Being a longtime diehard GNOME user, I do get bored and sometimes experiment with other DEs just to keep up to date with what’s happening. But I am wondering if KDE Plasma is a serious replacement for my simple needs. Here is my must have list…
Dark mode - respecting all the packages, like default text editor and terminal.
A single shortcut (F12) to a dropdown terminal - ddterm used to work.
Easy to add network wifi printer.
Here are my current extensions.
The above is a luxury extension list, and I could live without Blur my shell, Frippery, Grand theft focus, launch new instance (which look to me more like workarounds for the lack of ability to customize)
As @ricklinux always says, Gnome has an extension for everything, and that seems to be true. I don’t want to bash one DE over the next, but I do want certain features, which are not demanding ones.
Is KDE an easy replacement, or would it mean I would have to compromise? Can it be bent to one’s will without too much tinkering?
I was a Gnome head for a long time but in 2020 I switched to Plasma after several extensions broke again after a major update and I never looked back. It simply works and nothing broke after each major update.
Certainly plasma is more customizable. Also, many of the things you have an extension for, plasma can do out of the box.
Plasma is arguably better at theming across applications than gnome.
It can definitely be “bent to one’s will” but it won’t be Gnome. In other words, if you want to make plasma “just like gnome”, you should just use gnome.
This is definitely easier on gnome. However, it is really not that hard on any DE.
Yeah @Bryanpwo I hear you. It’s definitely the extensions holding it back.
Take ddterm for example, a simple drop down quake-like terminal, stopped working when we moved from Gnome 43 to 44. It still not 45-ready. Lots of chatter from the devs, but no progress. Of course I understand the extensions are a labour of love, but to have this functionality should not be rocket science.
Ah yes I also am on this journey to leave Gnome behind. Don’t get me wrong … Gnome has been stable (just incorporating features via plugins is not my cup of tea as real integrated testing gets pushed to the extension creator). Its not really sustainable if what you use as your daily driver for work can just break (e.g. seeing Gnome 45 once again cause havok in the extensions).
So pretty much my goal is to be 100% Wayland at somepoint (I know fighting words) … but just running a Thinkpad and not a beautiful gaming rig.
On my development machine I have KDE on its own account. The only issues I am working on (using Wayland Session):
Google Accounts not as seemless as on Gnome:
Presently I add Google account to Gnome and grant permission and mail, contacts and calendar all sync.
KDE seems to have a newish suite called Merkuro (https://bugs.kde.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=merkuro%20google) which may address this. But it has several regressions (127 bugs open) where Google account sync failed.
-The Merkuro Mail client appears to be in development but not released.
Login boots to blank screen when KDE Spash screen is set to blank.
This problem went away with the last update 1.5 weeks ago.
Maybe the big question is how feature complete KDE 6 is once March 2024 rolls around. That is why I use my current setup to master how KDE 5.27 does things today. Maybe like the others try to tweak my desktop to something simple like Gnome in workflow.
@Dalto Gnome can’t be all wrong . For some reason I am running away from having the default Start Bar (and steer towards minimal, but not tiling).
For this, I would suggest enabling Cups Network Printing (browsed), if you haven’t already. Then your network printer should be picked up automagically in either GNOME or KDE.
As far as analogs for your extensions go, I know that you should be able to “recreate”:
AppIndicator (standard in default config)
Blur my Shell - This is theme dependent. Blurred, Solid, and Transparent themes are all available. The default theme is a mostly solid theme, BTW.
Clipboard Indicator (standard in default config)
Dash to Dock - The default is more like Dash to Panel, but this can be changed.
Desktop Icons NG (standard in the default config)
Frippery Move Clock - the items on the panel/dock can be rearranged
I do prefer Firefox too. But if KDE PIM experience does mature, I would not mind switching. In my mind it just might make things simpler as I don’t intend to keep hopping desktops.
I may take a look at its progress. TB has every feature I could ever need. The only downside I can say, it seems to be going the way as Gnome, requiring all these extensions that in turn makes the reliability of Thunderbird fall onto the extension developers. Just a thought as I drive my shiny new KDE Plasma 5.27.8.
Cool. I use Mailspring (which is also FOSS) because setting up ISP email addresses just work in Mailspring, but often fail in Thunderbird without messing around with manual setups.
Don’t get me wrong, I do like Thunderbird (Firefox is another story altogether) and I don’t have problems with users who use it, but I do like having an easy email experience, and Thunderbird (for my use cases) isn’t it.
And KDE Plasma has been my goto DE since KDE Plasma 5.23 (the 25th anniversary addition). I’ve been even more impressed with 5.27, and the amount of stability is has. Plasma 6 is going to be awesome.
Thanks, it is good advice, but of course I had already setup Cups for network and only showed Cups-Braille and PDF, but still no printer. Then I remembered the blog by @joekamprad, a timeless article in https://discovery.endeavouros.com/printers/printers/2021/03/ The firewalld was blocking mdns is made permanant and bound to home, the printer appears in the list.
I still have a Gnome machine next to me, so it will an interesting test. This need for extensions to do what should be built-in, is really what drove me away from Gnome, and of course my must-have extensions have been broken since 44.
It’s what prompted me to post 44 and 45 I guess that was my last episode unless 46 knocks it out of the park–which I doubt.
. For some reason I am running away from having the default Start Bar (and steer towards minimal, but not tiling).