Gnome vs KDE
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| land0 Feb 01, 2009 9:37 AM EDT |
Honestly this argument is as old as the conflict in the middle east. It is also as heated. It is time to step back and look at the bigger picture folks. Here is the upside to this whole thing that nobody seems to talk about but needs to be said. What an incredible Operating System we Freedomware folks are able to use, contribute to and enjoy. It is an operating system that not only provides freedom from upfront costs but addresses a much deeper need. The freedom of choice! Freedomware Operating systems are so agile that I can use Gnome one day, hour or minute then Enlightenment the next or KDE or XFCE or Icewm or matchbox or any of the other myriad of viable window managers that we are able to choose from. So I think the point has to be made that it is amazing that Linus can use whatever windows manager provides him with the freedom to do what he needs to do. Tomorrow in an hour or the next few seconds he has the freedom to fire up any of the windows managers he chooses. That is what really matters and should be focused on IMO. See we don't have to wait for one group of developers somewhere to get it right for us. We have the ability to use the best tool for us to accomplish what we need to right now. Honestly that is why I prefer to call my OS and all of the amazing applications that are available to me Freedomware. It just says what it is and does for me and my family in one word. Get Freedomware Get a Life! :) |
| dinotrac Feb 01, 2009 10:20 AM EDT |
The real story is whether the KDE debacle represents an inherent flaw in the OSS development model. I've seen an awful lot of "Who are you to complain about something you are given for free?" in the course of the KDE 4 mess. In other words, users have no place at the FOSS table. Never mind that, once they are underway, one reason that people gravitate to major projects is the very fact that they are major projects. Much better bragging rights adding something to KDE than to Bill's Pet Program that nobody ever uses. If I were selling proprietary software, I would point at the KDE project as a case study in why you don't want to bet your business on FOSS. |
| Scott_Ruecker Feb 01, 2009 11:11 AM EDT |
Quoting:I've seen an awful lot of "Who are you to complain about something you are given for free?" in the course of the KDE 4 mess. In other words, users have no place at the FOSS table. I will agree to that only in the respect that there is something to be said for actually contributing and just complaining, and I am not saying your complaining dino because I have seen some of their "looking down their nose" reactions to things myself. I am saying that I can see where it comes from though. Showing up to meetings and/or web meetings and/or events and being able to be counted on for a thing or two goes a long way in giving weight to your opinions. I get that, its the application of that attitude that leaves a little to be desired. |
| land0 Feb 01, 2009 11:44 AM EDT |
@_dinotrac "The real story is whether the KDE debacle represents an inherent flaw in the OSS development model." I think that your statement is a bit too wide sweeping. Even within the "KDE project" there are differing development models let alone in the whole of Freedomware development. I think that some work better and provide much more room for involvement than others. I understand first hand how frustrating and shocking it can be to get shot down for contributing huge amounts of time energy and money to what turns out to be a closed door project. But that has not been my experience in contributing to Freedomware as a whole. Just a thought. |
| montezuma Feb 01, 2009 11:57 AM EDT |
This is a rather boring and not very important debate in my mind. I use gnome but use with it quite a number of kde applications and I bet I am not exceptional. In addition the defining feature to me of FOSS at present is choice not one particular solution or another. If I try an app where the devs have gone off the rails a la kde 4.0 then I dump it until they get their head out of their as***. There is always something else around to do the job of the dumped app. This may have not been true 10 years ago with linux but it is today. Just move on and stop qwetching.... That was the message I got from Linus. As he said himself he may go back to kde when gnome 3.0 cocks up. Choice is the key. |
| jdixon Feb 01, 2009 12:31 PM EDT |
> The real story is whether the KDE debacle represents an inherent flaw in the OSS development model. From a development perspective, I'd say no. The bugs are getting fixed, the functionality which was present in 3.5 is being added. The process is working the way it's supposed to work. From a user viewpoint, I'd have to say yes. It's not good when functionality you've come to depend on stops working, and your only option is to downgrade to an earlier version. > In other words, users have no place at the FOSS table. That's the inherent problem, yes. When users don't pay for the software, they lose the financial feedback mechanism found in commercial projects. > If I were selling proprietary software, I would point at the KDE project as a case study in why you don't want to bet your business on FOSS. If KDE were a proprietary product, sales of KDE 4 would be as bad as sales of Vista, and downgrading to KDE 3.5 would be an extra cost option, if it was available at all. As bad as the KDE 4 debacle has been, users have still had options they would not have had with proprietary software. |
| dinotrac Feb 01, 2009 2:48 PM EDT |
jdixon - Vista was a bigger debacle than KDE 4, but I'm not sure it was so bad from an enterprise perspective. Of course, precious few enterprise users ever moved on to Vista, so they would be the equivalent of sticking at 3.5.x (which is what I have done). You are correct that KDE4 is not a unique disaster, but some of the comments around it are things you would never see in the proprietary world. Even Microsoft -- a pretty crappy enterprise vendor, btw, will pretend to care about it's customers and go through the motions of keeping them happy. KDE4 will end up being great, I'm sure. Still, if I were selling against FOSS, it and Mozilla would be the examples I would sell against. |
| jdixon Feb 01, 2009 3:17 PM EDT |
> ...so they would be the equivalent of sticking at 3.5.x Slackware has made KDE 4.x available for testing, but has never made it the default, which seems to have been the best course of action. Thus, I've been on 3.5 the entire time. I use XFCE most of the time, so I haven't even tried it yet. The reviews here and elsewhere have been enough to let me know that it wasn't ready. Hopefully the Gnome folks have been watching and won't make the same mistakes with Gnome 3.0. > Still, if I were selling against FOSS, it and Mozilla would be the examples I would sell against. Probably successfully. |
| ColonelPanik Feb 01, 2009 8:04 PM EDT |
This is not Gnome vs KDE
KDE only has to worry about what it does to its own users
Gnome is the same.
New users will try both, mostly settle on one. Or not. If one of you uses KDE does that hurt the rest of us? If one of us likes Gnome will FOSS crumble and die? Beware of those things that begin and end in words. |
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