KDE free and happy
I wrote in a previous post from October 20008 that I was very unhappy with the direction of KDE. The Kubuntu Intrepid was about to be released with KDE 4 as the default desktop. I got a lot of responses saying that I could still continue using KDE 3.x or I should switch to another distro like OpenSuse. Neither of those were really feasible options as I didn’t want to be stuck on KDE 3.x and switching distro was even more a radical change.
When Kubuntu Intrepid released, I downloaded it and gave it a try. I knew immediately that I could no longer use it as my desktop. It was sluggish and not very user friendly. I promptly switched to Ubuntu Intrepid with Gnome desktop. I must admit that Gnome implementation in Ubuntu feels a lot more tightly integrated than KDE was in Kubuntu.
I did have to adjust myself to Gnome initially. As an example, I was very fond of Superkaramba on KDE. Gnome does have comparable desklet and screenlet implememtations. But they just do not seem as seemless as Superkaramba. So, I decided to stick with regular panel applets and I must admit that I somehow like them better than full fledged Superkaramba widgets. This could be true with Gnome in general as everything seems intuitive and simple. Gnome doesn’t try to emulate Windoze like KDE. I got the native drivers for the Nvidia card installed and now have Compiz enabled. So, now I have the simplicity of Gnome with added 3D effects. It’s not a scientific observation, but the memory management also seems better on Gnome than KDE.
The moral of the story is that I am KDE free and happy.
Keith Pickett said,
January 18, 2009 @ 9:04 pm
I totally agree and just gave up on KDE also. It is so slow. The eye opener for me was trying to run the Kubuntu Ibex virtual image on VirtualBox. It sent my CPU to 100% immediately after X KDE was loaded. Just to compare the two, I ran the Ubuntu Ibex image and it wasn’t nearly as hard on the CPU. I also tried the Xubuntu and Fluxbox and they were even less tasking on the CPU. I really like them a lot too. Right now, I am playing around with Ubuntu Ibex MCE on my development box. I really like that Ubuntu flavor and will probably go with it. It has a lot of tools that I want to play with (video editing, audio, and photo tools).
Until KDE gets its act together and trims down the fluff, I will not go back to it. I’m really not missing it.
ms said,
January 18, 2009 @ 9:08 pm
I noticed KDE had a certain disjointed feel when I used it. Like it wasn’t always responding. The plasmoid applets would never keep their configuration, they’d just close up on reboot. I hope that’s fixed now. I figured what’s the point of desklets if I have to open them every time manually. It’s not convenient unless they are there in front of me telling me what I want to know.
I also hated the way desktop icons were treated. they had a sort of hover/option effect where they weren’t deletable until you hovered and clicked a little sub menu. And even then the files were still there. Very strange. I suppose I should have just looked for a manual to learn what I was working with, but you get to the point where you have some expectations based on the past unless the new feature is so striking and usable that you’re happy to leave the past behind.
I do think KDE has more visual flexibility or potential from what I’ve seen. I’d like to like it more and I hope that it continues to be a good alternative to people. Hey if somebody likes it, more power to them. Keep on trucking and it will be awesome. You never know when things will just click for you. Could be one update from perfection.
eggbert said,
January 19, 2009 @ 2:34 am
I thought KDE4 was a huge step backwards as well. Actually, I think the world would be better off without KDE (or Gnome) the more I think about it. Seriously, for an OS that has only a 0.8% share on the desktop, do we really need more than one big league desktop environment? Not to mention 500 “niche” ones.
Yeah, yeah… I hear you… “having choice is great”, yadda yadda. But guess what- most people don’t want to HAVE to make a choice about something mundane as a DE. As long as it is consistent, stable and covers all the basics 99% of users just don’t care. I mean honestly, does it really make that much difference when they both essentially do the same thing?
Moreover, at a certain point I think all this limitless choice becomes a huge a detriment. It confuses new users, it creates usability/look and feel issues between apps, and it’s just more damned APIs developers have to deal with. For example… Gee, I’d like to port my app to Linux. Do I want to use qt and look like shit on Gnome, or gtk and look like shit on KDE? That’s a “choice” I don’t want to have to make.
Ultimately, however, it just seems like an incredible waste of resources to have the devs working on KDE, Gnome, Xfce, etc, each doing their own thing in their own little faction. The time, talent, and man power spent on all these desktop environments could be spent much better elsewhere. Think about how awesome it would be to have a single unified desktop the whole community could rally around! Hopefully someday KDE (preferably) or Gnome will step aside and die gracefully. Enough is enough… No more desktop environments! Just give me something that works!
Oh, and NO MORE #$%^#$ DISTROS either… But that’s a rant for another day
fep said,
January 19, 2009 @ 7:51 am
eggbert, I never understand people who think like you about multiple software options… I mean, must we have only one cd/dvd burner program only? or word processor? or compiler? or image manipulation program? Or we must simple give up and let MS or another company make all the software?
herval said,
January 20, 2009 @ 8:02 am
@fep give people choice on things that actually MATTER. It’s ok to have competition - but you have to agree that Windows would never have 90% of the market if it had, for instance, a dozen different UI experiences that would confuse/scare users away. Same for OSX. Eggbert was right on point here, I think: if you have no market representativity at all, why not focusing on doing ONE SINGLE PRODUCT right instead of a thousand different and partially broken ‘quasiproducts’?
ps.: before anyone accuses me of anything, yes -I use linux daily on my netbook. And Windows at work. And OSX on my home computer.