[veribaka]

Which is your fav. and why?

Personally I like Gnome, but probably because I use it at work a lot. I tried Kubuntu but it just seemed awful similar. So I'd like to know what people around here prefer and why.

You might want to add which distro you're using.
I'm using Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon (like I said, gnome) both at home and at work.

[bkdc]

KDE Why ?? No set reason, just a personal prefrence.

I use PCLinuxOS 2007

[MaidenFan]

I'm using a heavily skinned and modified GNOME desktop (screenshot below) on Fedora 8.



I haven't tried KDE but GNOME is the default on Fedora so I just stuck with that.

[RobLinux]

Hope this isn't going to be one of those Flame Fests, ppl like different things for different reasons and 1 size doesn't fit all! According to Byfield in
http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/osr...2068_3671906_2 "KDE is probably used by about 65% of GNU/Linux desktop users, GNOME by roughly 26%", I'd expect the GNOME use to creep up due to current success of Ubuntu.


KDE3 - supports my work flow well. Exposes needed options to things.

I used GNOME 1 alot with RedHat 6 (having dabbled with KDE under Caldera Open Linux & SuSE 6.1), but eventually installed KDE which was a relief, and preferred by colleagues to. GNOME 2 brought in the usability stuff, and well I didn't find Ubuntu very usable, all too often what I needed was not present in the options shown, and I didn't want to dig around in config files to customise it. So having used GNOME/Ubuntu for a while, KDE & OpenSuSE was a relief again. I'm not sure why I find GNOME very annoying and frustrating, but I do and I have real trouble understanding why GNOME is as popular as it is. I found far too much time manually manipulating windows, and also feel hemmed in by it, restricted, rather the same as I feel after a session of using M$ Windows.

On KDE Implementations

Had a look at Kubuntu, and things like Knoppix & Sidux, as well as the Fedora KDE spin. None of them are as well thought out and usable as the OpenSuSE 10.3 KDE, so for now that's my preference. The work on the Main Menu is very beneficial, prefer it to the version used by KDE4 in fact.

Done some testing of pre-release KDE4, and I have some concerns, doubt the 4.0 release should be the default choice in distro's; for a while KDE 3.5.8 is going to be fuller featured. Many KDE4 programs actually do run find under KDE3, with the right libraries installed even so it's possible to use enhanced versions if useful. The release manager has talked about 4.0 being a developer's release, but I expect it'll get fed to end users to, and only the "eye candy" crowd will be well served by that.


Finally Linus says ... http://mail.gnome.org/archives/usabi.../msg00021.html

[deaf_girl]

I'm a fan of Gnome. It's what I learned on.

[lotuseclat79]

Originally Posted by veribaka

Which is your fav. and why?

Personally I like Gnome, but probably because I use it at work a lot. I tried Kubuntu but it just seemed awful similar. So I'd like to know what people around here prefer and why.

You might want to add which distro you're using.
I'm using Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon (like I said, gnome) both at home and at work.

Hi veribaka,

Canonical recently announced here that it would not support KDE long term, so Ubuntu looks like it will be only Gnome in the future.

-- Tom

[namenotfound]

I've tried both, and I prefer Gnome. No reason why really, just a personal preference. I don't really like KDE.

[RobLinux]

Originally Posted by lotuseclat79

Canonical recently announced here that it would not support KDE long term, so Ubuntu looks like it will be only Gnome in the future.

No, NO, NO!!!!! That is a misunderstanding of their English.

Canonical announced that Kubuntu 8.4 would not be LTS. That is, it would have the normal release support for same duration as 7.10, but not 3 year support on desktop. 8.4 and 8.10 will include KDE, and they have not ruled out LTS for Kubuntu in future.

They want to include a KDE 4.0 release, as well as 3.5.8; but avoid supporting "unstable x.0" or the "stable 3.5.8" long after upstream loses interest. Someone could install Ubuntu Server LTS, then add KDE packages and the core system, would still be supported. They'd just stop getting security fixes to the desktop after 18 months, rather than the 3 years. The Desktop would not suddenly cease working just because Canonical loses interest in 18 months.

Part of the justification for that decisions, was the fact that big Kubuntu deployments like the French parliament, opted for 7.04, rather than the Drake LTS release, preferring "up to date" desktop software. The Kubuntu mailing list also admitted to difficulties, getting out a un-buggy enough version of KDE out, customised for their distro in 7.10, even without having to provide KDE 4.0 as a bleeding edge alternative. Also their KDE 4.0 Live CD was downloaded more frequently than expected, suggesting user demand, making a 3.5.8 only Kubuntu release unattractive.

If you look at SuSE End of Life annoucements recently, there's some interesting info on the reality of desktop suport in long term, 3rd party security fixes of things like real player aren't available, and some require incompatible versions of libraries or system programs on the box. Using a 3+ yr old browser is not fun... As the Internet evolves, bugs become more and more apparent, that weren't triggered often, at the time of first release.

So LTS on desktop may not be particularly useful, when you have a free upgrade path to newer, improved releases. And if you tried KDE on Ubuntu base, it probably doesn't give the same experience as PCLOS and OpenSuSE.

[utanja]

gnome used here......been using gnome for long time......never tried KDE but looks bloated...

[lotuseclat79]

Originally Posted by RobLinux

No, NO, NO!!!!! That is a misunderstanding of their English.

Canonical announced that Kubuntu 8.4 would not be LTS. That is, it would have the normal release support for same duration as 7.10, but not 3 year support on desktop. 8.4 and 8.10 will include KDE, and they have not ruled out LTS for Kubuntu in future.

They want to include a KDE 4.0 release, as well as 3.5.8; but avoid supporting "unstable x.0" or the "stable 3.5.8" long after upstream loses interest. Someone could install Ubuntu Server LTS, then add KDE packages and the core system, would still be supported. They'd just stop getting security fixes to the desktop after 18 months, rather than the 3 years. The Desktop would not suddenly cease working just because Canonical loses interest in 18 months.

Part of the justification for that decisions, was the fact that big Kubuntu deployments like the French parliament, opted for 7.04, rather than the Drake LTS release, preferring "up to date" desktop software. The Kubuntu mailing list also admitted to difficulties, getting out a un-buggy enough version of KDE out, customised for their distro in 7.10, even without having to provide KDE 4.0 as a bleeding edge alternative. Also their KDE 4.0 Live CD was downloaded more frequently than expected, suggesting user demand, making a 3.5.8 only Kubuntu release unattractive.

If you look at SuSE End of Life annoucements recently, there's some interesting info on the reality of desktop suport in long term, 3rd party security fixes of things like real player aren't available, and some require incompatible versions of libraries or system programs on the box. Using a 3+ yr old browser is not fun... As the Internet evolves, bugs become more and more apparent, that weren't triggered often, at the time of first release.

So LTS on desktop may not be particularly useful, when you have a free upgrade path to newer, improved releases. And if you tried KDE on Ubuntu base, it probably doesn't give the same experience as PCLOS and OpenSuSE.

Hi Rob,

Thanks for the clarification - I thought it sounded a bit dodgy!

-- Tom

[zchenyu]

I like the functionality of GNOME as an average desktop user. It seems very usable and straightforward with no fancy menus and tabs and stuff when trying to adjust settings (like KDE). I might switch to KDE as it allows for much more customization than my more or less default GNOME look.

I'm using Gutsy Ubuntu by the way.

[RobLinux]

Originally Posted by utanja

gnome used here......been using gnome for long time......never tried KDE but looks bloated...

Actually KDE isn't bloated. It runs rather well on quite slow CPUs once it's started eg) 500Mhz ones, and uses similar memory to GNOME. The Konqueror browser uses much less memory than Firefox, when you run Firefox + KDE + Konqi then it does consume more RAM than a GNOME/GTK+/Firefox desktop (until Firefox leaks that is).

KDE <= 3.5.8 bundled a lot of applications together in package sets, so the install footprint & download size may have looked bloated. In real use it's actually rather elegant and efficient.

[briealeida]

Let's ask Linus:

http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl.../12/13/1340215

He way prefers KDE, FWIW.

[namenotfound]

As you can see in the screen shot, I use Kubuntu as a virtual machine, with my main OS being Ubuntu. So I've used Gnome and KDE side-by-side. I've seen both in action, and I still prefer Gnome. KDE just seems like more "eye candy" than functionality. Gnome lets me do what I want with little effort.

[linuxphile]

I'm actually using XFCE. I like the light footprint. I don't need a lot of bloat and XFCE works well on older hardware.