openSUSE: KDE or GNOME?

[spencercarran]

Yeah, I'm expecting some replies about "personal preference." Don't really care much, I'll get used to a slightly different user interface easily enough. I'm a n00b on Ubuntu (GNOME and a brief foray into xfce) and I'm wondering what the actual practical pros and cons to KDE vs GNOME are on openSUSE. I have the impression that SUSE is more of a KDE-oriented distro, but I've also heard that many Linux users are disappointed in KDE 4. So, which to go for? Does SUSE have many benefits over Ubuntu? How's wireless detection? (If that doesn't work OOB, I'll most likely give up any attempts to mess with SUSE for now, since I don't have access to wired internet)

[spencercarran]

19 views and no replies? Ah well. I downloaded the KDE version, so if it sucks horribly I'll try the GNOME version. If that sucks I'll end my SUSE experiment and finally finish configuring Ubuntu properly.

[Growbag]

Don't waste your time with KDE4, it is NOT ready for the desktop yet, and should never have been included for general release!

There are a lot of heavy arguments and fighting going on about KDE4.

Use KDE3 (available from the repos once installed or select as standard from the DVD), KDE3 is extremely stable, extremely customisable, and works very well.

[ibutho]

I think you didn't get many responses after 19 views because of the "personal preference" thing. Just try GNOME, KDE3 and KDE4 and choose the one that you think suites you best.

[agray]

opensuse supports both kde and gnome quite well. suse started out as a kde based distro, but novell is more into gnome, so they've tried to improve that since buying it out. once kde4 is done, it'll be quite nice. i'm running it with kde4.1 rc1 right now, and it kinda reminds me of how mac os x feels.

[antirem]

Its all about what you like... I used to like KDE but, now I am for gnome. Best bet is to download a bunch of live cds and see which interface you like most.

[L815]

OpenSuse's KDE4 is really nice, but from my experience, KDE4 is just not ready yet to be used full time.

I'd say go for gnome.

[spencercarran]

In any case, it seems that I can't mess with openSUSE just yet. I booted from the livecd and had no wireless access, so that's a wash. I don't have wired internet access right now so I'll have to wait until I do before I try SUSE.

[Vorian Grey]

I think openSUSE made a terrible mistake not releasing a KDE 3.5 LiveCd and from what I've been reading on their forums a lot of other people think so too. If you are a KDE person, use 3.5. Otherwise, use Ubuntu, because to me their Gnome blows openSUSE's away.

I see where openSUSE didn't work for you anyway. I know the feeling.

[L815]

In any case, it seems that I can't mess with openSUSE just yet. I booted from the livecd and had no wireless access, so that's a wash. I don't have wired internet access right now so I'll have to wait until I do before I try SUSE.

If you used KDE4, sometimes it's buggy and won't show any wireless points. A reboot usually fixes this, or you can input the name of the access point and manually set it.

[tuxxy]

I prefer GNOME on any distro to be honest and its funny when I think back that people were angry when Ubuntu included a even just beta browser in Hardy :lolflag:

[spencercarran]

If you used KDE4, sometimes it's buggy and won't show any wireless points. A reboot usually fixes this, or you can input the name of the access point and manually set it.
I'd temporarily given up Suse but saw your comment about it running at lower temperatures on laptops as compared to Ubuntu so I'm thinking of giving it another try. (and if this doesn't work, in a few weeks I'll be able to plug into the internet via a nice ethernet connection and work on solving wireless issues from that happier position) Is it necessary to actually fully install SUSE, or should it be working in the livecd mode too? And I did try the KDE4 version. The desktop looked a bit strange, TBH, but I didn't get much of a feel for functionality because I had no internet and so left.