KDE developer Nate Graham, who is known for writing the 'This week in KDE" blog posts keeping us up to speed on all the latest changes has a fresh update about plans for taking over the world, and Graham has some interesting things to say.
There's certainly no shortage of desktop environments on Linux and a number of ways to build software, each with their own goal and way of doing things. It's both a strength for choice and a reported weakness with so much. It's always interesting to read the point of view from developers whose work we rely on so much in the FOSS community. Especially when Graham came from a background in working with Apple, while now a KDE developer.
Here, it wasn't quite what I expected to read. The post goes over talking about the market leaders like Windows and Android, noting neither was the first to come to market but they've successfully captured the biggest slices. Noting that "Neither is picky about what kind of software you run on them or write for them, so they are used on a wide range of devices by lots of different people. Both work with others in adjacent industries, rather than taking a 'my way or the highway' approach. They are flexible."
The flexibility, Graham thinks, is the key to success.
Comparing KDE to Apple, they're clearly very different in how they do things explaining that "we’ve always dreamed of a broad scope and being useful for everyone" on why the Plasma desktop is so flexible and why "the Steam Deck handheld gaming console, PinePhone smartphone, and JingPad A1 tablet are built on top of KDE technology".
Some interesting words aimed at two other big names in the Linux space too, with Graham's post mentioning "So I think ultimately we will become the Windows or Android of the Free Open-Source Software world, with projects like GNOME and ElementaryOS competing to be the Apple of FOSS". You could easily take that as putting them in the firing line but it's more positive than that as Graham continues "I think there will absolutely be room for projects like theirs; in fact I think it’s highly likely that they’ll offer a better user experience than we do for people who fit within the usage paradigms they focus on–just like Apple does".
It's part of why I ended up moving from GNOME to KDE myself, that flexibility of setting it all up how I want it to be, not how designers think it should be. I cannot see myself moving away from Plasma as my own desktop environment on Linux any time soon. Looks good, works well and doesn't get in the way of gaming.
What are your thoughts? Will KDE and Plasma become the biggest players? Going by our own stats from users, Plasma is currently on top but GNOME is not far behind at all.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
slaapliedje Nov 16, 2021
Quoting: fenglengshunnce I've actually encountered a KDE distro that fits my taste in workflow, I fell in love with it.Which KDE distro is this? I tend to use Debian because it sets up what the project feels should be the defaults. If the Project leads could get some advice from the distros on a better default, that'd be fantastic.
Quoting: slaapliedjeAlso... why have System menu, and Settings menu, then have System Settings? Should be called Preferences or something...It's in the specification. "Preferences" could be OK for the settings of the system, but that might be confused with preferences for the menu.
furaxhornyx Nov 16, 2021
Quoting: scaineQuoting: furaxhornyxI also find it buggy and clunky as well
Can you be specific? What bugs did you encounter? How is it clunky?[..]
A few things I encountered while trying different distros with various versions of KDE, from the top of my head:
- Error messages on a fresh install (I think it was Kubuntu ?)
- Error messages on the first update after a fresh install (like "missing libraries" or something like this, don't remember exactly what is was)
- I will never understand the "wait for 30 more seconds" when you decide to turn your computer off, and did not find how to change this (at least easily, I admit I didn't bother much)
- I was quite confused by the Settings panel or whatever it is called
- Overall it felt "sluggish" and not as much responsive as Cinnamon (or others I tried, like xfce and mate), even in a VM without hardware acceleration for Cinnamon
Quoting: CatKiller"Preferences" could be OK for the settings of the system, but that might be confused with preferences for the menu.And now I'm the one who's confused
Mohandevir Nov 16, 2021
Quoting: furaxhornyxQuoting: scaineQuoting: furaxhornyxI also find it buggy and clunky as well
Can you be specific? What bugs did you encounter? How is it clunky?[..]
A few things I encountered while trying different distros with various versions of KDE, from the top of my head:
- Error messages on a fresh install (I think it was Kubuntu ?)
- Error messages on the first update after a fresh install (like "missing libraries" or something like this, don't remember exactly what is was)
- I will never understand the "wait for 30 more seconds" when you decide to turn your computer off, and did not find how to change this (at least easily, I admit I didn't bother much)
- I was quite confused by the Settings panel or whatever it is called
- Overall it felt "sluggish" and not as much responsive as Cinnamon (or others I tried, like xfce and mate), even in a VM without hardware acceleration for Cinnamon
The bug that quickly comes to my mind, that I personnally witnessed, since switching to Kubuntu, is always happening after an update... Suddenly I can't turn off or reboot the computer. Everytime I get an error message that... I don't remember the name... just crashed. I have to ALT+F4 + CTRL-ALT-DEL to reboot. Weird, but quite similar to what Windows is doing, also after updates... It's just that the whole desktop gets frozen... The start menu doesn't answer at all... CTRL-ALT-DEL + Reboot.
slaapliedje Nov 16, 2021
Quoting: MohandevirNasty. I think I may have seen this once. My favorite one with KDE in Debian Sid right now is that I seem to have to tell it to log out / reboot / power off twice before it'll actually do it. Like did it think I was joking?Quoting: furaxhornyxQuoting: scaineQuoting: furaxhornyxI also find it buggy and clunky as well
Can you be specific? What bugs did you encounter? How is it clunky?[..]
A few things I encountered while trying different distros with various versions of KDE, from the top of my head:
- Error messages on a fresh install (I think it was Kubuntu ?)
- Error messages on the first update after a fresh install (like "missing libraries" or something like this, don't remember exactly what is was)
- I will never understand the "wait for 30 more seconds" when you decide to turn your computer off, and did not find how to change this (at least easily, I admit I didn't bother much)
- I was quite confused by the Settings panel or whatever it is called
- Overall it felt "sluggish" and not as much responsive as Cinnamon (or others I tried, like xfce and mate), even in a VM without hardware acceleration for Cinnamon
The bug that quickly comes to my mind, that I personnally witnessed, since switching to Kubuntu, is always happening after an update... Suddenly I can't turn off or reboot the computer. Everytime I get an error message that... I don't remember the name... just crashed. I have to ALT+F4 + CTRL-ALT-DEL to reboot. Weird, but quite similar to what Windows is doing, also after updates... It's just that the whole desktop gets frozen... The start menu doesn't answer at all... CTRL-ALT-DEL + Reboot.
Quoting: milkyBuggy? I've not experienced a single bug.
I find it stable too, and the workspace functionality rules. But is anyone else finding the “search for app” function not working anymore?
fenglengshun Nov 17, 2021
Quoting: slaapliedjeWell, I started with Garuda, but that was a bit much, though I did learn a lot from disabling some of its effects and figuring out how they achieved their looks.Quoting: fenglengshunnce I've actually encountered a KDE distro that fits my taste in workflow, I fell in love with it.Which KDE distro is this? I tend to use Debian because it sets up what the project feels should be the defaults. If the Project leads could get some advice from the distros on a better default, that'd be fantastic.
Then I try Feren which has a desktop layout switcher and a more subdued effects/colors. I like it better, and I like the idea of UX/desktop layout switcher a whole lot. While a full implementation like Feren would be too much for KDE defaults, I think some built-in Panel+Dock config options would be great (Budgie's implementation was pretty good for example).
The only issue is that both of them (and XeroLinux which also interest me) uses Latte dock/panel, which would be like if GNOME ship with Plank by default. But KDE officially cited Parachute and Mission Control as inspiration for their own Overview implementation, so they might ship some of Latte's functions as well (I would really love for drag titlebar via Panel and scroll workspace via Panel being official).
Last edited by fenglengshun on 17 November 2021 at 5:12 am UTC
Philadelphus Nov 17, 2021
Quoting: MohandevirThe bug that quickly comes to my mind, that I personnally witnessed, since switching to Kubuntu, is always happening after an update... Suddenly I can't turn off or reboot the computer. Everytime I get an error message that... I don't remember the name... just crashed. I have to ALT+F4 + CTRL-ALT-DEL to reboot.If it's the thing I've seen, it's specifically after Nvidia updates. The version mismatch causes the shutdown widget to crash when you try to use it. You can still do
sudo shutdown -h now though.Last edited by CatKiller on 17 November 2021 at 7:28 am UTC
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