Xfce

Xfce (pronounced as four individual letters) is a free software desktop environment for Unix and Unix-like platforms, such as Linux, Solaris, and BSD. It aims to be fast and lightweight, while still being visually appealing and easy to use. It consists of separately packaged components that together provide the full functionality of the desktop environment, but which can be selected in subsets to create the user's preferred personal working environment. Xfce is mainly used for its ability to run a modern desktop environment on relatively modest hardware.

Adding A New Bottom Quick-Launch Panel

 * Top Panel > Right-Click > Panel > Panel Preferences
 * Click the big [+] button next to Panel 1 to add a new Panel
 * Click Close
 * Move the new Panel 2 to the bottom of the screen
 * Bottom Panel > Right-Click > Panel > Panel Preferences
 * Customise the size and appearance as needed
 * Choose the Items tab to add as many Launcher items as needed

So much easier than Gnome 3... ;-)