Does KDE really suck this much?

[Jamon Camisso]

On 27/12/13 05:52 PM, Walter Dnes wrote:
>   Lately, the KDE developers have gone nuts with "Semantic Desktop",
> where every file in your user directory is indexed in MySql.  Yes!!!  A
> database on a desktop.  And recent threads in the Gentoo mailing list
> talk about email data loss in Kmail.

This trend isn't exactly new - there are a plethora of engines that
desktop environments have used. Beagle, recoll, couchudb. SQL isn't that
bad - Firefox uses sqlite3 internally for everything, Amarok and
Clementine use MySQL or sqlite3 etc.

>> I'm not a master of desktops.  I've always (i.e. for 30 years) just
>> used what the OS provided me.  I find tweaking to take too much effort
>> ***CONSIDERING THAT IT GETS WASHED AWAY REGULARLY***.
> 
>   The Microsoft disease is spreading to the linux world.  Why the bleep
> should every release require you to learn a new desktop paradigm, and
> re-do all your settings?
<snip>

I don't recall the switch to KDE4 from 3 being that much of an issue. I
respect the KDE devs for also pushing ahead and rebuilding the core
environment to make it more modular and expandable for others, despite
the howls of protest from users who don't develop with it as a platform.

KDE5 has been under way for some time now and will be a refinement of 4,
with more flexibility for mobile applications. I'd be surprised if many
on this list even know about that roadmap that goes back to 2011.

>   But that should not exist in linux.  I've used ICEWM for several years
> now.  There's a helpful launchbar at the bottom that auto-hides and
> stays out of the way until I need it.  See my sig.

I set my KDE bar to autohide as well, and with an alt+f2 run dialog,
lt+ta to switch applications, and f12 for my trusty yakuake, it's rare
that I use the mouse/menus at all when I'm really focused on a task.

I think that ought to be the benchmark of a good desktop environment -
how well it gets out of the way when you need it to, and how easily it
can be brought to the fore when context switching.

Cheers, Jamon
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