Disclaimer about Fedora 18
As of this writing, the new release of Fedora, Fedora 18 Spherical Cow has been released with a host of new desktop environments available and new spins. The long delay of this release has only enticed Fedora users like me even more and I can't wait to write a review once the bugs have been ironed out (and there are a few). In the meantime, this is the final segment of the Fedora 17 Xfce review.
Startup and Shutdown
Contrary to popular belief, hardware doesn't really contribute much to startup and shutdown speeds anymore due to all the powerful hardware available today so benchmarks are often misleading. However, when it comes to Linux distributions, the choice of desktop environment and applications makes a huge difference. A default configuration of Fedora 17 Xfce smokes both a frugal openSUSE install and a minimal configuration Lubuntu on a netbook. I was especially impressed considering all the effort I made in optimizing my openSUSE KDE install (which is well-known for its slow bootup speed).
Application Finder
Xfce's Application Finder is unique to the Xfce desktop environment. Pressing the keys ALT+F2 triggers Application Finder instead of the classic Linux command window. As an added bonus, you can launch a full window with a list of all your installed applications by clicking the Applications Menu then Accessories. If you opted for the default bottom panel, there's also the magnifying glass shortcut to Application Finder.
I prefer Application Finder over Ubuntu's Unity Dash and Gnome 3's screen-hogging Shell. Application Finder is only slightly more accurate than LXDE's command window, but still not as useful as KDE's. The full interface of Application Finder seems counter intuitive since pretty much the same list appears on your main menu. I felt that Application Finder, while great for users who aren't familiar with the names of their Linux applications, seemed redundant at times.
Like most Xfce components, you can edit the size of the Application Finder search bar that appears when you press ALT+F2, but the default configuration seems too long and somewhat obtrusive on small screens.
Some Notes
The Fedora 17 Xfce spin had a working PackageKit system which is a huge blessing on its own, but there were a few niggling issues on my Fedora install. The "Cannot find True Font" error that was present in the LXDE spin is present here too. On my first boot, I also received a harmless notification two minutes into the desktop which can put off new users unaccustomed to such warnings. The online update nixed any other notifications, but again messages like that can affect the overall experience of a new Linux user.
Final Thoughts and Fedora 18
If you were on your Fedora 17 Xfce-powered laptop in a coffee shop, a MacOSX-toting user may make a face and even make vomiting sounds when he sees your desktop. It's not the sexiest desktop environment around and even after customizing the default theme only matches LXDE in terms of being sophisticated and attractive to non-Linux users. In particular, the logout button on the upper-left hand corner and the volume icon on the upper-right hand part of the panel doesn't seem to fit or gel with the overall desktop experience. Linux users can easily customize their desktop, but there's something to be said about developers over at SolusOS and Bodhi Linux who make every effort to make the desktop as appealing as possible. I'm not much on eye candy and strongly believe that when it comes to lightweight releases like this Xfce spin, it really is about not judging a book by its cover. After all, slap on a Summer Glau or Fan Bingbing wallpaper and you're pretty much good to go anyway.
I was very, very impressed with the Fedora 17 Xfce spin and I hope the Fedora 18 Xfce spin is equally as functional. It's no longer so much as speed anymore but how everything fits into place - the software package selections is one of the best I've seen in a lightweight distribution. I'm actually more attracted to Fedora's latest and greatest releases than Ubuntu's recent changes. Fedora and Xfce both impressed in this spin and the innovations in 18 Spherical Cow can only be good news if the developers continue and execute in the same direction. Go out and try Fedora 18 Spherical Cow now!
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