KDE vs GNOME: settings, applications, and gadgets

When it comes to the desktop environment, choosing the right one may be a personal question worth pondering. In this article, I will compare the differences between Gnome and KDE, the most popular Linux desktop environments, we will also explore the functions provided by each desktop environment by comparing their advantages and disadvantages.

First impression

At first glance, you may feel that KDE looks brighter than Gnome and offers a more friendly technological look. In addition, if you are used to Windows, the menu and button layout at the bottom of the screen will make you feel more familiar with KDE. You can easily find the Kmenu, start the program, and click a few clicks to find the document.

Another important and familiar benefit of KDE is the ease of using the minimize and close buttons in each open document, image, and application. For those who are used to other platforms, these features may be taken for granted. But for desktops like Gnome that do not provide a truly minimal option, it is worth KDE support.

Loading it to Gnome 3 for the first time. If you are from another platform, its desktop may be considered strange. Like the classic Gnome, the documents and tools you want to access are not at the bottom of the screen. What makes new users feel more unfamiliar is that the method of closing opened windows is so "different ". However, from the perspective of supporting Gnome3, I found that as long as you get used to this new way of doing things, it would be a pleasant experience. I know that new users who have tried Gnome3 also feel good.

Gadgets and extensions

As we gain a deeper understanding of the extensions and gadgets provided by Gnome and KDE, the differences between these two desktop environments will grow. Although they all provide attachments that you can launch to enhance the desktop experience, they have different boundaries on how to handle the Extended features.

KDE uses an interesting way, that is, you can divide desktop widgets into groups called "activity areas. This allows you to create an activity area that contains a series of desktop widgets to process specific workflows.

On the contrary, Gnome defines the activity area in another way. Gnome makes its activity area more task-based and application-based, rather than a widget-centric. For example, if I am using multiple applications, switching to the Gnome activity area view allows you to access each task visually and timely.

Set your desktop

Although Gnome is doing better and better in providing adequate settings through the GUI, KDE is still the king of this field. Different people have different opinions on this .)

With KDE, you can control almost every aspect of the desktop through settings. Some releases such as OpenSUSELinux integrate their tools (YaST) into the KDE setting environment, which is better.

With Gnome Desktop updates after Gnome3, I found that KDE is providing more powerful functions through easy-to-use settings. Gnome usually places application-specific settings in a location that is easy to find for each application.

However, KDE tends to provide more fine-grained Control for applications. One of my favorite examples is Kontact vs Evolution. They are powerful personal information management software on Gnome and KDE respectively. However, the difference is that Kontact is a set of applications with a set of control bound to each application, and Evolution is only a single application with limited control. In other desktop-specific applications, this is also true for AmaroK vs Rhythmbox.

KDE details: click here
KDE: click here

Recommended reading:

How to install kde SC 13.04 in Ubuntu 12.04 and 4.11

Kubuntu 12.04 (KDE) sets the Brightness and touchpad

Gorgeous desktop KDE 4.11 released

Install the KDE Desktop in The Gnome Environment of Ubuntu 10.10 [graphic]

Install and uninstall KDE Desktop in Ubuntu

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