Trying Plasma for a bit to see how green the grass is as a longtime Gnome user. The last time I ran Plasma on my main desktop was version 5.11, I think? It's been a while...
gnome user getting confused by customization, seems about right lol.
Ironically most of my customization so far has been to make it more like Gnome lmao
Still trying to figure out how to make workspaces/virtual desktops more...usable.
Overall though it's amazing how solid Plasma is now, it sure as hell isn't the buggy mess it used to be in the earlier Plasma 5 days.
For me, i made it so pressing Super+ switches to that workspace.
Super+Tab to toggle overview (Super+W by default)
And a hot corner, which is set to trigger almost instantly, to toggle overview.
To be fair customization is a good thing, the problem is it's too easy to accidentally get into too advanced settings. It feels like the settings most people want 95% of the time are burried in the same place as the niche settings. The gnome tweaks app often gets criticized because it contains basic settings, but I think it could be beneficial for plasma to have the same thing. Only keep the base level user settings the the settings, and put all the customization stuff in a separate tweaks app. The simple by default, powerful when needed moto is true to some extent, but the simple by default part could be much improved and a lot more intuitive
As a new linux user I was overwhelmed by plasma and all the choices. I much prefer an OS and DE that feels like it isn't there and gets out of my way. It was all a bit too distracting, so I went back to Gnome like DEs (Cinnamon and now Cosmic).
Something like your suggestion, with basic settings first and then a deeper layer or toggle for advanced settings would have kept me on the platform longer.
confused about ~~customization~~ being allowed to customize anything...
FTFY
Plasma is so good nowadays compared to some years ago. I remember suffering a lot in those early times too.
I love plasma. For the longest time there was just something that felt off about it and I could never get into it.
Once I started using it with the steam deck I fell in love with it. Whatever visually thing irked me was gone and it’s such a good looking DE.
I have a colleague, who's super deep down the Linux rabbit hole and he always ran GNOME. I was never quite sure, if he actually prefers it, or if he just does not care, because he's doing most things in a terminal anyways.
Recently, our IT department made a change, which accidentally switched him over to KDE. He could easily switch back, but he's been checking KDE out instead, and yeah, it's been super interesting.
He definitely has some of that GNOME workflow baked into him. For example, under GNOME you can use Alt + the key above Tab to switch between windows of the same application. In KDE, that shortcut exists, but the default keybinding isn't exactly usable.
~~Another minor complaint was, for example, that using Meta + arrow-keys doesn't move windows between screens automatically when you press it repeatedly. That's a separate shortcut under KDE, with Meta + Shift + arrow-keys.~~
EDIT: Apparently, I misunderstood him, his complaint was that Meta + Shift + arrow-keys moves the window between screens in a weird way. It just picks some kind of order for the screens and then goes between them as previous/next, even though you press the left/right arrow keys. There even is the more appropriate shortcut key for left/right, but it's just not the default binding.
Meta + arrow-keys does work for moving windows between screens.
He's aware that he may need to relearn some of his workflow, but yeah, will have to see, if he sticks to it. His emotions are nigh impossible to read, unfortunately. 🙃
To clarify, those are the default keybindings, but you can change them to match your needs or expectations. I like the alt tilde for windows within a program switching, it works fairly well though I have not set it up on my current machine yet.
Welcome, make yourself at home! Want to put files on your desktop? You can do that here! We'll still make fun of you for doing it, but you can do it.
KDE Plasma is honestly impressive in terms of customization, I'm running it on Pop!_OS on an ancient Macbook and I have it customized to look like Window 7.
Good stuff.
NGL, you had me in the first half...
I will never not up doot an Over the Hedge meme, so underrated in both meme ability and as a movie lmao
I just installed plasma and I love it. I have no experience with it before this year.
I used to be a huge fan of Gnome, back before they switched to whatever this mobile-first nonsense design is. Looks like something you would see on a tablet designed for children. They destroyed Gnome!
I use Cinnamon on my desktop to avoid the whole "modern" Gnome problem. It's far better. But it's Plasma all the way on my laptop baby!
Yeah, Cinnamon is great, but I use Plasma myself. I got used to it after switching to Nobara, back in the day, but for most of the past year or two I've been using Bazzite and it defaults to KDE as well.
I have been a GNOME 2 and then MATE user for over a decade. Now I use KDE since that’s what SteamOS comes with and it’s fine.
I'm tired of fighting GNOME 3 to make it feel like GNOME 2. My next reinstall is going to be KDE. I just want a traditional desktop metaphor. 😩 Next major overhaul Kubuntu here I come!
Yeah if you're looking for a traditional/Windows-like metaphor, you're WAY better off with Plasma than trying to wrestle Gnome into that shape.
There is always Cinnamon for you.
Or MATE.
You don't even need to reinstall. You can have both at the same time and chose one or the other at each login.
Welcome back to the land of the ~~living~~ usable UI
I've never been a real plasma user (played around with it sure but never more than a week or something) and have been using GNOME since ~3.10 the whole workflow is just ingrained in my mind and simply works. So I'd be happy to hear how you're doing on Plasma even if I don't see myself switching anytime soon.
So went frivolous, and installed KDE after years of Xfce.
Wierd interactions everywhere, ctrl f4 doesn't close windows, the terminal is called "Konsole" lol
Would not recommend, i m going back.
alt+f4 closes windows, like it did in Windows. Where does ctrl+f4 come from?
Even in Xfce ALT+F4 closes windows. Maybe bro changed it at some point and forgot about it
KDE + Arch is such a great combo. I'm using it on a 10yo laptop (though admittedly it's a rather beefy lappy for it's gen, a 2014 ZBook g2, with 32 GB ram)
KDE can be slow on lower spec devices but it is so great to use and it was trivially easy to alter keyboard shortcuts, default application, startup behavior, etc.
I installed cosmic the other day. Uninstalled it like 5 minutes later but I enjoyed its vibe. I am excited to see it come out of alpha
Just looks like windows to me and I don’t want it
I've got mine set up to run somewhat like OS X, since I like the top bar and the disappearing dock. Modern Plasma is very customizable and easy to customize.
Ironically, so is Gnome (unlike I used to think). I've been toying with setting up an OSX-like experience in both via VMs, and they each have pros and cons, as it turns out.
Dude. You can make that shit look like Amiga if you want. Whatever floats your boat.
Yes, but unlike some others, Plasma allows and encourages you to rearrange it to your heart's content. Mine looks nothing like Windows.
Just looks like windows to me […]
That's because Windows copied KDE Plasma, obviously. /j
The Windows 11 look was basically stolen from Plasma's breeze theme. But obviously 30 years ago the story was different.
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