For several reasons (including curiosity), a few weeks ago I started using Xfce[1] as my Linux desktop. One reason was trouble with background daemons eating up all the CPU and I/O bandwidth on my very powerful main workstation. Of course, some of the instability may be due to my removal of some of the RPM packages that provide those background daemons. However, even before I removed the RPMs, the fact is KDE was unstable and causing performance and stability issues. I needed to use a different desktop to avoid these problems.
I realized in looking back over my series of articles on Linux desktops that I had neglected Xfce. This article is intended to rectify that oversight. I like Xfce a lot and am enjoying the speed and lightness of it more than I thought I would.As part of my research, I googled to try to learn what Xfce means. There is a historical reference to XForms Common Environment, but Xfce no longer uses the XForms tools. Some years ago, I found a reference to "Xtra fine computing environment," and I like that a lot. I will use that (despite not being able to find the page reference again).
Eight reasons for recommending Xfce
1. Lightweight construction
Xfce has a very small memory footprint and CPU usage compared to some other desktops, such as KDE and GNOME. On my system, the programs that make up the Xfce desktop take a tiny amount of memory for such a powerful desktop. Very low CPU usage is also a hallmark of the Xfce desktop. With such a small memory footprint, I am not especially surprised that Xfce is also very sparing of CPU cycles.
2. Simplicity
The Xfce desktop is