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| Reader Comments • Jump to last comment |
1 • panels (by Wally on 2019-11-04 01:04:41 GMT from United States)
strong preference for horizontal panel at the top, single row - don't want to give up any width
2 • Panel (by V2 on 2019-11-04 01:36:08 GMT from United States)
Horizontal, bottom. The top is for application title bars and menus. If the bar is up too, it just adds to the clutter.
3 • Re: vertical desktop panels (by eco2geek on 2019-11-04 01:46:32 GMT from United States)
I prefer a horizontal panel at the bottom of the screen. It's probably because that's the way the UIs I've used have been configured by default, ever since I began using PCs (except for Windows 3.x, of course).
Both MX Linux and KaOS make it easy to switch the panel to whatever side of the screen you like. I'm running KaOS off a USB stick as I write this, and have moved the panel to the bottom of the screen.
(KaOS used to put the Dolphin toolbar on the side by default, too, but it's on the top by default in the version that was just released. Finding out how to move the Dolphin toolbar is a bit more difficult than it is with the Plasma toolbar.)
4 • Panel (by SK on 2019-11-04 01:47:39 GMT from United States)
I prefer horizontal panels, top or bottom. Side panels seem off-balance to me. I like things that are symmetrically balanced.
5 • Panels (by Jesse on 2019-11-04 01:50:05 GMT from Canada)
Traditionally I'd mostly used horizontal panels across the bottom of the display, since that is how Windows and KDE tended to do things in the 90s and 00s.
In the past few years I've found I really like a vertical left panel with window buttons on the left. It means my mouse almost never leaves the upper-left quadrant of the screen, which is not only faster to navigate, but also easier on my arm/wrist.
6 • Panel preferences (by aphidity on 2019-11-04 01:53:56 GMT from United States)
I prefer a vertical panel in "hide" mode (it stays out of the way until the pointer is moved fully over that vertical edge, or some other event makes it visible), at least when it comes to laptops displays. This works best for me given the wide screen aspect ratio on most laptop displays. Even with the additional space on an external monitor or multi-monitor setup, I find I still prefer the vertical option, probably due to familiarity. @Wally, for me it's the opposite: I don't want to give up any height (again, primarily as far as laptop displays).
7 • PDF arrange for booklet printing (by Joe on 2019-11-04 02:06:56 GMT from New Zealand)
I will have to look at the PDF tools reviewed in this issue of DW. One thing "power" users will be looking for is to 'impose' (I think that is the correct term) the pages for printing as a booklet. So page 1 and N, with 2 and N-1 on the back, then 3 and N-2 with 4 and N-3, etc.
8 • Panel preference (by DaveW on 2019-11-04 02:14:30 GMT from United States)
My preference is for as much vertical space as possible. I have a horizontal panel because the main panel on my distro doesn't look right if made vertical. I also have a vertical panel for my favorite program launchers.
9 • PDF files (by vern on 2019-11-04 02:39:34 GMT from United States)
I prefer "pfd-shuffler". It works well with my PDF files.
10 • Panel (by Friar Tux on 2019-11-04 03:04:06 GMT from Canada)
My preference is two panels. A 'normal', traditional panel at the bottom, and a panel at the top with launchers of all my most used apps/programmes. I used to use Plank Dock at the top but have discovered I can do the same simply by adding a second system panel with launchers. This appears to work in most DE's. (Not sure when this became a thing but it wasn't always possible, hence the use of Plank originally.)
11 • Panel preference (by R. Cain on 2019-11-04 03:16:33 GMT from United States)
My preference is for as much desktop space as possible, period.
A panel takes screen space ALL the time, and is actually *used* only a very small percentage of the time.
It would be nice if MX (and indeed any distribution) provides an 'auto-hide' feature for its panel, regardless of whether one opts for the vertical or horizontal orientation (not sure it's mentioned in the review).
Having worked with a 'hidden' panel for years, and all the un-cluttered, free desktop space which naturally follows from this arrangement, a panel which is present at all times would now seem almost as an intrusion; a regression.
12 • Panel position, also @11 "auto-hide" (by Hoos on 2019-11-04 03:26:19 GMT from Singapore)
No strict preference, except for Plasma, where I always keep the panel at bottom-horizontal.
XFCE - I keep it at left vertical, top-horizontal or bottom-horizontal respectively, in various different distros and/or hardware.
Budgie - left vertical or top-horizontal
Gnome (more accurately, the dash or "dock" if using dash-to-dock shell extension) - left vertical or bottom-horizontal. I don't touch the gnome shell panel at the top, which I suppose means that for Gnome I prefer 2 "panels".
@11
XFCE panel preferences dialogue window gives you the option to have your panel(s):
1) appear permanently
2) hide itself most of the time unless the cursor mouses over the area where said panel is located.
3) intelligently appear or not.
13 • Panels (by TheTKS on 2019-11-04 03:37:45 GMT from Canada)
Two panels, top showing open programs & status indicators and always present, launcher at the bottom autohide.
I would also like 4:3 back. I don't use 16:9 efficiently, even with panel(s) on the sides.
TKS
14 • panels (by jeffrydada on 2019-11-04 03:41:50 GMT from United States)
I tend to move the panel to the top then add a dock to the bottom. I prefer Cairo-dock, but will use Latte on occassion with KDE. I like full screen menus and with KDE and Cinnamon they have widgets that can be installed that provide this. When the icon for the menu is in the top left corner in seems more intuitive based on the menue layout itself. KDE widgit NavDexie is a good example of this.
15 • Panel placement (by Bobbie Sellers on 2019-11-04 04:17:28 GMT from United States)
I set up KDE's Plasma 5 with a left side vertical panel and a top panel both centered.
This I have used on laptops for some years.
This was because when I wanted to use the .hdmi with the computer i found
that this arrangement kept my controls accessible on the screen.
This may have been a peculiarity of my TV as last year I was trying out
a Intel Stick Computer and it used Ubuntu 14.04. The top and side
panels were both so squished against the side of the display that
it was unusable.
On the vertical panel the principle display is of the Virtual Desktop
Pager with numbers for each displayed, There are other things
there including logout but the Pager is the most important as it
would consume too much space on the Horizontal Panel whether
that was at the top or bottom of the screen.
16 • Panel placement (by Bobbie Sellers on 2019-11-04 04:17:50 GMT from United States)
I set up KDE's Plasma 5 with a left side vertical panel and a top panel both centered.
This I have used on laptops for some years.
This was because when I wanted to use the .hdmi with the computer i found
that this arrangement kept my controls accessible on the screen.
This may have been a peculiarity of my TV as last year I was trying out
a Intel Stick Computer and it used Ubuntu 14.04. The top and side
panels were both so squished against the side of the display that
it was unusable.
On the vertical panel the principle display is of the Virtual Desktop
Pager with numbers for each displayed, There are other things
there including logout but the Pager is the most important as it
would consume too much space on the Horizontal Panel whether
that was at the top or bottom of the screen.
bliss
17 • Proper Presets (by whoKnows on 2019-11-04 05:39:35 GMT from United Kingdom)
Important to understand is the difference between the "personal preferences" and the "propper defaults" (usabillity matter).
It basicaly doesn't matter where you place the taskbar: top, left, bottom ... it's a personal preference, but it matters how do you preconfigure it.
What you don't want as a default is "auto-hide".
What you don't want is a clock that you can't read, green alert ...
MX could be a fine distro if it would get some more love -- a professional look and proper defaults.
https://imgdb.net/7345
https://imgdb.net/7346
18 • panel (by voidpin on 2019-11-04 06:10:44 GMT from Sweden)
No panel or bar, no desktop icons, no taskbar and no titlebar.
Basically, no one other than me can use my laptop. Even if I'd give away my password, they would be looking at my wallpaper ;)
SpectrWM, a bunch of workspaces and custom keybindings for anything I need.
19 • Horizontal Top Left (by Roy on 2019-11-04 06:17:27 GMT from United States)
I like pinning to the top panel of all my favorite and mostly used items with my Cinnamon desktop.
20 • MX rescue tools (by Boruch on 2019-11-04 06:23:22 GMT from United States)
There are two MX tools Jesse didn't mention that I think many of you
would appreciate:
1] From the grub boot menu of the live media, you can scan for all
grub instances on a computer, on all disks, and choose which grub to
use for booting.
2] From within MX linux, there is a chroot rescue gui which scans all
partitions and automagically chroots into the one you choose (ie. it
performs all the necessary mounts and unmounts).
21 • panel (by peer on 2019-11-04 06:43:02 GMT from Netherlands)
I have a single panel on the top and cairo dock at the bottom in kde.
22 • No thanks (by Notify Sally on 2019-11-04 07:51:54 GMT from Norway)
No dekor,
No panels,
No titlebars,
just dunst to notify on events.
23 • Horizontal or Vertical (by Luxie Tuxie on 2019-11-04 08:26:08 GMT from Canada)
Horizontal or Vertical really does not matter much, where as, Internet Kingdom is completely dominated by Oligarchies like Google, IBM, Firefox and so on.
Dominated Internet Kingdom
-----------------------------------------
Many people might have experienced it, but, no one spoke about it.
Here, I am sharing my experience with you.
I am using systemd+wayland based distro.
1) While I was downloading a old version of a linux distro through Transmission
via torrent file systemd (or wayland on which transmission depends) started
kicking-in more services, and after few minutes bandwidth started dropping to almost
1%, as in, we will no let you download old-version(s).
2) While downloading Manuals which are officially released in Public Domain,
Internet Connection was interrupted several times to finish download of manual which was less than 10MB.
As in, we will not let you download Manual either.
Here is my 2 cents for them,
1) If you also wanna try old-version of a distro,
either get it from my hard-drive, or, get it through torrent.
2) You could have spend "the time" more efficiently.
24 • @7 • PDF arrange for booklet printing (by Alexandru on 2019-11-04 08:41:08 GMT from Romania)
I always used LaTeX for PDF manipulation. There is LaTeX package "pdfpages" (https://www.ctan.org/pkg/pdfpages) for any of mentioned operations and much more, and it gives you complete control to what you are trying to do.
25 • Panel preference (by Burt Steensma on 2019-11-04 08:50:27 GMT from United States)
I prefer a vertical panel, especially since most modern monitors are 16:9 instead of the old 4:3. It leaves more room vertically for terminals. I never miss the width, but losing the vertical space with a horizontal panel is annoying.
26 • Panel placement and Fitts's law (by Sven on 2019-11-04 09:26:35 GMT from Estonia)
Following the ergonomics guidelines (Fitts's Law) I'm keeping the panel horizontal and at the top, with window buttons (close:maximize:minimize) on the same panel on the left corner and no title bar when maximized. That way I'm not only able to use the most of available space, but also, having sound indicator in the top right corner, "show desktop" in the bottom left and Onboard in the bottom right active corner, I can control the most basic functions without even a glance, gross motor skills only.
27 • Panels (by Kazlu on 2019-11-04 09:33:10 GMT from France)
I use Xfce with a vertical panel on the left side of the screen, indeed because on widescreens it leaves more space to windows than a horizontal panel. I consider I have enough width, but squeezing the height even more would be an inconvenience. I still have an old computer with a 4:3 screen, on which I left the default horizontal panel of the distro. Exception: I have a netbook with a widescreen, but the resolution is only 1024*768. If I put a vertical panel on this one, web pages cannot be displayed properly and the web browser starts showing a horizontal slider, which is highly unpractical. So, on this one, I have a horizontal auto-hiding panel on the bottom of the screen. Less practical, I like it less, but it does the job. I also added another small panel on the top with monitoring elements (lxpanel actually) which blends with the title bar of windows, so that it does not eat any additional screen space. I just have to make sure the title of a window is aligned to the left and not the centre, so it doesn't get covered up. It's a bit disturbing at first, but handy in the end! See here: https://framapic.org/gallery#PXdHPkj7zvzm/GPzKEzrqyZLL.png
28 • @ 23 (by OstroL on 2019-11-04 09:38:14 GMT from Poland)
" after few minutes bandwidth started dropping to almost 1%,..."
The problem is not with the browsers, but with your internet provider. I remember having same internet problems in Surrey, BC.
29 • @ #28 (by Luxie Tuxie on 2019-11-04 09:48:37 GMT from Canada)
Transmission alternatives work way faster.
Bandwidth pendulum starts with Transmission (systemd+wayland) versions. Plus, if Firefox new version is running at same times, it hogs Transmission. With non-Firefox browser(s) Transmission behaves normal, as well as browser(s).
30 • MX Linux (by Simon on 2019-11-04 10:31:25 GMT from Germany)
My reason for not using this amazing distro is petty: I just cannot deal with the look and feel. It feels to me like it comes from the early 90s. Other than that MX completely deserves the No1 spot on DW.
31 • MX LInux (by heri on 2019-11-04 10:38:41 GMT from United States)
17 • Proper Presets MX could be a fine distro if it would get some more love -- a professional look and proper defaults.
Mx as with almost any linux desktop system lets you have things the way you like.
Along with a number of other users MX is rated 1 or 2 of the best of the best, want it to look different, just change the theme, want panel to show left right top or bottom, hide or not is just a click away.
Professional look and proper defaults are in the preference category, no more no less. You seem to think you have the wisdom to say what is best for everyone. I think you have an attitude problem and are thus unable to understand linux desktop.
MX is along with the system it is based on the AntiX (my personal No 1 Distro) most trouble free experience I have ever had with linux, set it up and get on with working.
Fantastic distro with a plethora of extremely useful tools.
32 • @30 (by Chris Whelan on 2019-11-04 10:39:20 GMT from United Kingdom)
I have changed the look of every OS I have ever used to suit my taste. The benefit of MX Linux is the ease with with you can do that. You can change the panel orientation and location easily using one of the MX Tools. There is a big range of wallpapers, themes, and icons available by default, with many more available from the simple-to-use Package Installer. You can toggle Conky on/off with a single click, and there are dozens of other Conkys to try if you are a Conky fan.
33 • Bandwidth fluctuation (by Somewhat Reticent on 2019-11-04 10:45:36 GMT from United States)
Not sure if it's ISP prank or DDOS, but I've also noticed torrent bandwidth seems to fluctuate between near-zero and given maximum lately - a slow but steady throb.
@30 - yeah, that's petty, since it's easily adjusted.
34 • Panel location (by spectrbsd on 2019-11-04 11:32:45 GMT from Sweden)
What panel?!? I don't use one, waste of screen state.
35 • Panel / MX (by mandatory on 2019-11-04 12:14:05 GMT from United States)
Xfce desktop with horizontal top panel here.
The best MX utility in the wonderful "MX Tools" box is "Snapshot". You can create a bootable live image of your running system, with or without specific user changes, and with all the additional tools and software installed in your system. Then you can use this new ISO to deploy your own version of the MX distribution on other machines, give away to friends, etc.
36 • MX Linux (by Canfurneiro on 2019-11-04 12:23:50 GMT from Spain)
I have been using Linux from year 2000 and, from my personal point of view, MX Linux is the best distribution I have ever tried.
37 • Panel (by Tim on 2019-11-04 13:01:12 GMT from United States)
I prefer no panel. I run Openbox, and at startup my screen is just a solid background color. No panel, tray, menu, or icons. I use the Openbox key combos or right-click pop-up menus to open application windows.
38 • PDFtk is dead (long live PDFtk) (by David on 2019-11-04 13:01:20 GMT from United States)
The original PDFtk is dead software, but has been revived as a fork:
https://gitlab.com/pdftk-java/pdftk
39 • vertical/horizontal panels (by Carson on 2019-11-04 13:03:28 GMT from Canada)
I prefer vertical when screen height is minimal, and horizontal otherwise.
40 bull; Poll & PDFs (by dragonmouth on 2019-11-04 14:17:47 GMT from United States)
For the past few years I have been using Master PDF Editor to manipulate PDF files. So far it has fulfilled all my needs.
Ever since Win 3.x, I've had the panel horizontal-bottom. I have gotten used to it. With a vertical panel or horizontal-top, I always find myself looking for the appropriate tag. Therefore, I will continue to place the panel bottom-horizontal.
41 • panel (by vortex on 2019-11-04 15:10:20 GMT from Belgium)
the placement of the panel in MX Linux can be changed by 2 clicks, so what is the point making a vote over this ?
Better vote about the heavy kernels lately, older laptops even with ssd and an I7 onboard running quit heavy and hot with the recent distro's , super bloated that is what they are
42 • panels (by nanome on 2019-11-04 14:59:41 GMT from United Kingdom)
Ideally, I prefer the default Openbox "desktop": totally black screen. However, in the real world I add a Tint2 thin horizontal panel so that I can see/hide X11-based programs.
Those desktops which employ vertical panels tend to use cryptic icons or risk an ugly uneven sawtooth of panel texts.
The screen real-estate crisis is made worse by programs like Firefox that add horitontal clutter, and web sites that insist on grabbing horizontal bands of space for no obvious reason. Often the content is squashed into a thin horizontal strip!
This all happens because of the modern fad for 16:9 letter box screens. I would prefer 4:3 aspect ratio screens, but buying laptops or monitors like that is near impossible.
43 • Panel location (by Roy Davies on 2019-11-04 15:17:51 GMT from United Kingdom)
Whilst most of the Linux distros I use have a horizontal panel, which appears to be the norm, there's nothing wrong with being different. That's one of the things that makes Linux so attractive.
As has been said in the review, side panels are a minority but like @36 MX Linux is my distribution of choice.
@31 has hit the nail on the head when stating that the ability to make any Linux distro how you want it is a key feature of the Linux family.
44 • panels (by Steve on 2019-11-04 15:18:59 GMT from United States)
The Unity layout is the most efficient I have used - so depending on what you call a 'panel' I'd go with that: a live info bar across the top, a dock down the left side... and especially the window buttons in the upper left of each window. Ergonomically direct: all selection movements except system shutdown go to the same direction - upper left - and all checks for machine state information go to the upper right.
45 • panels (by mmphosis on 2019-11-04 17:44:36 GMT from Canada)
Ideally, I would prefer not to have a panel. For people coming from proprietary Windows, when setting up a user login, I usually put a "task bar" panel at the bottom of one of the monitors, but it's Linux so it's really up to them, thanks to Panel.
Coming from proprietary Mac OS X, I usually put a 22 pixel bar at the top of the smaller monitor. My Apple menu is now a "Debian" menu with my most used Applications (desk accessories): About this Linux ..., Check for update | Firefox, File Manager, Mail Reader | Mousepad, Robotron, Calculator, Termnual Emulator | Settings Manager. Then Window buttons, instead of a menu bar as I am getting used to seeing menu bars on every window, then menu bar icons (tray icons): AutoKey, Clipboard Manager, Notification area with only a Network Manager icon, then Power Manager, Clock using custom format "%a %-I:%M %p", and then a "User" menu with a working Switch User ("dm-tool switch-to-greeter"), Logout | Restart, Shutdown.
I am no longer much of a fan of Mac-like "Dock" panels. On a smaller 1024 x 768 monitor / laptop, I turn hiding on but this is not my preference. On a 1280x1024 monitor, I position a non-hiding "Dock" to the right to maximize available vertial space.
Again, thank Linux and Panel for allowing lots of choices.
46 • MX and panels (by Gary on 2019-11-04 18:20:44 GMT from United States)
I have always preferred the panel to be at the bottom of the screen, but I usually hide the panel no matter where it is, so it doesn't really mattre whether it's top or bottom as long as it can be hidden.
MEPIS was one of my favorite distros. I carried a version of MEPIS 11 around on a USB drive for a very long time. I was glad to see antix and MX when they were first introduced. MX is one of the distros I recommend along side Mint and Zorin when refurbishing a Windows computer for a friend or family member wanting to try Linux.
47 • Panels and MX (by Cheker on 2019-11-04 18:52:15 GMT from Portugal)
I grew up with Windows from 95 onward so I like my panels horizontal and on the bottom, usually with auto-hide. Anything else feels a little alien. The space it takes up in a modern monitor is a very valid critique that I honestly hadn't thought of, but it doesn't bother me.
MX is a distro that I honestly didn't think much of when I tried it in a VM a few months ago. In the meantime, having used other distros with Xfce, I've grown to like it and maybe someday I'll give MX a go in one of my other computers.
48 • Wholeheartly agree (by Garon on 2019-11-04 19:01:23 GMT from United States)
As #44 stated, Unity had the best layout for getting work done. After getting use to the Unity Desktop anything else feels awkward. In answer to the question on panels, now I prefer the panel on the bottom using auto hide. MX is a fine distro, (but I had more fun with Mepis).
49 • MX, Xfce panel layouts (by mikef90000 on 2019-11-04 20:10:21 GMT from United States)
@jesse, thanks for giving MX some visibility. It is the only distro directly derived from Debian that installs wireless network support reliably for me. Debian maintainers keep changing which package the specific binary blobs were hiding in and, unfortunately, don't install them by default.
As for panel layout, I'm amazed and appalled at the number of whiners here. Xfce makes it almost trivial to give you whatever you like with a minimal number of clicks in Panel Preferences. I have smaller monitors but my panels only need 28px of width for my aging eyes - is that too wasteful for you? BTW I don't like the default MX panel with microscopic icons - changed that immediately.
Being a speaker of a European language where writing starts at the top and left of the page, that's where I prefer my panels. The left one contains app launchers in three groups (expanding separator rocks!); the top one holds the indicators, window buttons, workspace switcher, clock and menu. NO desktop icon clutter except for temporary situations.
50 • This poll made me realize something (by Ed Ktorp on 2019-11-04 20:34:54 GMT from United States)
First I misread the poll momentarily.. I began to think it was asking about physically rotating the LCD display (panel) to be vertical instead of horizontal widescreen.. this made me realize that one could get a 4k monitor, rotate it to be in the vertical position and still have the 'standard' 1920x1080 footprint available to you. I would get way more use out of this than 4k in a traditional horizontal configuration.
Is anybody doing this?
51 • redundancy (by Ed Ktorp on 2019-11-04 20:36:26 GMT from United States)
Then I realized that I typed "LCD display" and I feel dumb.
52 • Panels and such (by Angel on 2019-11-04 23:21:13 GMT from Philippines)
Since Using OS X years ago, no matter what DE and what configurations I try, I always end up with top panel and bottom dock. It's most comfortable for me. Also prefer a full-screen menu. For smaller screens, the dock on intelli-hide, and the top panel on auto-hide. The MX panel could use quite a bit of improvement, but since I only have it on VM and flash drive for occasional use, I leave it alone.
@45, Proprietary and panel position preference are not mutually exclusive. It has been possible to re-position the taskbar to your liking since Windows XP.
53 • Panels Etc. (by M.Z. on 2019-11-05 00:29:32 GMT from United States)
Panels should default at the bottom as that is what most users are familiar with, and most probably prefer the way KDE, Cinnamon etc. put them at the bottom as I do - even if only because that's likely the first default encountered.
@41
"...so what is the point making a vote over this ?"
As with most web pole, it isn't scientific & is mostly just for fun. That being said, it could also give an indicator of the most user friendly default, which would be good to know.
@50/51
If you're talking a 90 degree monitor turn to do things like view docs in LibreOffice more naturally like an actual document page, I've seen this done in various places and can confirm that Cinnamon has a screen setting for that (& can't imagine that KDE doesn't). Otherwise ???
54 • Horizontal panel at the bottom (by Roger on 2019-11-05 00:43:03 GMT from Belgium)
I prefer horizontal panel at the bottom, that's the reason that I use Mate before that Gnome or Xfce.
Start button on the left, legacy of my years working with Windows 2000 and Linux at the same time.
Both desktops where similar which made it easyer switching OS.
55 • MX (by Mike Sonic on 2019-11-05 02:58:20 GMT from United States)
This is the best .deb distro that I have tried in terms of working with my various Dell desk and laptops. Very easy to install, recognizes all hardware and the best feature is that provides a /home partition for your docs when doing a hard install.
I only wished that Mate was offered as a DE out of the box without having to install it from the repos, I don't like Xfce
56 • If you liked Ubuntu's Unity.... (by eco2geek on 2019-11-05 05:22:01 GMT from United States)
@44 -- ...then try Ubuntu now (i.e. 18.04 LTS and onward; 19.10 is current). It has a vertical dock on the left-hand side and a horizontal bar across the top. Of course, there's no HUD, or "menu bar in the top bar" (since GNOME wants to banish the menu bar in favor of so-called CSD) like there was with Unity. But Ubuntu has tried to emulate Unity in GNOME shell.
(For those who want to keep the mouse on the top left-hand side of the screen, you can use GNOME Tweak Tool to put an application menu there, and move the minimize/maximize/close buttons to the left-hand side.)
The theme they're using, Yaru, is pretty nice, and the default wallpaper is pretty good, too. And that's coming from someone who dislikes GNOME shell. After making modifications with GNOME Tweak Tool and dconf-editor, you can pretty much ignore the "activities overview" window and the "application picker" window.
57 • panels (by livestradamus on 2019-11-05 08:34:17 GMT from Saudi Arabia)
I don't need all these fancy things.
I need only the slim vertical top bar in dwm and dmenu launcher.
58 • unity got it right (by ionel on 2019-11-05 10:49:06 GMT from Moldova, Republic of)
unity panels layout was the best
good vertical panel and application menus on top bar, left all those programs like firefox
and whatever to create their own bottom panels.
unity was most thought.
BUT majority people simply don't care and end up using the 1st thing they ever saw,
which is windows 95 bottom panel :) or mac top panel + dock.
59 • Panel Position & Aspect ratio (by Syam Kumar on 2019-11-05 10:53:54 GMT from India)
I prefer Vertical Panel for 16:9 display & Horizontal Panel for 3:2 or 4:3 aspect ratio displays.
60 • Panels (by Jim on 2019-11-05 11:20:18 GMT from United States)
Horizontal panel, at the bottom, preferably Mate.
61 • MX19 (by PhantomTramp on 2019-11-05 14:33:45 GMT from United States)
Thanks for taking the time to look at the new MX. I have used this distro and Mepis before it. You brought up some tools that I have not used yet and I am eager to try.
Simon: The 90's were very good for me. I would not take a million dollars for that decade, but I would not give you 5 cents to live through it again, HA!
The Tramp
62 • Panels (by Will on 2019-11-05 15:07:21 GMT from United States)
While I prefer vertical panels, most linux panels are pretty ugly when placed vertically. They should take a page from Mac's dock on this.
63 • Panel placement and unity (by Gary on 2019-11-05 15:38:18 GMT from United States)
As a Linux newbie I had trouble adjusting to a top and bottom panel (Gnome). Over the years I have come to like Cairo/docky type panel at the bottom and a task bar such as the one BlueStar uses. I have never been a fan of the verticle task bar. To me, the Unity task bar was too uncomfortable to use and, at the time on my 17" screen, made the desktop seem too cluttered.
64 • Real Priorities (by Real Priorities on 2019-11-05 16:22:32 GMT from United Kingdom)
@ 41 vortex from Belgium
Why bother with trivial things like heavy kernels & bloated distro's when the smart guys using Linux have serious problems with panels and wallpapers...
PS: wink, wink.
65 • Real Priorities (by Friar Tux on 2019-11-05 17:06:38 GMT from Canada)
@64 The reason we're the "smart guys" is that we don't complain about heavy kernels and bloated distros. We actually DO something about those. That gives us time to quibble over our panel and wallpaper preferences.
66 • MX19 (by Ian Wright 859 on 2019-11-05 18:08:48 GMT from United States)
Just downloaded and am running KDE Plasma on MX19. It's available via Synaptic and when you log in and choose plasma it is lightning fast and improves the look no end.
67 • KDE Plasma on MX19? (by Garon on 2019-11-05 20:00:42 GMT from United States)
I had never really thought about that before. Sounds interesting. There is something new for me to try out. Mepis always used KDE and I loved it. We'll see what happenes and thanks.
68 • Vertical monitor (by Nathan on 2019-11-05 20:41:25 GMT from United States)
@50/51: I do exactly this with my second monitor. It makes it so much easier to code when I can see the entire contents of each file!
Also, my go-to is vertical panel on a horizontal monitor, or a horizontal panel on a vertical monitor if I have one in my setup. That's the most efficient use of screen realestate imho. Can't put up with autohide personally; I like seeing a system monitor on my panels :)
69 • On PDFtk (by logan on 2019-11-05 20:57:13 GMT from Mexico)
What's The Fuzz With TK? Why This Fixation At Old Time Proffesional Linuxers?
70 • MX-19 (by Luxie Tuxie on 2019-11-05 21:34:07 GMT from United States)
Congrats MX / ANTiX Team,
Now MX tops on DW @#1.
Things I liked about new MX, MX Tools, MX Package Installer, and MX Tweak.
71 • Vertical or Hoirizontal Panels (by Simmon Plaistowe on 2019-11-06 07:39:51 GMT from New Zealand)
I use Linux Mint on my main laptop. Cinnamon desktop with horizontal panel at the top, has worked well for me for many years. On my older smaller laptop, I use Mint XFCE and recently moved my panel to be vertical at the left (vertical mode, not deskbar). I'm finding I prefer it, especially the gain in vertical display space. I also gain more vert.space by hiding the frame & title of windows when maximized (Settings | Window Manager Tweaks | Accessibility) - it's easy to use ALT-SPACE to maximize/minimize/close (etc) windows, so who needs that titlebar hogging screen space.
72 • Panel preferences (by Respondent on 2019-11-07 04:36:20 GMT from United States)
(apologies - sometimes using a mobile device to respond is cumbersome)
I liked reading the comment about the blank desktop making it harder for uninitiated to do nefarious things. Valid point, though I also think those with truly nefarious intent will know shortcuts.
I use exclusively linuxmint (0
LMDE, actually) personally for the last 6 years or so. Except at work which is MS. But hopefully they will come around.
As is custom in MS products, which I had used exclusively since msdos (with a brief use of Amiga in late 80s), I got used to a bottom panel/taskbar.
Mac's drrove me crazy with the top panel and
wibdow open/close/etc on left.
I remembered reading somewhere about ergonomics and how usually it is less strainti glance at top than at bottom of screen (depending on particular monitor placement). So once I started with LMDE, i experimented with top panel, autohide, launchers, etc.
I found that I prefer top panel (autohide depending on monitor resolution and whether or not a 'normal' windows user would also.be using same comp. I also prefer the trip right corner of panel to include lock, log off, and shutdown buttons.and in separate windows, I prefer minimize, maximize, and close buttons on right like in ms windows.
Sometimes I use the too.for a m taskbar and the bottom for launchers.
73 • MX Linux with the MATE desktop (by Az4x4 on 2019-11-07 15:37:17 GMT from United States)
I'm with those who'd like to see MATE offered as an out of the box DE option with MX Linux.
Xfce is OK, better than it used to be, but MATE, continuing the long time favorite GNOME 2.x desktop, is much too popular to ignore as an out of the box option.
Installing MATE on the Xfce version of MX Linux works OK, but it remains burdened with things specific to Xfce, plus it's not as finely tuned and complete as it would be if it came out of the box with MATE as it's desktop environment.
Until this happens I'll stick with Linux Mint MATE, far and away the best of the best when it comes to the polished look and feel that MATE is capable of. The ease with which it can be customized to suit that MATE has perfected and continues to improve on should make adding a MATE DE to the MX Linux offering a must do project that huge numbers of users would gladly support.
74 • @73 MX Linux with the MATE desktop (by anticapitalista on 2019-11-07 15:50:29 GMT from Greece)
@73 If you really want this to happen, feel free to make a spin and help the MX devs.
Be the change you want to see.
75 • @73 Xfce > Mate > Gnome 2 (by Ed Ktorp on 2019-11-07 16:34:11 GMT from United States)
Xfce is the OG linux desktop, with regards to actively developed projects, that is. Mate is cool, despite its kinda goofy name, but cmon-- we're talkin about big daddy Xfce here; the xenolithic flexible connectible environment that takes what it needs and does what it wants.
76 • Panel Preference (by GreginNC on 2019-11-07 19:20:53 GMT from United States)
I usually use Enlightenment with three shelves all on auto hide so my desktop is always clear of obstructions but when using any other desktop I want my panel at the bottom only.
77 • mate (by Tim on 2019-11-08 10:59:48 GMT from United States)
Anyone else flying the flag for the Gnome 2 / Mate Traditional panel layout? They're small, they're extremely customizable, and I think incredibly intuitive.
That said, this is totally "what you use is the best, anything else is weird." At least with Linux you have choice.
For those asking for MX Linux with MATE, I have to ask why not Debian?
78 • MX Linux with the MATE desktop (by R.Cain on 2019-11-08 14:53:02 GMT from United States)
A very good example of ignoring the merits of a high-quality product, and concentrating only on the superficial--
"... like to see MATE offered as an out of the box DE option with MX Linux...but MATE, continuing the long time favorite GNOME 2.x desktop, is much too popular to ignore as an out of the box option... Until this happens I'll stick with Linux Mint MATE, far and away the best of the best when it comes to the polished look and feel that MATE is capable of...adding a MATE DE to the MX Linux offering a must do project that huge numbers of users would gladly support."
Two questions, and an observation, immediately arise:
1) So you will 'stick with' a more-inferior product, bested by MX-Linux here on Distrowatch for over a year, sometimes by a THREE-TO-ONE margin, simply because of the Desktop Environment doesn't have the flash and glitz you consider necessary?
2) *IF* MX-Linux were to add MATE as a DE, would you be among that "...huge number of users..." to gladly support MX? How much money would you contribute? Do you send money to Clem Lefebvre at Mint, right now, because you can get the MATE DE? How much, and how often?
3) Seems as though a re-ordering of priorities, in order to get the very best Linux experience, is in order; not only in this case, but in many others as well.
https://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/mx-18-lenovo.html
https://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/eeepc-mx-linux.html
“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.”
― Henry Ford
79 • Various DEs (by Luxie Tuxie on 2019-11-08 13:05:36 GMT from United States)
I use,
KDE PCLOS, Mageia, KDE Plasma Gentoo and Arch, Mate Linux Mint and Ubuntu, and XFCE with other linux distros like MX. I have used Enlightenment with Bodhi as well, and Budgie as well.
I do not have any preferential choice for any particular DE as along as they work as intended.
Neither I have any choice for vertical or horizontal DE panel as I have linux installation without-x.
Number of Comments: 79
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Kondara MNU/Linux
Kondara MNU/Linux was a Japanese distribution based on Raw Hide. We had been providing Japanese add-on SRPM packages until they decided to release their distribution in cooperation with Digital Factory Japan co, Ltd. "MNU" was an expression of a sound made when you touch a penguin (phonetic symbols available here), and also stands for "Mount was Not Umount". The word "Kondara" was not a proper Japanese but a wordplay from an old Japanese TV animation, and indicates their resolution to devote to this distribution. Let's work together! We need more input in many different aspects of developing distribution (testing, maintaining documents, etc...) If you want to participate in our activity, do not hesitate to join Kondara-devel ML.
Status: Discontinued
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