Some windows don't fit on 1024x600, what can I do?

I read on Wikipedia that the netbook edition of Ubuntu was discontinued and that it is now integrated into the main distribution (as of 11.04).

I tried 11.04 on my new Samsung NC110-A06AU with 10.1" 1024x600 display. Most things worked out of the box, but some (like backlight power control) needed some coercion before they began to co-operate.

One thing that seems to be an ongoing problem is the resolution.

At 1024x600, most of the dialogue boxes run off the bottom of the screen, including the update manager. I have tried 11.10 beta 1 and it has the same problem.

Is there any way to fix this, or at least make it more usable? (I suspect not). Given the recent rise in popularity of netbooks, do you think Ubuntu will include a low-resolution-friendly version in the near future?

How well does KDE deal with these low resolutions? I noticed KDE Plasma has a netbook interface. Is it worth switching for that?

Solution 1:

Unfortunately there are still plenty of pieces of software that do not take low resolution screens into account when designing their interfaces.

One workaround you can do when a window doesn't fit is to click and drag on any area of the window on it while holding the Alt key down, this will let you move the window up so that you can at least click the buttons on the bottom of windows.

Solution 2:

As a fellow netbook user, I developed a "hack" or workaround (of sorts) for software like this.

It only works if you're running Unity 3D though.

So, hit the shortcut super + S to get the workspace switcher - you can now drag and drop the windows around as you please.

Example:

Despite the 11.10 in the screenshot, it does work in 11.04