I’m relatively new to the linux space, I was introduced by the steam deck which uses kde, and it’s pretty similar to windows in terms of how it works so that’s the DE i’d be leaning towards when I eventually switch. I’ve never used gnome so i’m not sure if it’d be worth using I guess?
So I’m just looking for some input from the community, do you use Gnome or Plasma, why do you use it, and what’s kind of like a pros and cons kinda thing between the two?
KDE Plasma. GNOME is nice but I like the customizability and the features of KDE Plasma.
Gnome is Snow Leopard OSX basically in attitude and experience, do NOT try to customize anything, go limp and do the experience. KDE is Windows 98, full of fun customizations, but unpolished in odd ways no matter what you do. Choose your fighter!
KDE is Windows 98, full of fun customizations, but unpolished in odd ways no matter what you do.
Absolutely perfect. And part of why I’ve grown to love it.
You can customize Gnome quite a lot if you want it just requires a bit of knowledge.
but only until the next update, which will probably break half your extensions, because they are entirely unsupported and uncared for bythe gnometeam
I had about 16 extensions before the last update. After I updated 2 of them became unsupported which 1 of them is already supported again if I am not mistaken. It depends on what extensions you use of course.
Uhm, what? Gnome is all about customization lol Mine looks more like windows than it does mac
XFCE fan here.
I would agree but it still heavily relies/requires X11 for many of the core components and apps. Wayland support on the horizon. For now though I wouldn’t recommend anyone use any DE that doesnt support Wayland, since X.Org is has been unmaintained for many years, it is a bloated protocol, and is insecure by design. This is because it was designed 40+ years ago in a time before security was a big concern to developers.
X.Org server has been largely abandoned by maintainers and developers.
Here are some links:
https://www.theregister.com/2020/10/30/x_server_lead_maintainer_declares
https://www.phoronix.com/news/XServer-Abandonware
https://www.osnews.com/story/132507/its-time-to-admit-it-the-x-org-server-is-abandonware/
I like Plasma. It feels very modern and has an easy interface with lots of customization if wanted. It also supports Wayland and lots of HDR features. Overall it’s a cutting edge DE
I haven’t been following the HDR news on Wayland lately, does this work across all Wayland compositors or just Plasma?
I use KDE. It’s very powerful and flexible. While it can be windows like, you an also craft pretty much any GUI you like with it with relative ease. It can be Mac like or something unique, or even Gnome like if you really want that.
It’s also intuitive and user friendly, with well made apps and a comprehensive settings menu.
I’ve found KDE to be reliable and stable, as well as attractive and customisable.
There are a lot of apps made for it - the only downside is software bloat if you install all of them. I’d start with the basics KDE desktop and add apps one by one rather than install the whole KDE app suite. Although the apps are usually excellent lots of the apps may not be useful to you personally . For example I don’t like installing the PIM suite (email, contacts etc) as I don’t use it - all that is online for me so I don’t need the native apps.
I’m personally not a fan of Gnome. It’s got a single rigid GUI philosophy which you can now expand with extensions but I find they can be hit and miss on whether they work or are stable, and time consuming to set up how you want.
So for gnome you either like it as is or you don’t, and if you dont like it then honestly I’d say don’t bother trying to make it be what you want - just use something more flexible.
But regardless of what desktop you use, Apps will work on either or any of the others available.
