A question for GNOME/KDE users

Kde Much prefer the settings Visually it also looks nicer by far but that’s not really part of why I choose it.

KDE. I can do damn near whatever I want with it.

Both my gaming PC and my laptop run LMDE 7 with KDE Plasma on top. However, they are set up very differently. My laptop is almost a 1:1 clone of Mac OS (dock at the bottom, taskbar up top, menus for programs show up in the task bar, etc), while my gaming PC is much more Windows-esque.

I use KDE. I like that it doesn’t fight my choices and actively supports customization. GNOME is too opinionated for me. They have a specific vision on what the desktop should be and that vision just doesn’t jive with me.

Honestly needed the windows feel. Also, every update is something cool.

I use both but I like KDE more. I like that drag and drop files gives you the option to move or copy everytime.

I stick with KDE because they actually listen to user feedback.

Used Windows for most of my life and iOS at work for a while. When I finally made the switch to Linux last year I was very eager to try Gnome because it looked so sleek. Almost like iOS.

But it didn‘t feel like iOS at all. It felt exactly like the Linux stereotype. Like you have to subscribe to an entirely new lifestyle and way of doing things. I‘m not ready for that. Not when other operating systems are so much more intuitive.

I ditched it quickly and have happily used KDE Plasma since. I think it‘s much closer to the UX of „conventional“ operating systems like iOS. I want to use the console for some tasks but most of the time I just want menus, thanks.

I’ve been using my desktop environment for 10 years and now I’m accustomed to it?! I really don’t think there’s any other reason. They both work just fine. If I were up for something new, it’d probably not be either of them but some sleek tiling window manager I can operate entirely with the keyboard.

I like how KDE works. When I’ve tried GNOME / GNOME apps, I’m quickly frustrated by how overly simplified everything is, as well as how inconsistent some of the design is.

I don’t really like Gnome as a desktop interface. Not sure why but never really adapted well to it.

Love KDE and Cinnamon though. Probably because I was used to Windows interface for years before I started using Linux.

I like gnome because it’s a very clean, slick, and minimalist interface. it stays out of my way so I can use the tools I need to use. It’s very like macOS (in the way that KDE is like Windows). I also like its extensions.

I have also seen what’s coming up in GNOME 51, and I like the direction they’re going.

As far as I’m concerned, a DE should be a thin layer between me and my apps. In my experience, KDE is just “too much“.

I prefer the customization and vibrancy of KDE. KDE is just so thoughtful and rich with features that I find really useful, the ease of use makes me not want to ever leave it. You can get it heavy or light, customize that install to your delight. Plasma just speaks to me. I can literally leave it alone and it still looks very appealing or go hard on it and make it truly customized with little effort. The quirks are mostly ironed out these days with the latest 6.7 update and that makes me really happy, it’s starting to really feel like a mature DE.

GNOME is just there, breaking extensions with every major update, not doing much of anything (except recently they seem mildly concerned with adding QOL features in an upcoming major update). Still won’t get me to use that DE though, I’d use feature rich WMs before GNOME. That is simply the way it is. GNOME just doesn’t capture me based on its design, but this does not mean it is absolutely bad. Just a bit too minimal, bland, and inflexible for my tastes. I’ve used it for about 6 months (a fallback distro used GNOME) at a time during my distro-hopping days (doing my due diligence and figuring out was next for my machine). Not a good time for me, but I endured. ROFL At least until I landed on Garuda Linux and haven’t left their KDE based editions.

KDE here, haven’t used Gnome much. I have pretty specific preferences and KDE meets them. I like a vertical task bar on the left side of the screen. Even if I have a ton of windows open, I can see them all at a glance and switch to them easily. I really hate the minimal taskbars of Windows 11 and MacOS. They look nice visually but they are so much less functional.

I get that Gnome has other ways of switching windows, and maybe it’s habit more than anything else, but I want my damn task bar.

I feel like KDE does a good job of making Linux accessible to Windows expats, but it works a bit too hard to be like Windows (albeit better). Meanwhile Gnome takes cues from macOS (disclaimer: I’m a Mac guy), but it’s not made to imitate macOS. They just share some UX points.

I prefer Gnome but KDE isn’t bad.

I use gnome with a handful of plugins. I appreciate that it’s cohesively designed and does a good job if staying out of my way.

With that said, I need those plugins and other tweaks to keep the other daft ideas from the gnome team at bay.