I hate it whenever I see someone say it's perfectly OK not to use the most efficient algorithm, etc. just because today's computers are much faster, even though I have a very fast computer!

I agree wholeheartedly. What's the point of having a fast machine if you are just going to kill it's potential by being inefficent?

Does gnome-disk-utility really use 5gb disk space, or are you exaggerating?

Y'all are confusing disk usage with performance. If a library is installed on disk, but you never use it, there is absolutely zero impact on performance.

I really like tint2, but I think it's really sad that it doesn't have an app launcher and desktop switcher, which I can't imagine living without. I wonder why the author didn't implement such absolutely essential functions?

It does switch desktops. I don't care about the (lack of an)app launcher, as I use Fluxbox...I like the right-click menu.
I don't know how you would change wallpapers and such with xfwm; I guess you could just use a terminal...

How?

1. I don't use a WM with a right-click menu

2. Even if I did, I like to keep windows maximized all the time so I wouldn't have access to the menu.

So an app-launcher is absolutely essential for me.

How?

I just tried dzen2 and fbpanel, but I can't say I like them.

You said you're using xfwm4? How about running xfce4-panel, as well?

OK, what exactly are you looking for in an "application launcher" ? Fancy, or simple? Pretty, or functional?

Did you try Dmenu? (Simple and functional)
How about Cairo-dock? (Fancy, pretty, and confusing)

Sasha

Just a little button that opens up a menu.

OK.. You've already stated that you like to have all the windows maximized.. Therefore, where would this button live?

It would be built-in to the panel.

I've got an idea -- is it possible to assign a certain key combination to open a window that lets you type in the name of the program, as if in the command-line?

Like the Main Menu->Run Program... window in Xfce.

That's precisely what `dmenu` does. It identifies all programs (executables) in your $PATH, and pops up a bar with an optional prompt (like a command prompt) and lists executables to the right (it's all on one line). As you type into the prompt, it narrows down the list of executables based on what you type (like completion), and/or you can then hit ENTER, or use the right/left arrow keys to select from the list of executables.

When I press CTRL-ALT-M on my WM, I get this, where you can see I have begun typing "kon..." into the prompt:

How to make dmenu pop up?