The latest MX Linux turns Xfce into a desktop anyone can use.
If you’re looking for a Linux distribution with a user-friendly desktop that’s also very highly customizable, MX Linux presents the Xfce desktop in a way that anyone can use and grow with over time.
One of the things about many user-friendly Linux desktops is that they can sometimes feel slightly limited. Take, for instance, GNOME. Yes, you can extend the feature set with the help of extensions, but GNOME is GNOME; it’s a minimalistic take on the desktop that I find very efficient.
Not everyone feels the same.
Of course, there’s KDE Plasma, which offers more flexibility than GNOME but will always be KDE Plasma.
And then… there’s Xfce. I consider the Xfce desktop to be the most flexible and configurable desktop on the market. There’s no end to how you can configure Xfce. The problem is, with all that flexibility comes complication. I’m not saying that Xfce is hard to use out of the box; it’s not. But if you’re a “button pusher” (you know the type… “This isn’t working, so I’ll just start pushing buttons and see what happens!”), a desktop like Xfce can be a recipe for disaster.
That’s yet another reason why I find MX Linux so appealing. By default, MX Linux version 23 configured Xfce to be different enough to know you’re not using a typical desktop, while at the same time, laying it all out in a familiar way. You get a sidebar with all the usual accouterments (panel, start menu, system tray, clickable icons), desktop icons, and a right-click menu. That default layout should work for most users.
