Re: [gentoo-user] Deficient Gnome Window Frames

["Canek Peláez Valdés" <caneko@gmail.com>]

On Fri, Sep 6, 2013 at 1:55 PM, gevisz <gevisz@gmail.com> wrote:
> 2013/9/6 gevisz <gevisz@gmail.com>
>>
>>
>> 2013/9/5 Alan McKinnon <alan.mckinnon@gmail.com>
>>>
>>> On 05/09/2013 14:51, gevisz wrote:
>>> > Usually, when I open a new window frame in Gnome 2, I have a Close,
>>> > Maximize/Restore and Minimize buttons on its upper-right corner.
>>> >
>>> > Sometimes, however, especially when I open a supplementary window frame
>>> > from a running program, its upper (text) bar contains only the Close
>>> > button with no possibility to maximize the window frame to the whole
>>> > screen, and it is extremely inconvenient.
>>> >
>>> > I do remember that I had a similar problem in Gnome 2 under Ubuntu but
>>> > somehow managed to get to the configuration where almost all my windows
>>> > had Maximize/Restore and Minimize buttons. The only exception was the
>>> > Firefox sub-window to save a bookmark. :^(
>>> >
>>> > Just now, I have tries FXCE and found out that it opens all the
>>> > sub-windows with the Maximize/Restore, Close and Minimize buttons "out
>>> > of the box" and without recompilation of all the programs that do not
>>> > do
>>> > the same in Gnome (except for the Firefox bookmark sub-window, of
>>> > course).
>>> >
>>> > However, I am reluctant to migrate to FXCE right now because at the
>>> > moment I cannot achieve the same look-and-feel as in my Gnome
>>> > (especially, I miss the the all-in-one clock-calendar-weather applet
>>> > with the world map showing the daytime at different locations).
>>> >
>>> > Could anybody advise me how to get the Close, Maximize/Restore and
>>> > Minimize buttons in all window frames in Gnome 2.
>>>
>>>
>>> I think the true answer is
>>>
>>> "You can't. The Gnome devs know better than you what you want"
>>>
>>> I'm happy to be proved wrong though.
>>>
>>> If it bothers you, just migrate to XFCE and deal with the pain. It will
>>> last only a short time.
>>>
>>> Alan McKinnon alan.mckinnon@gmail.com
>>>
>>
>> Currently, Gnome works better than Xfce for me, because so far
>>
>> 1)  I found no way to switch keyboard layout from English to any other
>>      language (while Gnome and DWM do this after tackling with evdev
>>      configs),
>>
>> 2) Gnome allows more combinations for hot key bindings, for example,
>>      I can not assign <Win>+<Shift>+<any letter> to any program launcher
>>      in Fxce, while it does work in Gnome,
>>
>> 3) installing Orange in FXCE involves unmasking some dependent
>>     packages, but I like to stick to the stable thread.
>>
>> All in all, I do understand why Linus said that Xfce is a step back
>> compared to Gnome 2
>> (but I still have not got why Xfce is a big step forward compared with
>> Gnome 3 :^), as
>> have not tried it so far).
>>
>> P.S. I will probably post a separate question, but if somebody can
>>         explain how to setup language keyboad layout switch in Fxce,
>>         you are welcome. :^)
>>
>>         I set up toggling the keyboard layout to <rWin> key in
>>        /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/10-evdev.conf as follows:
>>
>>        Option "XkbOptions"
>> "grp:rwin_toggle,grp_led:scroll,compose:menu,terminate:ctrl_alt_bksp"
>>
>>        It works for  Gnome and DWM but not for Xfce. :^(
>>
>>        Moreover, I need the keyboard layout indicator somewhere on the
>> Xfce panel,
>>        but could not find any.
>>
>
> A short update: after installing xfce4-xkb-plugin, which was not included in
> the xfce4-meta package
> (and I did not noticed it earlier), I finally got a keyboard layout
> indicator. At first, it did not work, that is,
> I could not switch a keyboard layout in no way. However, later, after
> changing some of the plugin's
> settings, it suddenly started to switch the keyboard layout. Interestingly,
> the applet continued to switch
> the keyboard layout even after I have changed all its settings to the
> original ones. Magically, the <rWin>
> key also started to switch the keyboard layout.
>
> So, my first and most important objection against Xfce4 is no more valid.
> The third one is not
> so important. Only the second is a bit annoying but one can live with it.
> :^)
>
> Now, my Xfce4 looks almost like my Gnome2. Its weather applet is even more
> informative. :^)

If you want GNOME 2, you should try MATE. GNOME 2 is unsupported; It's
been years since somebody actually worked on it. Bugs, bitrot and
security vulnerabilities are probably (if not surely) present in the
code base.

MATE supposedly tries to keep GNOME 2 alive (although its homepage is down).

Regards.
-- 
Canek Peláez Valdés
Posgrado en Ciencia e Ingeniería de la Computación
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México