I've been using Fedora for a couple of months now, and have been loving it. Very soon after I jumped into this community (among other Linux communities) and started laughing at all the people saying "KDE rules, GNOME drools," and "GNOME is better, KDE is for babies." But then I thought, "Why not give KDE a try? The worst that happens is I go back to using GNOME."
Now I get it. The level of customization is incredible, it's way faster than GNOME, and looks beautiful too. At this point, I'm not going back.
I'll happily contribute to the playground fight over desktop environments. KDE rules, GNOME drools.
KDE has a lot of nice points, I do really like the customization and I think I prefer a lot of the default KDE apps over their GNOME counterparts.
But there's just something about GNOME I find really comfortable to use. I feel like on paper I should like KDE more, but I always end up going back to GNOME and being happier with it.
I have a similar feeling about it. I think I would prefer the customization of KDE, etc, but GNOME just works for me right out of the box. I don't think I change anything except the monospace font nowadays (in Tweaks). It works great and gets out of the way. For people who do not like the GNOME workflow I suspect it would be horrific because there is far less customization.
KDE fortunately doesn't have to be a Windows clone. There are several guides available on how to customize the UX / workflow to something completely different. I get what you mean, though, the default UX seems to be at least inspired by Windows.
I hear you there. I like the workflow of GNOME, and I wish I could make the app launcher in KDE be as minimalist as the GNOME launcher in ArcMenus. But at the same time, a number of things I was using the launcher for can be done as a keystroke in KDE, so it kinda makes up for it.
They're both good DEs with their pros and cons. I'm glad you found something you're happy with! For me that's Gnome but I've used Plasma 5 quite a bit two and it's a close second for me. I don't think there's much use in bickering over which is "better".
That's why I'm calling it a playground fight. They're both good, but right now I'm loving KDE. GNOME is really beautiful. I organized the taskbar in KDE to be similar to default GNOME, but with some extra stuff that I'm digging too.
I appreciate KDE for being a comprehensive toolbox that will let just about anyone craft the mouse-driven GUI of their dreams given enough time and effort. I appreciate GNOME for its bold and unified vision, which isn't afraid to cull features or embrace innovation.
In what sense do you mean "faster" though? If you mean more performant, I haven't experienced that -- both desktops are extremely responsive.
+1 Plasma. However, I don't dislike gnome. Gnome just doesn't fit my personal taste of workflow and customizability. Other that that, gnome did a pretty good job on the look and feel department.
I feel at home on Plasma (and almost at home on xfce)
I can respect GNOME, it's just not for me. There are a lot of other DE's I really don't get, for example: Xfce, Mate, Budgie, LXQt, any pure WM desktop in existence, the list goes on... But if people still develop them, I guess there is a market.
Xfce works better everywhere and with everything, however it falls to the same pitfall that KDE has, eventually you'll require some libadwaita application, flatpak and whatnot and then you'll end up with a Frankenstein system half Xfce half GNOME components and themes that don't apply to all apps equally. :(
Gnome and KDE are both great for different reasons. One of the things that's great about Linux as a whole is it gives people the ability to choose the stack they like most
I essentially did the same. Used GNOME for almost 10 years, then got my first try of KDE last year and don't plan on going back either. GNOME has some really good points, I wouldn't have used it so long if it didn't, but I can actually use an honest to goodness theme on my desktop and customize without having extensions break on every update. Also, the UI in GTK is just too big and chunky for me, it's like every window is designed for tablets or something. I don't need a title bar that's practically an entire inch tall. If you like GNOME, awesome, I will likely never say GNOME is bad, but I'm a KDE guy now.
EDIT: apparently I need to specify that the "entire inch tall" comment is exaggeration, because internet. My point being that GNOME's UI is too big for my tastes.
Yeeees, GTK looks awesome but I just cant see how apps like Plasma systemsessings, qBittorrent etc using Qt could work like that.
Gimp 3 alpha is pretty crazy, as GTK2 was very nice and usable, but already with GTK3 everything got huge, so now the buttons dont fit as well anymore.
Also I have to say GNOME would have some big issues for me.
I dont want a top panel on a laptop, as it makes me look down more
docks are weird as they waste screen space. Why not use a normal panel, everything there, at the bottom or side?
not seeing all my open apps is weird, also not being able to open or close from the panel is weird
I and I guess 99% of Desktop users dont need virtual Desktops. As they dont change the panel and more, I dont even use Workspaces on Plasma
thus, normal window decorations are necessary
hitboxes need to be in the upper corner and not some padded thing in the center. Every decoration failing this (looking at you Firefox & Thunderbird) just sucks
UIs need to be compact when needed. Not everyone is a child and settings are not that simple.
Gnome has some nice apps like Loupe that are actually more secure. And it probably is way more stable. But KDE apps are so great, at least for usability! Could not live without Dolphin for example
Gimp 3 alpha is pretty crazy, as GTK2 was very nice and usable, but already with GTK3 everything got huge, so now the buttons dont fit as well anymore.
not seeing all my open apps is weird, also not being able to open or close from the panel is weird
The extensions that enable this are so simple too. Its a real shame its not built into the settings out of the box, even if they want that to be the default. I wish they made extensions more discoverable too, since you kinda need to know they exist in order to go get them, and easier discoverability would help people solve tbose problems faster.
UIs need to be compact when needed. Not everyone is a child and settings are not that simple.
I really wish these things were built in settings. Thunderbird Supernova's setting for this is a fantastic example of how much of a difference it makes. Yeah, it's a bit spacious by default. But once you drop the spacing to medium or small based on your needs and dpi, it feels great. Opinionated design done well makes for great consistency and feel, but it also needs to have some room for adjustments without needing to install stuff.
Gnome is great because of the large UI size. Like my 14" notebook has a roughly 2800x1600 screen resolution and it's still pretty usable without any UI scaling. If the bars are an inch tall, you're either using a huge TV or a screen from the garbage dump. Gnome really needs a modern system.
I love both. I can't decide on which to make my full daily. GNOME sleek. KDE is nostalgic and customizable. I have Fedora with GNOME and OpenSuse with KDE. OpenSuse has issues with some SD cards and some phone's flash memory. GNOME can't have desktop shortcuts, which I find annoying. I may just go back to Debian with KDE and GNOME and switch back and forth. I think that still possible. I haven't tried that in a while.
I see the merit in it, but I see the desktop as a shortcut area for most used apps. Like the dock, but I can't stand docks. I normally have 2-3 icons on the desktop. Terminal is by keyboard shortcut.
Sleek is a great way to describe GNOME. It's really pretty and slick, and I was sure happy with how it worked. Plus, with all my google accounts hooked into GNOME, Evolution just pulled all that info and gave me real easy access to my mail. I wish KMail did the same thing.
I tried GNOME for all but three minutes until I found out that you could be scrolling along with your mouse wheel and oop, a slider suddenly appears under your cursor, steals focus, and now your mouse wheel is moving the slider before you can notice where it used to be.
I don't like GNOME for it's poor theming support and it's toxic dev community (ahem, talking about senior devs, especially Ebassi's hostility towards newbies), but I think that it has some well-designed defaults. I love the workflow - everything is fast and snappy, shortcuts are pretty nice, aligning window is quick, and if there's a lack of space, I can just drop the app in another workspace. Yes, I am using GNOME 45 at the movement, and I think it's quite nice. But I also love the roadmap of GNUStep, and maybe if I can in the future, I would love to assist Gregory Casamento.
My first Desktop was KDE, but switched to Gnome about 15 years ago. So, I am very comfort with the Gnome'ish workflow. But some months ago I bought a Steam Deck and use the Desktop (KDE) a lot. But I don't feel that comfort as with Gnome. I miss the flexible workspaces and the look of the designs is, well, not that modern (some even make glitch effects). If you're comfort with it, it's okay, but personally I don't understand and feel the benefits of using it.
Second that GNOME hasn't even a decent logo it's a feet!!!1 Now KDE has cool dragon. Really, GNOME is trash just keep on KDE life's miles better I'm very proud of you. If anything else just take a look at COSMIC