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Giorgos

Member

From: Greece

Registered: 2018-06-12

Posts: 47  

KDE alternatives suggestions?

Hi! :-)

I was using KDE for many ears (since the KDE 3 days).

Switching from Debian Jessie -> Devuan ASCII I installed KDE as usual.
This means of course, that I "upgraded" from KDE 4 -> 5.

Well...only to realize that today (4y. after KDE 5 release), KDE is at pre-Alpha quality.
KDE apps are still good (at least those who ported to 5), but the desktop itself (Plasma), although it uses a small amount of RAM, is completely useless for everyday's use.
At its release notes mentions that "due to change of behavior, we expect some of our users may abandon the project".
Some??? Seems like most of the developers are gone for good. Bugtracker is malfunctioning and the forum seems to be dead! Not to mention that most of KDE websites, are frozen back in time even from KDE 4 days.

Personally after using KDE 5 for the last months I'm completely fed up and I'm searching for alternative desktops to replace Plasma. Red Hat's announcement for dumping KDE wasn't a big surprise for me. Who wants Alpha testing for every day's use?

I'm test driving LXQt and Trinity for the time being.

LXQt (installed from repositories) seems a typical lightweight linux desktop built with Plasma 5, which is a good thing for running smoothly my already installed KDE apps.

Trinity (installed from its PPA for Debian), is the good old KDE 3, maintained by Trinity developers.
It has a few problems, that I expect to go away, with the Beowulf release (which will be officially supported by Trinity).
One minor concern of mine, is that Trinity is still based on QT 3 (maintained by Trinity) and the transition to newer QT versions has still to be completed.

Any opinions?
Any suggestion for other desktops?

PS. My apologies to KDE fans, but although I love KDE and I was using it since I came to Linux world from Windows (ages ago), I still need something stable for my primary desktop.
PS2. I strongly disagree with KDE devs try, to push down the users throat the mobile interface!

sgage

Member

Registered: 2016-12-01

Posts: 341  

Re: KDE alternatives suggestions?

There are lots of options. I swear by MATE, others prefer XFCE, or lighter-weight window manager setups. If you've been using KDE for a long time, you will find that any other DE does things 'counterintuitively' - people always confuse 'intuitive' with 'what I'm used to after years of learning and using it'. There will be a learning curve. I think your best bet is to just try out a couple of different ones, see what you like.

Hi! :-)

I was using KDE for many ears (since the KDE 3 days).

Switching from Debian Jessie -> Devuan ASCII I installed KDE as usual.
This means of course, that I "upgraded" from KDE 4 -> 5.

Well...only to realize that today (4y. after KDE 5 release), KDE is at pre-Alpha quality.
KDE apps are still good (at least those who ported to 5), but the desktop itself (Plasma), although it uses a small amount of RAM, is completely useless for everyday's use.
At its release notes mentions that "due to change of behavior, we expect some of our users may abandon the project".
Some??? Seems like most of the developers are gone for good. Bugtracker is malfunctioning and the forum seems to be dead! Not to mention that most of KDE websites, are frozen back in time even from KDE 4 days.

Personally after using KDE 5 for the last months I'm completely fed up and I'm searching for alternative desktops to replace Plasma. Red Hat's announcement for dumping KDE wasn't a big surprise for me. Who wants Alpha testing for every day's use?

I'm test driving LXQt and Trinity for the time being.

LXQt (installed from repositories) seems a typical lightweight linux desktop built with Plasma 5, which is a good thing for running smoothly my already installed KDE apps.

Trinity (installed from its PPA for Debian), is the good old KDE 3, maintained by Trinity developers.
It has a few problems, that I expect to go away, with the Beowulf release (which will be officially supported by Trinity).
One minor concern of mine, is that Trinity is still based on QT 3 (maintained by Trinity) and the transition to newer QT versions has still to be completed.

Any opinions?
Any suggestion for other desktops?

PS. My apologies to KDE fans, but although I love KDE and I was using it since I came to Linux world from Windows (ages ago), I still need something stable for my primary desktop.
PS2. I strongly disagree with KDE devs try, to push down the users throat the mobile interface!

Giorgos

Member

From: Greece

Registered: 2018-06-12

Posts: 47  

Re: KDE alternatives suggestions?

If you've been using KDE for a long time, you will find that any other DE does things 'counterintuitively' - people always confuse 'intuitive' with 'what I'm used to after years of learning and using it'. There will be a learning curve. I think your best bet is to just try out a couple of different ones, see what you like.

No  this isn't the case I think.
OK Trinity is KDE 3 actually, rebranded and maintained.
On the other hand, LXQt is nowhere near the KDE design (It reminds me LXDE of course and XFCE), but with a first test drive seems to me, both intuitive and productive.

Power of habit must not take away from us, our freedom.
Still, I strongly dislike mobile-like interfaces. I'm not forcing mobile users to use desktop interface, so I won't allow anyone to force me using a mobile interface on my desktop. :-)
Beyond that, If I was in mood for a mobile interface I was using Gnome, not a half baked solution of pre-Alpha quality (KDE or Plasma, or whatever name they're giving it nowadays).

Last edited by Giorgos (2018-11-28 19:37:09)

spartrekus

Member

Registered: 2017-04-30

Posts: 132  

Re: KDE alternatives suggestions?

It is rather better to do it by hand.

After a clean debootstrap, just run: apt-get install rox-filer feh scrot xinit wdm blackbox

you have your desktop

However, kde is fast, and reliable. It is easy to use for a whole family.

really kde is the best desktop, which can go far better than windows ms desktop !

Last edited by spartrekus (2018-11-28 21:51:22)

Giorgos

Member

From: Greece

Registered: 2018-06-12

Posts: 47  

Re: KDE alternatives suggestions?

It is rather better to do it by hand.

After a clean debootstrap, just run: apt-get install rox-filer feh scrot xinit wdm blackbox

you have your desktop

WOW!!!
That's what I call hacking! ;-)
I'll definitely try it!

However, kde is fast, and reliable. It is easy to use for a whole family.

really kde is the best desktop,

Well...I went the KDE way ~ at 2005 with Kubuntu. Many days passed since then and many things changed.
I'm not sure that I like all the changes committed since then. And I don't like the bonds neither with mobile interface, nor with systemd.

OK. Different people, different opinions. That's the open source beauty.

which can go far better than windows ms desktop !

I agree 100%.
M$ Windows, is pure slavery in a modern cover.
Maybe shiny and glittering, but pure slavery.
I always have a Windows installation, but only for games and minor computing tasks.