Why is Ubuntu so focused on GNOME?

[anachreon_]

I know the title is total flame bait, but I'm really curious about this. This Christmas marks my one-year anniversary of switching from Windows to Kubuntu. I've been so happy having made the switch, but I can't help but feel one year later that the amount of resources that are devoted to KDE and Ubuntu are a great deal less than the efforts directed at GNOME. Don't get me wrong, I think both are great environments. I really like both, but just personally prefer KDE. Yet I feel like Ubuntu, as a whole, just works less well under KDE and there is less effort to make it a truly first-class experience. Kubuntu feels more like a little side project of Canonical than an actual focus. I've been feeling a lot of pressure lately to just abandon Kubuntu and move on over to Ubuntu, not because I like GNOME better, but because I feel like I'd have to fix fewer things myself that way. My impression is that both GNOME and KDE are well loved by the Linux community. Why is Ubuntu so GNOME focused?

Thanks for any insights on this. And, please, no taking sides or political manifestos. I'm just curious if I should switch to another distribution to get the most out of KDE. Thanks, and happy holidays!

[techstop]

In reality, you are asking why a "modified" version of ubuntu is less well supported than the real thing. The answer is obvious really. Use the real thing and revel in the support and depth of information that goes with that.

I have never had the inclination to use kubuntu, but if I did, I would be aware that it is a "side project" in comparison to ubuntu. If I really was that keen to use KDE, then I would use a KDE distribution (PCLinuxOS, SuSE etc), not a GNOME distro that has also had a KDE version released.

[Lord DarkPat]

cuz it's focused on ease of use and so is GNOME(?)

[anachreon_]

Hmm, interesting thoughts - thank you. I had always thought that the underlying ubuntu operating system was supposed to be desktop-environment-agnostic, but I guess GNOME is the "real" focus.

[p_quarles]

Hmm, interesting thoughts - thank you. I had always thought that the underlying ubuntu operating system was supposed to be desktop-environment-agnostic, but I guess GNOME is the "real" focus.
The underlying system is DE agnostic. The difference is just that they've spent a lot more time working on integrating and streamlining some of Gnome's features. So, Gnome has things like custom artwork, Compiz integration, and a bunch of easy-to-use and intuitive defaults. With Kubuntu, you're basically getting the default KDE desktop as repackaged in a relatively recent Debian Testing snapshot.

So, it's not like it's a "bad" KDE distro, it's just not a particularly special one. KDE-focused distros like Mandriva and PCLOS are definitely going to be more "out-of-the-box" experiences for users.

[EdThaSlayer]

I agree with the point of p_quarles on the point about GNOME and KDE.The KDE default desktop for Kubuntu isn't that bad out of the box I have to say, although the package manager system could use a overhaul(along with many other things). Personally, I hope that Ubuntu slowly becomes more KDE like. :)

[smartboyathome]

I agree with the point of p_quarles on the point about GNOME and KDE.The KDE default desktop for Kubuntu isn't that bad out of the box I have to say, although the package manager system could use a overhaul(along with many other things). Personally, I hope that Ubuntu slowly becomes more KDE like. :)

I hope that doesn't mean that less work will get done on Ubuntu, though, because it is the best GNOME distro out there imo.

[popch]

Are you quite sure that the difference lies with Ubuntu and not with KDE?

I have used SuSe with KDE for a while and still feel that Gnome is better suited to my needs.

[angryfirelord]

The reason why Canonical and Ubuntu developers focus more on the Gnome project is due to a more concentrated effort, When Mark was starting Ubuntu, he'd figured that targeting a more specific area of Debian and refining it would be better to the desktop market. The result? A Gnome oriented distro consisting of using the Python programming language.

Now why did he choose Gnome and Python? I don't have an official answer, but I feel it was because that's what the initial developers knew best and agreed on, To this day, Ubuntu still has one of the best gnome desktops around.

[Dimitriid]

Why not? It has distinctive advantages. Its all a matter of taste: what KDE folks call "more control" I call "more annoying clutter" and what KDE folks call "plain" or "too user friendly" I call "minimalistic" and "elegant".