XFCE 14.2 vs 15.0
 

i love the xfce on slackware 14.2 but in 15.0 i hate it. even the font is changed in xfce4-terminal. it used to be a nice old-school looking sharp font with no hinting (or full hinting, whatever it actually is, it was wider and thinner) to this new-aged font you get with all the distros now. I know I could probably spend a lot of time "porting" over the 14.2 gui into 15.0 but I would really appreciate it if there could at least be an option to select the original 14.2 (and 14.1) style theme that a lot of us love.

i used 13.7 and 14.1 for a while when it came out but then went back to debian/centos because of work but now wanting to set it up as my main desktop again. i feel like i know slackware inside and out compared to systemd distros. as a server, i would no doubt use 15.0 because of the security and latest software but i feel like maybe i could just run 14.2 with old software and be fine with it. i've compiled openssl and openssh from source before on mint so if i have to do that on 14.2, i may so.

is anyone else running 14.2 because of the old XFCE theme? i'm in love with it.

You might be able to adjust the font the way you like it:

Main menu > Settings > Appearance > Fonts

and then you can set/clear the anti-aliasing, hinting, and sub-pixel ordering.

(My latest version, as usual, is -current.)

it's the same thing, what do you mean?

https://i.ibb.co/9q0GZbS/xfce01.jpg

XFCE themes: https://www.xfce-look.org/browse?cat=138&ord=rating

The first is 15.0
Second image is 14.2

The fonts are different. But mainly it is the XFCE theme. The new one is not the same, the folder icons dont look the same, it is all different.

I appreciate this link. I am looking for the exact theme used in 14.2, not something close to it. I'm sure I can do this all manually but its just a matter of time that I don't have to devote right now. I feel like the 14.2 theme should be one of the options available, not something I should go out looking for.

Some may not be as obsessive about the themes or fonts, but some of us actually are. Here is a quote stating his preference and I couldn't have said it better:

"I strongly prefer flat, square-corner, outlined-not-shadowed, high contrast, texture-less, animation-less, icon-less, text-labled, always visible, controls with no mouse-over effects"

xfce no longer provides an official theme, I really like what ShimmerProject does, you could take a look.
https://github.com/shimmerproject
I'm not sure but I think so, Simon Steinbeiß had worked for the official xfce themes.

Thanks. I'll take a look at that. If I can't find it, and get the time to do it, I'll provide a github for anyone who wants that official 14 look that some of us love.

OK, so there are probably some things you should know about fonts and the changes that were made in Slackware between the 14.2 and 15.0 releases:

The default setting for sub-pixel hinting in the freetype source code was changed to enable sub-pixel hinting by default. If you don't want this, you can change it in /etc/profile.d/freetype.{csh,sh}.

The next thing is that in certain circumstances, the default setting is to now prefer Liberation fonts over DejaVu. The easiest fix for this is probably to just switch back to DejaVu.

For me, those two changes made Slackware 15.0 the first one where I've not changed any font settings... Tastes are personal I guess. You can also try messing with the contents of /etc/fonts/conf.d/... adding or removing symlinks to files in /etc/fonts/conf.avail/.

I believe a forum member keeps a repository with the older version of xfce available.

https://www.linuxquestions.org/quest...op-4175695004/

Thank you all very much for the replies.

yep, that's me. I made an updated repo, here: https://github.com/slackalaxy/tales-xfce

there's a queue file to be used with sbopkg

rootaccess,

Xfce (4.12) in Slackware 14.2 uses GTK2, while Xfce (4.16) in Slackware 15.0 uses GTK3. I, personally, have a big problem with GTK3, that's why I am still using Xfce 4.12, compiled on Slackware 15.0 (https://github.com/slackalaxy/tales-xfce).

Here are some good old GTK2 themes:
https://slackbuilds.org/repository/1...urrine-themes/
https://slackbuilds.org/repository/1...lassic-themes/

these are the GTK2 themes from Xfce 4.12:
https://slackbuilds.org/repository/1...k-xfce-engine/

and here are the old Xfwm4 themes from Slackware 14.1:
https://slackbuilds.org/repository/1.../xfwm4-themes/

drop me a line, if you need any help.

Yes, window themes are highly subjective and a matter of taste, but rooatccess's included quote struck home with me:
Looking pretty is secondary to usability to me, and themes that make it hard to tell where edges of windows are, and fail to provide contrast between overlapping windows, etc., make an interface less useful. Elements that disappear and reappear make things harder to find, and require more mouse movement. This slows things down and increases error rates.

The following link in Windows-specific, but it makes many good points about good user interfaces.

https://pocketnow.com/explaining-win...1s-bad-design/

It's nice that designers try to make things better for mobile-users, but when it's done by crippling the desktop environment for people with real keyboards, mice, and large screens, then it is not a positive development, IMHO.

I couldn't agree more. As time goes by, most websites are developed for the mobile use which is quite saddening. It is the reason that computers require faster and faster processors every year. We can no longer use old systems to go online because of this. Websites are way too rich in their development, too much java (or whatever it is), too many graphics. I truly miss the 90s format. There is way too much development in that aspect. I know that some websites do have a way of sensing the OS you are using and some are tailored specifically for mobile use redirecting them to an m.websites.com but some don't and expect you to be using a mobile device which isn't always true! And because of that, linuces have to keep being up with the development. Time have always been changing, yes, but not like this.

As for Windows 11:
Windows doesn't really have any business trying to make their OS like Apple. I know that people use these surfaces but I find that they aren't going to compete well with Apple's iPad that way. I could be wrong but they should stick to what is best for Windows which is for corporate use, home use on the desktop for people who want to use software (photoshop, office, tax applications, windows-specific stuff) and don't want to pay MAC prices, as well as for gamers.