23 14:38:46)

Gabriel_M · 2014-11-23 22:37:13

I'm using Xubuntu 14.10
But also I test Siduction Xfce and SolidX
Xubuntu is that fits my needs
SolidX is the most stable
Siduction is what allows me to experience and learn

ozjd · 2014-11-24 03:12:49

martinbaines wrote:

An old thread I know but I thought I would add my thoughts.
Fedora (and it's commercial parent RHEL). I actually really quite like Fedora and it's probably my favourite non apt Distro. It feels solid and very professional, if sometimes a little too "corporate" out of box (but what do you expect given its heritage?). Things like the firewall being on for a standard install niggle me but probably make sense if I put my "enterprise" hat on not my fiddler one. I also have a love hate relationship with "systemd" and since they have made the transition I often have to stop and double think before doing familiar tasks. On the upside, I think the change to systemd is more or less inevitable (ok throw rocks at me now Debian diehards) and Fedora shows how it can be pretty solid and performant. Probably my other small gripe about Fedora is that the XFCE "spin" can lag release from the main release and does not feel as well integrated into the core system as Xubuntu does - much more like a DIY XFCE install over the standard system. It also lacks a minimal "spin" that tracks the main releases anything like as closely as the Ubuntu one does so building a very light system can be a challenge if you want to be on the latest release (e.g. there is not even one yet for Fedora 20 with 21 just a few weeks away).
I am aware all these are pretty mainstream Distros, so I would still really like to see comments on less obvious ones I may have missed.

The latest Xfce is available for Fedora but from unofficial (semi official?) repos called copr, sort of like Ubuntu's PPAm see http://forums.fedoraforum.org/showthread.php?t=298245.
Also I've never known Fedora spins to be released after the main release, official spins always come out at the same time. Remixes are usually behind the Fedora release.

martinbaines · 2014-11-24 10:57:16

Thanks for the link. My problem with Fedora spins what not really with the XFCE one (which is official), it was more the lack of a minimal one.

Xfce Forum

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#51 2013-05-05 13:04:54

Re: Which Xfce Distro?

#52 2013-05-05 16:11:43

Re: Which Xfce Distro?

#53 2013-06-20 18:48:41

Re: Which Xfce Distro?

#54 2013-06-22 03:34:47

Re: Which Xfce Distro?

#55 2013-06-27 15:44:58

Re: Which Xfce Distro?

#56 2013-06-27 23:54:16

Re: Which Xfce Distro?

#57 2013-06-28 04:50:47

Re: Which Xfce Distro?

#58 2013-06-28 07:57:05

Re: Which Xfce Distro?

#59 2013-06-28 13:29:41

Re: Which Xfce Distro?

#60 2013-06-28 16:07:59

Re: Which Xfce Distro?

#61 2013-06-28 17:07:13

Re: Which Xfce Distro?

#62 2013-07-25 14:47:46

Re: Which Xfce Distro?

#63 2013-07-25 20:21:33

Re: Which Xfce Distro?

#64 2014-11-23 13:07:36

Re: Which Xfce Distro?

#65 2014-11-23 14:35:04

Re: Which Xfce Distro?

#66 2014-11-23 14:36:50

Re: Which Xfce Distro?

#67 2014-11-23 22:37:13

Re: Which Xfce Distro?

#68 2014-11-24 03:12:49

Re: Which Xfce Distro?

#69 2014-11-24 10:57:16

Re: Which Xfce Distro?

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