Xfce 4.6 Issues

WetGeek

Having been unable to create a VM using the latest Xfce release, today I set out to try installing it on my spare DELL Latitude laptop.

GOOD NEWS
The good news is, there was no problem getting it installed on this bare metal. In fact, I'm writing this message from there. Apparently the issue I ran into was that VirtualBox provided a window for the installer that was too small to allow the "Next" button to be visible when I needed it to start the installation. I thought that might be the case, which is why I installed this system.

BAD NEWS
A long time ago I was unable to pair any Bluetooth keybard with Xfce. I tried with three different brands of keyboard. Sad to say, to this day I'm still unable to do that. Pairing a Logitech Triathlon mouse is quick and easy, and that's what I'm using right now. But I've never been able to connect and use any Bluetooth keyboard, and that hasn't changed since I first filed the bug report.

Although the keyboard appears to be paired and connected, I can't type a single character into any application. This is the same issue that I reported back when Xfce was quite new to Solus, and it's never worked for me. That's a serious shortcoming, due to my customary workflow. My daily-driver sits on a laptop stand in front of my chair, and I use Bluetooth mouse and keyboard to operate it. But my daily-driver runs Plasma, which has no problem at all with these peripherals.

Back then, @TraceyC worked with me on that bug report, even going so far as to purchase the same model Bluetooth keyboard that I use (Arteck HB305). She reported that she had no problems with that keyboard on a machine running Xfce. Since she was unable to reproduce the issue, I'm sure it's been closed, and I have no idea what to do next.

CONCLUSION
I don't know how many Xfce users we have in the Solus community, but on the off-chance that one of them is able to confirm whether a Bluetooth keyboard works on their machine, I'd love to hear about it. I suspect the chances of that are probably pretty slim, but I had to ask.

EDIT: I'm super impressed with the status of our Xfce DE at this stage. I've done considerable configuration by now, and have found nothing that I can't do easily and well, except for that Bluetooth issue. That includes customizing the UI, modifying /etc/fstab to include my NAS shares, replacing most folders in my /home directory with symlinks to those shares, and installing all the software that I normally use on a daily-driver. Xfce has come a long way on Solus.

beevomit

WetGeek Are you using your laptop's built-in Bluetooth? If so, maybe try an external USB Bluetooth adapter (especially one that may have come with the keyboard) and see if you have any success. If you're already doing that, then just ignore this reply.

Many instruction cycles ago, when I was on Xubuntu, I could not get an external mouse to work on my Thinkpad connected to the internal Bluetooth. But for a yet undetermined reason, it worked with the external USB adapter that came with it. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I just ran with it. While my case was a mouse issue, I thought I'd share in case it works on keyboards too.

Side note: I've used Xfce as my primary DE for many years now. "Not as clumsy or as random as [other DE's], but an elegant [DE] for a more civilized age."

WetGeek

I finally have my Xfce laptop configured exactly like my Plasma daily-driver. Same email accounts, same Start Page bookmarks in Vivaldi, same three games, well ... you get the idea. And with all that, I was really surprised to find that the Xfce machine will hibernate and recover perfectly. That seems remarkable to me because the Plasma machine can't do that.

Oh, it does the UI part just fine. Everything appears to work until I try to use the network. I just get a spinning "wait cursor" while the Plasma laptop tries to connect. And if I go into the system settings and disconnect the network, then try to reconnect it, that does no good. I suspect that the WiFi radio has been turned off, but that's just a guess at this point. Anyway, I need to reboot and restart everything in order to connect again.

If it weren't for the Bluetooth keyboard problem I've written about, I could actually replace the Plasma laptop with the Xfce laptop as a daily-driver. Solus' Xfce DE is that good already. The Solus dev team certainly deserves some praise.

_(The only feature that's not the same for both laptop is Wayland on the Plasma machine, and X11 on the Xfce one. I'm going to close this now and change to an X11 session on the Plasma machine, and try it again.)

EDIT: Incredible! With the Plasma laptop running an X11 session, hibernating and recovery work just fine. I may need to just leave it this way until Wayland catches up!

One quick test isn't always conclusive, though. I'm going to stay with X11 for now and work as usual, hibernating every night instead of just locking the screen. If this works well for a few days, I'll be convinced.

AlphaElwedritsch

I'm not sure, but I don't think you'll be able to get away from plasma.
Once you've tasted blood, it becomes very difficult...
😉

WetGeek

AlphaElwedritsch 'm not sure, but I don't think you'll be able to get away from plasma.

No chance of that happening soon. I've been using Plasma for many years. I might quit using Wayland for a while, although I like it a lot. But being able to hibernate this system when I'm done with it for the day is a pretty important part of my workflow, and it's looking like that's working normally with X11.

I just hope that KDE gets Wayland sorted before X11 goes away.

brent

WetGeek I just hope that KDE gets Wayland sorted before X11 goes away. 💯

Every Linux User Coming Soon: "I just hope that [INSERT DE HERE] gets Wayland sorted before X11 goes away."

fify 🙂

AlphaElwedritsch

beevomit "Not as clumsy or as random as [other DE's], but an elegant [DE] for a more civilized age."

Once again you can see how opinions differ.
I would sign that 1:1 for plasma.
In Plasma I don't have to fiddle with any config files on the console. Everything works out of the box via the GUI.
Just right for the civilized age 😉

WetGeek

beevomit Are you using your laptop's built-in Bluetooth?

Actually, our Xfce DE code didn''t include Bluetooth support originally, so the Solus dev team installed BlueMan. It appeared to integrate well with the OS, but for me it's never allowed a keyboard to work. I have some USB Bluetooth adapters that came with desktop computers that don't need Bluetooth, so I'll try your suggestion and see if it helps. Thanks!

WetGeek

AlphaElwedritsch In Plasma I don't have to fiddle with any config files on the console. Everything works out of the box via the GUI.

Same here. When I install a new Plasma DE, I need to spend a couple minutes going down the list of System Settings, after which I rarely need to change anything more. I just need to create some more virtual desktops, change to 1 mouse click to open stuff, and make a few other adjustments to some of the defaults.

It's ironic that for me, the most configurable DE needs very little configuration. 😄

I do need to give credit to Xfce for being an excellent replacement for MATE, though. It has remarkable agility, and is very nearly as easy to configure as Plasma. It's a great choice for computers with limited resources, and for users who want to avoid clutter and software bloat.

AlphaElwedritsch

WetGeek I do need to give credit to Xfce for being an excellent replacement for MATE, though. It has remarkable agility, and is very nearly as easy to configure as Plasma. It's a great choice for computers with limited resources, and for users who want to avoid clutter and software bloat.

here i agree 100%

AlphaElwedritsch

WetGeek It's ironic that for me, the most configurable DE needs very little configuration. 😄

what is close to perfectionism does not need to be changed much 😉

WetGeek

I've complained more than once about the description on the Solus Downloads page that calls Plasma the DE "for the tinkerers." I wonder how many folks have never downloaded it and formed their own opinions, because they don't think of themselves as "tinkerers." Or perhaps they're afraid that they'll need to constantly tinker with it to keep it working?

MikeK61

For me as Linux noob i didnt fear tinkering. It is just you can if you want but you dont have to.
And once it is the way you like it just enjoy the daily fun.

I do since i joined Solus every single day.