beranger wrote:Q1: Why not using PCManFM instead of Thunar? It's lighter and it has a few more features (e.g. tabs), while looking very much similarly.
Q2: I still don't get what's the point of using Mint instead of Ubuntu (except maybe for the horrendous Ubuntu theme). Are you aware of how many people experience serious issues with the kernel provided by Ubuntu 8.04(.1) with regards to hibernation? Ubuntu 8.04 is a serious regression over 7.10, but it's 8.04 who is LTS! The right thing to do would be to offer a Mint repo for a separate kernel, the same way Parsix is providing its own kernel, regardless of the fact that otherwise it takes the packages from Debian testing and a few extra packages are adapted from Ubuntu.
1) I did consider PCManFM. But contrary to what you suggested, Thunar does have more features than PCManFM. The most important being volume management, IMO. Otherwise, PCManFM has come a long way and I am keeping an eye on it. Mint FB and Mint XFCE do share a lot in common, Thunar being one of them. This concentrates our resources and hence, hopefully, we can release a better product.
2) Your point about the kernel does not only affect Mint FB, but every other version of Mint. I do agree that in some areas Ubuntu messes up the kernel. But in others they do not. For example, suspend works on my laptop in Hardy whereas it didn't in Gutsy or Feisty. But it did work in Edgy...
In any case, maintaining any package is a lot of work... even with the Mint specific packages which are relatively small in the whole scheme of things. ATM I do not think that we here at Mint have the resources to maintain a package that is as essential to the system as the kernel. Surely, the Ubuntu devs are not perfect, but they sure do put a lot of work into their kernel. Maintaining all our packages independently would definitely be bliss, but we have to live within our means.
What would be cool is if Clem would be able to work full time on Mint... Maybe then we would be able to have Mint exactly the way we want.