Thing like this are why there's a million settings in KDE; every dev is prepared for the inevitable "but I hate it, make it go away" complaint. Granted, this complainer was pretty respectful and threw in a donation to soften the blow. Most people just act entitled, like the dev personally affronted them with their update.
this post was submitted on 08 Jul 2025
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For every change there is an angry Linux user. Even when it is easily disabled and never a problem again.
On the flip side - how often do you install new programs so this becomes an annoyance in the first place?
I install something new maybe once a month or less for desktop use. I have not even noticed this blip.
Somewhat more often in and for terminal use.
I find this complaint very strange. It's a dot. It helps people find what they installed.
But if this person doesn't need it, how would they ever see it? Most power users I know never even look in the menu, so they would never know there is a dot in the first place.
I think it's still an interesting question whether this feature should be enabled by default (and most people seem to agree it should be).
If it wasn't on by default, the kind of person who would benefit from it wouldn't discover it.
I was very annoyed when I got this, but remembered that it's KDE, and turning it off is 4 clicks. Proprietary software often doesn't allow you to turn this off (easily). Windows has this "feature", where is the setting?
I don't think it's a productive "feature", but considering it can be turned off so easily I don't consider it a complete showstopper.
I find KDE's settings app isn't always easy to find settings in, especially when you have no idea what to call a feature.
This! KDE's settings are a mess to navigate. I completely understand why that person didn't know there even was a configuration for this.
Windows has this "feature", where is the setting?
I assume youre talking about W11?
Because the "Show recently added apps" setting is third option in the start menu settings on W10.
The main issue is UX imo. On Windows 11, it's "5 clicks", but you have to open the settings app and find the setting two submenus deep. On KDE, it's right click > configure application launcher > toggle setting > apply.
It sounds like the author of the article is more concerned with the incentive it creates for developers to push useless or sloppy updates ("impact driven development") than the UX.
How does this give incentive for that?
My understanding is that this only happens in newly installed apps, not recently updates ones. They are only highlighted because the user installed them, not because the developer did anything.
It's a screenshot of the application launcher, the menu to launch apps already installed, not the software store.
My mistake if that's the case.
I think it's a great feature. I can now quickly find the thing I just installed in my menu.
Yeah. Plus they immediately got a reply from someone showing where you can turn it off in settings.
I know 3 people that get mad at me when I don't clear the dot for new inventory/lore items in video game menus by scrolling over each one
Lol does that mean he should donate the second 100€
He said "I'll donate 100 EUR if you remove", so I think he may be obligated to donate every single time this option is disabled.
I’m glad there’s a toggle, it seems like it would actually be useful here but I’d probably turn it off.
With that said, there’s a special place in hell for the multitudes of apps that have red notification dots all over the UI with no clear indicator as to what they’re about or how to clear them :D
Yeah, I hate those little dots and I inevitably jump through the hoops until I've clicked enough things to make them go away.
Funny little read there.
There is a setting, but I was equally annoyed that it is on by default.
Even more surprising - when I launched the new app miltiple times, it was still marked as new.
It's probably time based.
And this kind of thing isn't for the type of people who mess with settings. If this defaulted to off, then it would actually be useless.
If this defaulted to off, then it would actually be useless.
Would just be the other way around with what posts you see online. Instead of OP you'd see "how can I find my newly installed apps" and the same "ahem" screenshot reply.
Except that if people don't know the feature exists, they might not ask about it. If you see the feature exists and you don't want it, it is easier to figure out how to turn it off.
There are many feature that are turned on by default - this is just one of them.
I see plenty of posts here, on the kde matrix, on the kde forums, on the bugtracker asking for non existing features.
I have no clue about the exact percentages, their motivations or feelings, so it's hard to conclude anything.
Personally, I more often ask for nonexistent features (and i feel no barriers there) than turning off something that is on by default - which is a good sign I guess?
Hahaha, what a great way to start tuesday morning.