this post was submitted on 18 Jul 2025
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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SteamOS, Bazzite, and the Plasma DE I think are what's driving Linux to be more popular. They are all very streamlined experiences.
I tested Gnome and KDE Plasma5 in the last year. KDE Plasma is in my opinion the first DE which is comparable with Win/MacOS. It looks modern, is pretty much feature complete and as an average user its nice to have useful apps preinstalled (calculator, libreoffice, firefox and so on), but no bloatware.
Its just a bit more customizable than windows, which is perfect and also not fiddly and a pain. It certainly has a handful of quirks, like Windows does, but you get used to them.
If I have to set up elderly relatives with a computer, I'd strongly consider a KDE Plasma Desktop
The preinstalled apps are not a feature of KDE (or Gnome, XFCE, etc.). Actually they all are structured in a very modular way where you can use or omit individual components. Firefox and LibreOffice are completely independent of it even; they merely add compatibility layers to make the integration more seamless.
What you experienced was something to attribute to the distribution you chose. They are the ones to decide which components to bundle and preinstall. That is also the reason why so many distributions exist in the first place, because different teams/devs have different visions about what the desktop should look and feel like after install.
So the preinstallation of all the KDE apps is a choice of the distro?
On both Linux Mint and Debian+Plasma I got some apps preinstalled. That I can uninstall and that they arent developed by the same people doesnt play a role. For the user they come with the OS, like Win10 preinstalls the calculator and Candy Crush
Correct.
That's my point, though. Plasma isn't an OS. You can can have a OS that ships Plasma with Calligra instead of LibreOffice and Falkon instead of Firefox. Or neither, and instead they give you a greeter with the choice to pick your browser. Or the OS is minimal and doesn't bundle any of them. In Arch for example you normally don't even get Konsole or Dolphin unless you install them (or you pick the nuclear option and install _all _ KDE packages which also includes a ton of stuff you likely never need).
I can't believe I have been running python3 for simple calculations lately instead of running KCalc, lol.
I never got gnome, it’s like macOS, but I never enjoyed using it even after being a Mac user.
Plasma and cinnamon are my top desktop recommendations.
Well as someone who's been using gnome since about 3.10 I might be able to explain my view:
Before that I've used plasma and Unity and a whole lot of Mate but then I started using Gnome for a pretty and smooth experience right out of the Box.
Now I've simply been using it for so long that it's muscle memory all the way.
I don't agree with everything the gnome devs decide and I definitely am annoyed that I have to use extension for small things that should just be a toogle in the settings but I've realized some time ago that if I did switch to plasma I would use all the customizability to make it work like Gnome ... so I stay on Gnome.
Short question because thats what made me swap to KDE: How do you quickly open an app, without navigating through the categories with your mouse?
Now make me look stupid :D
I never use the "App Menu" on my laptop I don't even have any favorites.
I hit the super button (windows key) to open the app overview and type the first few letters and hit enter.
So e.g.
SUPER fi EnterFirefox opens with just 4 key strokes in 1 secondI instinctively do that as well, on Windows, Cinnamon and Plasma and it didnt work on Gnome, Superkey opened the Startmenu but then typing didnt search. Thats what I wanted to ask, if I miss something obvious or if Gnome doesnt offer that feature out of the box.
Debian probably changed the Key for the Spotlight-like search.
It depends on the version of gnome/distro but typically the windows key opens a spotlight-esque search box that also has recent and commonly used apps which you can click without typing. I think some distros may change that shortcut key
I think generally macos users would feel more at home in gnome where as windows users more in kde.
I am very familiar/comfortable with Windows and very confused by MacOS. Yet I much prefer Gnome over Plasma.
Not to say you are wrong or anything, maybe I'm just an outlier.
That said, I've been using Cosmic DE for about the past month and it's pretty great. I think I might stick with it. Gotta love all the options we have!
Very true in my limited experience
Imo everything you just said about KDE is even more true of Gnome
What's great is neither of you are wrong from your own perspectives - and both of you are free to share your message and preferences.
Apparently not without ire, unfortunately. Somehow got downvoted for what I wrote...
People HATE Gnome and I don't get it. I've heard the arguments but in all practicality I have tried KDE too and then minutes into trying the complicated customization features I just wanna go back to gnome. Give me a somewhat new version of gnome and 30 minutes and I'll have it configured how I want and it looks and runs nice. I recently spent 30 minutes trying to understand customization of the bottom bar in KDE and gave up
I upvoted you. <3 My experience was very similar but with the two swapped: After I used Linux Mint (with Cinnamon) I tried Debian, it came with Gnome.
I struggeled to find the apps (I dont know what they are called on a new OS) but I didnt find out how to search for them. Win+Type didnt search, I didnt see an obvious Spotlight feature like on apple.
Then I wanted to change some settings and couldnt change them (I dont remember what). I felt like customisation wise I'm using macOS, and thats a bad thing. So like you I reinstalled Debian with KDE after less than 1h in gnome.
Thats why we need different DEs, maybe they and their variations are more important than the huge selection of distros.
Gnome really tends to drag their feet when it comes to new features/wayland protocols to implement. I'm pretty sure they didn't even have adaptive sync for the longest time, when even smaller wlroots projects already supported it. I don't hate gnome though, i actually kinda dig their design, but unfortunately i can't stand using floating window managers anymore, i only use tiling.
Yeah, I've heard this before. I don't believe though, that I've yet been a user of those still-unsupported features though, so I haven't noticed anything affecting me yet.
Fair enough. If it does everything you need then it's good lol
As more people learn bazzite just works, it's going to grow. If I hadn't rescued my son's windows license he would have switched.
You should rescue your son now and switch him to Linux
Tried to persuade him. He's an adult son, so I wouldn't force it on him.
Grandma's using it just fine though.
SteamOS and Bazzite are certainly contributing among gamers, but there also seem to be a lot of casual users moving to Mint and pop!_os. I've seen quite a few people using them to extend the life of older hardware.
I've got Mint XFCE on two old laptops