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. For example, OpenSUSE Linux releases 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.

File Management

When it comes to finding the right file manager for your desktop, default options provided by Gnome and KDE can help you do this. Nautilus is the default file manager of Gnome, and KDE provides doldolphin as its default file manager.

In addition, I found that Nautilus provides Gnome users with a glamorous and easy-to-use file management tool that won't confuse new Linux users. However, back to KDE, for those who want to have in-depth control, doldolphin is highly configurable, rather than a file management solution suitable for new users.

If you simply observe the sidebar of each file manager, you will notice that Nautilus provides the most direct navigation method. However, the Oracle database of KDE performs better on features such as the date when the last file was used and other related options.

If you are an advanced Linux user, you may find that you are attracted by doldolphin because it provides the most choices and control. For those who do not want to control navigation files through complicated controls, Nautilus is superior in simplicity.

Desktop applications

A topic that often raises disagreements among Linux enthusiasts is the claim that a desktop can provide better default applications. In fact, this is the current situation of Gnome and KDE.

My findings in this regard are: in some aspects, Gnome won without any effort. For example, GIMP, Evince, and Pidegin are easier to use than their KDE counterparts. In my opinion, Kmail is another application, which brings bad impressions to new users of KDE. Applications like this are too complex and generally difficult to use.

On the other hand, there are some valuable aspects to support KDE. Compared with AbiWord, Calligra is easy to win for KDE, because LibreOffice is not a "real" Gnome-specific application. Because it is the default suite of many Linux releases, rather than the default choice of the desktop environment.

Finally, one of the most amazing aspects of Linux is that you can install the GTK or Qt library and enjoy the benefits of applications that best suit your needs ). For myself, I found that Gnome's default application is a clear winner in most cases.

Conclusion

If I find myself trapped on an island with only one available desktop environment, it must be Gnome. Although I like some aspects of KDE better than Gnome, I think Gnome can spend less time on continuous use. I often find that using KDE to mess up a bunch of configurations, or even worse, such as strange warnings that my sound card could not be found. In the Gnome environment, I have never encountered these problems.

Because I cherish my time and reason, I will continue to recommend Gnome instead of KDE, and suggest some KDE applications as appropriate. For anyone who claims that KDE is easier to use, I would like to say that for me, simply learning about Gnome in the long run brings me greater stability.

Via: http://www.datamation.com/open-source/kde-vs-gnome-settings-apps-widgets-1.html