The state of Linux dual monitor support

The most annoying issue with dual monitors is by far the default configuration when the system starts.

I've used unity, gnome and xfce and the only one I found good enough as been xfce because no matter how the screens are, you run xrand/arandr and your 2 screens are setup properly.

I disagree that xfce is good by default. On my system it started in mirror mode. It's also very hard for novice users to find out how to enable the extended desktop. The best default setup is either KDE or Unity, because they are extended by default. The downside is that adding other features is complicated.

The state is not good enough. I don't know enough about X to configure it correctly, and I actually don't want to learn it...

Luckily none of the desktop environments I tested required editing xorg.conf.

I agree the state could be better. The most disappointing aspect is the lack of individual panel and task bar support.

even worse when you are using a laptop, and the second monitor is not always connected.

I don't have a laptop. What's the problem with it? Does it not remember settings?