Long time user, first time poster

[christopher.wortman]

I have used Ubuntu since inception, quietly. If I ever had an issue I would go through Google because thats how you would solve something in Windows XP/2000/98. For me it has been an easy ride. With Unity, I gave up and moved to Kubuntu. I have about 90 reasons I will not go into because the list is too long and nobody likes a complainer XD.

After switching to Kubuntu 11.04 I think I might be staying for a while with KDE. At first I had to learn EVERYTHING, it was like being in a new universe. I had forgotten what it felt like to make such a vast switch. It took a solid week to get used to anything, but I find QT applications richer in content, and they do way more than I could have ever dreamed.

Amarok is amazing
k3b is eons ahead of Brasero
No words can describe the awesomeness of QT Creator
Plasmoids the endless awesome plasmoids... @_@
Customizability, even moreso than Gnome, "dont like it change it" seems to be an ongoing echoing theme

There is this consistant professional feel across applications, something that just doesn't exist with GTK applications. Like I got used to the glitchiness of Gnome and GTK applications, but I had no idea there was a haven where things just dont break like they do in Gnome. For example if a VB application called a graphics engine call without VB runtimes being installed, it would lock up GTK, causing you to ctrl+alt+backspace to reset Xorg. I noticed it simply locked up wine and I still had usage of KDE, I killed wine, and restarted the application while paying attention in Konsole to the output to see where it died allowing me to fully see exactly what happened. I had no idea it was a missing DLL. Three years I didn't know it was as simple as installing VB runtime from Microsoft to fix the issue.

I am greatly impressed with Kubuntu and KDE. All the little things, like where it pops up next to your clock asking you to install flash, and it installs flash and codecs, to the KDE version of Software Center. It seems to get along with me a lot better than Gnome and dare I say it, Unity.

[User3k]

You should have tried it when KDE 4 first came out. Every other thing was broken or didn't work correctly. But now it is much more stable.

I think it is great that XFCE, KDE and Gnome are finally starting to look and feel like different DE's rather then clones with a few things different.

Edit: Ooops, forgot to mention Unity in that, don't hate me Ubuntu ;-)

[rectec794613]

Glad you like KDE. I used Ubuntu about a year before I had to post on the forums. I love KDE, too. Gnome is cool, but it's better for more experienced users, I think. KDE is a lot more user-friendly, and in ways, resembles Windows a bit, with it's one panel on the bottom. It can tremendously ease the switch from Windows to Linux. I think people should first try KDE when switching from Windows, then maybe go to Gnome.

[christopher.wortman]

Glad you like KDE. I used Ubuntu about a year before I had to post on the forums. I love KDE, too. Gnome is cool, but it's better for more experienced users, I think. KDE is a lot more user-friendly, and in ways, resembles Windows a bit, with it's one panel on the bottom. It can tremendously ease the switch from Windows to Linux. I think people should first try KDE when switching from Windows, then maybe go to Gnome.

Well I use Windows to know how to fix other peoples computers, and even had Windows 7 Enterprise installed in VM for about a month (90 day trial) to learn it so I knew how to install drivers and fix other people's problems. I work at a computer shop so ALL I do is fix issues. It is nice to come home to Linux and not have issues. As for experienced users part, I am not too sure as KDE offers a lot of advanced stuff. Like sure it gives you a desktop, but it seems that it offers me way more as far as advanced stuff is. You can even have a global menu and dock like in OSX if you so choose, or make it look and act like Gnome.

http://linux.softpedia.com/get/Desktop-Environment/Gnome/Gnome-Menu-Extended-34178.shtml


You should have tried it when KDE 4 first came out. Every other thing was broken or didn't work correctly. But now it is much more stable.

I stayed away from Kubuntu because KDE had a bad reputation, but I figured what the heck I will give it a go in a VM, found it wasn't bad and decided to install it over Ubuntu. I have a seperate /myjunk partition for pictures and junk that Gwenview simply searched out and found everything with no input from me other than asking if it could search my computer looking for pictures. This felt remenisance from iPhoto.

[3rdalbum]

KDE is great. I try KDE every year or so, and always end off back at Gnome after a few weeks, but I'm glad people have the choice.

[christopher.wortman]

KDE is great. I try KDE every year or so, and always end off back at Gnome after a few weeks, but I'm glad people have the choice.

Hey I am an avid believer in whatever works for you. I read a few posts about people crying and going back to Windows, and I really just don't understand what these people expect. With that being said I believe it is why you rarely hear anything good about Linux in the news, people are all too busy using it to care about saying anything, or they cry because they didn't get what they expected and run away. People, like you and me, fell in love with Linux, not because its roses, ponies, and apple-ness, but because of what it actually is, choice to do whatever.

[kagov]

KDE is great. I try KDE every year or so, and always end off back at Gnome after a few weeks, but I'm glad people have the choice.

I am the exact same, I like it but I couldn't get used to using it, so I always end up back with GNOME.

[christopher.wortman]

I am the exact same, I like it but I couldn't get used to using it, so I always end up back with GNOME.

One way or another, you will have to get used to something new, Gnome 3, Unity, or KDE. IMHO, KDE is more advanced, and requires you to really know what is there. Don't let it's sexy icons deceive you, this pretty gal is not for the weak minded who like their hands held and told what to do. Gnome seems to be going the way of domineering, KDE being submissive.

Don't take what I say as an insult, it is my sociology mindset speaking. I notice people, and I say this with love. I am glad there is choice, I love how people can be who they are and choose something that suits them. I say, know thyself, and know personification and the rules people seem to live by. People are really simple creatures that like to over-complicate things. If you like rules and signs pointing you where to go and how to get there, then I believe Unity/Gnome 3 are very good for this. If you like already knowing how to get there and the signs slow you down because you are ADD, then KDE.

[kagov]

One way or another, you will have to get used to something new, Gnome 3, Unity, or KDE. IMHO, KDE is more advanced, and requires you to really know what is there. Don't let it's sexy icons deceive you, this pretty gal is not for the weak minded who like their hands held and told what to do. Gnome seems to be going the way of domineering, KDE being submissive.

Don't take what I say as an insult, it is my sociology mindset speaking. I notice people, and I say this with love. I am glad there is choice, I love how people can be who they are and choose something that suits them. I say, know thyself, and know personification and the rules people seem to live by. People are really simple creatures that like to over-complicate things. If you like rules and signs pointing you where to go and how to get there, then I believe Unity/Gnome 3 are very good for this. If you like already knowing how to get there and the signs slow you down because you are ADD, then KDE.

Yeah, I understand what you're saying, it's just for some reason when it comes to Linux, I'm very set in my ways :P, I could of course adapt to something new, but being that the choice is there to revert, I always end up going back because I become uncomfortable with different things, not because they are bad, just because I've become comfortable with the way things were previously. The interface features of KDE, whilst looking nice became a pain.

[gilgamesh1989]

Its good that we have Linux which gives us a great choice in OS & Desktop environments otherwise wed be only stuck with default windows and OSX and their DE's

[nzjethro]

KDE is great. I try KDE every year or so, and always end off back at Gnome after a few weeks, but I'm glad people have the choice.

I tried KDE with 10.10, but was unimpressed. I found it to be clunky and unattractive. Admittedly, I only gave it a week or so before I switched back to GNOME.

Now Xfce, on the other hand, I downloaded and fell in love with straight away.

To me, this is one of the best things about Ubuntu - the choice. Don't like it? Change it. Can't change it? Try another DE. Don't like the how the DE runs? Why not a new distro? To me, this is how the modern computing experience should be. :)

[christopher.wortman]

Some people like it simple and clean like XFCE, others like it to simply be an all inclusive thing which doesn't stand in your way trying to point you where to go.

One thing I have said and I will say it again and again: The only fork of KDE was 3.5.11 and that was short lived. You only see forks of failed products because they couldn't get it right the first time. While this adds wonderful choice, if you do something right, you wont have someone else trying to do it over again.

This rings true with KDE. As others have said, Ubuntu is a Gnome centric OS, and it will be the most stable and then KDE is treated like a red headed step child getting only table scraps.

That being said, redheads are hot ;) but this says a lot for KDE. It is able to be as strong as it is with little to no effort what so ever, and yet Gnome needs to be babysat in order to be anything decent. I like software like I like carpentry, done proper so someone else coming through doesn't have to fix my mistakes later on. Sure they gutted QT with QT4 and it took a while to get where it is, but it takes a while to build a castle with only the rafters and framework to start from.