Create a Simple Gnome-Panel Applet, Win an OSNews Subscription
The way I normally use my Gnome(s) on PCs with lower resolution monitors is by having a single panel at the bottom of the screen, 32pix height. It seems like a good compromise for old PCs with monitors that can't do more than 800x600 or 1024x768. Stacking applets together though can be an exercise to the eye to try to quickly seperate them visually.