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KDE vs. Gnome: Torvalds Speaks

I've long said, when it comes to computers and software, that you should choose the tool that best meets your needs. Whether that tool is Windows, or Linux, or whichever, choose the one that works best for you, regardless of what others may say.

So, it is interesting to see that Linus Torvalds, in a December emailto a Gnome listserver, apparently said the following:

I personally just encourage people to switch to KDE.

This "users are idiots, and are confused by functionality" mentality of Gnome is a disease. If you think your users are idiots, only idiots will use it. I don't use Gnome, because in striving to be simple, it has long since reached the point where it simply doesn't do what I need it to do.

I'm not here to evangelize for or against KDE. I happen to use KDE but that is probably more because that is what the first Linux distribution I ever used (I think Caldera) had and so that is what I am familiar with.

That said, if people are more comfortable using Gnome, why not use it? From Torvalds email, he says he doesn't use Gnome because it doesn't work for him. So? Does that mean it doesn't work for everyone? Although I'm not a Gnome user, I do not believe a single way of doing things is the best way for everyone. Although I could be wrong, I cannot imagine that Torvalds ever meant to say there is only OneTrueWay and KDE is it. But, who knows?

In any case, I still believe you have to decide for yourself what works best for you, regardless of who may be saying otherwise.

Aloha!

Comments (1)

sjon:

Competition between products is good but when competition degrades to a mudwrestling slander fest it stops being productive.

Gnome lost the fight early on by sacrificing usability to purity and they have been trying to catch up ever since.

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