Xfce is really growing on me ... I'm getting hooked bigtime!

[timber]

I tried a few Open Source distros before the days of the LiveCD.
Back then it was a pretty steep learning curve and I never stuck with any of them. BeOS, Mandrake ... and a few others I don't remember.
Then along came Knoppix ... I was totally floored by the fact that an operating system could fit on, let alone actually run from a LiveCD.
Tried DSL and it was more a novelty then than anything else ... but it was cool.
Even Knoppix faded away until quite some time later when I finally had had enough of M$ and the annual purchases of anti-virus, registry tools, office suites, financial software ... etc. I just hated the way all of these software were just geared to feed off of my wallet like parasites, that was the corporate mentality and a strategy that actually had a grasp on me ... as well as a few million others.

Then I found Ubuntu and was driven to learn as much as I could about it, constantly configuring and getting the basics down so I could do them in my sleep.
The more I learned, the more I respected Debian and finally found Mint.
Now Mint is cool! It's just what I needed and I think I like it so much because I know a little of what it takes to customize a system to get it running smooth. easy to use and keep it up to date. Mint has done this already so I can just use it and enjoy what a well oiled machine it is.
I went with Mint 8 Main (Gnome) since gnome is what I was use to.

Well, yesterday I installed Xfce 7 CE and wasn't too sure about it. I was really enjoying the Mint Menu and was a little disappointed that I couldn't add it to Xfce.
What I really like about Xfce is how fast and responsive it is. I have a mid range, slightly older laptop with 2Gb ram so Xfce really screams on it and heavier OS's like Ubuntu and Mint Main are fine but not as snappy as Xfce.

After using Xfce all day today, customizing it a little to get the look I wanted and learning some of what it has to offer in respect to customization ... I'm impressed! The menu no longer is an issue, I'm finding ways to quickly access what I need and it just flys along in the process ... it's really growing on me.

I also downloaded and installed Sidux Xfce today. I like it a lot too, but had a few issues (pretty much all due to the fact that I installed it as a VirtualBox guest).
I couldn't get my resolution set right and GuestAdditions wouldn't seem to load so I gave it a rest for now.

I really think that after I customize Xfce 7 CE or better yet get a look at Xfce 8 CE, I'll settle down with it and be one happy camper.
I've had no issues what-so-ever with Xfce 7 ... none, zilch. That says a lot about it right there. It's a great time to discover Xfce with 8 just around the corner.
A special thanks to merlwiz79 and team for all the long hours and hard work involved in this build ... it's the best I've found ... it's a keeper!

[fwc]

There is another interface called IceWM which is even more lightweight than XFCE if you are looking for better performance. I installed it with the Antix distro based on Mepis on my laptop (1.5 ghz celeron, 256 mb ram) and it runs quite well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IceWM

[900i]

You want SPEED, you need CRUNCHBANG

http://crunchbanglinux.org/

[vrkalak]

I am an Xfce junkie!!

I have every Linux distro that has Xfce installed as the default desktop.

I love Mint-7 Gloria-Xfce CE ... and am looking forward to Mint-8 Helena-Xfce.

Am also, testing the new, still in development version of Xubuntu Lucid Lynx 10.04, now in Alpha 2.
I have already found Lucid to be much more stable than the Final release of Karmic ever was.
Just makes me want the Final LTS Release of LinuxMint-9 Xfce CE that much more.

[exploder]

Hi timber! I am a fan of merlwiz79's work too, he really builds a very complete system. I like quite a few different desktop environments and have looked at quite a few Xfce based distros and I honestly think that the Mint Xfce CE is one of the very best out there. I like how complete the system is and that I do not have to spend a lot of time setting things up and it is pretty snappy. Anyway, I am glad that you are enjoying the Xfce CE.

[timber]

Been trying out quite a few distros lately ... Xfce Mint is the best so far IMO too.
I still use my Mint with gnome too but it's nice to have both, depending on my mood.
I will certainly be trying out Xubuntu 10.04 when it arrives but Xfce 8 could be the real winner of the two ...
... we'll just have to wait and see.

Thanks to all for your input, it's good to know that others share in the enjoyment of Mint and especially Xfce CE.

[Aevum]

I love Xfce as well, though I've not tried the mint version of it, I'm running Xubuntu Karmik Koala on one of my laptops and I do really love it!! I think I'll try Mint Xfce real soon.

[mintnoob]

When's Xfce 8 due?

What new additions are scheduled to be included in it (i.e. will it be worth the wait)?

[breaker]

LM XFCE CE, all the cool people use it

Thought you might like this, from the xfce wiki (which is good by the way), how to customize your menus: http://wiki.xfce.org/howto/customize-menu

[timber]

More good stuff Breaker ...

Thanks for the link, it's great to be able to get things set up to work the way we do.
This is really helpful ... thanks for feeding us all these tips and tricks to customize our systems.
I'm using LM Xfce every day now, really enjoying the boost in speed balanced with the best of packages ...
... seems to be the perfect mix.

Thanx