(author here) IMO KDE is the most authentic expression of Windows XP-era UI productivity that exists today. Their dedication to user-configurable settings is an absolute blessing.
This is one of the great joys of open source software. Provide a reasonable bug report and who knows, maybe even the main developer directly responds to it (and thanks you for your input).
For Microsoft Windows you can only hope that you have a big enough Twitter following to elecit a response from someone meant to contain the outrage.
Alternatively you might even be able to fix the bug yourself
Having recently switched to Fedora KDE, I agree. It is an excellent desktop experience and I think it's a great first stop for anyone interested in switching to Linux.
I had a good experience with Mint Cinnamon too, but the system seems overall better-integrated in Fedora KDE.
KDE is a great first desktop for anyone coming from Windows, but Mac users might be more comfortable with some of the more "Mac-like" desktop offerings available on Linux. But in that there ability you have one of Linux-based operating systems' great strengths. You can easily customize things to fit your preferred workflow. :)
Since Microsoft continues to treat Windows and its users like garbage, I'm fairly certain a Linux Desktop will be the lesser of two evils in my near future so I'm spending a lot more time working out how to live with it for my workflows. I discovered I really like Silverblue. Immutable OS with Flatpak focus and Toolbox cover a lot of what I want, even if the implementations are somewhat less than ideal.
Unfortuantely, Kinoite (the KDE spin of Silverblue) is hot garbage. Half of the things don't work including Flatpak icons (until a reboot) and running a GTK app in Toolbox causes it to inexplicably pause for several seconds at a time. I can't even report the latter issue (several of the former have 2 month+ open issues already) because the login for the bug tracker is busted. So I'm stuck with GNOME, a 'desktop' that desperately wishes it were running on a phone.
KDE is great though I really do have to configure it a bit to get it to be the way I like. I think I like cinnamon's out of the box experience the best, but I've also started using mate on a laptop of mine. Some things could use a little polish (like the way to move a task bar from one place to another is pretty much impossible to figure out without googling) but it's quite nice too, and it has the best file browser of them all IMO (cinnamon uses a nautilus 3 fork, but was forked after the point where they broke some things like type-to-search in folders behaviour)
To me, TDE ... a fork of KDE2, is even more so this.
A very active community, too, and so far, no real change. I don't want change, managing my windows, my open programs, is a decades old solved problem.
I don't want the new sexy, the flashy this and that. I don't want new styles, changing methods to interact. My Window Manager is not something I want to notice, or spent 10 seconds on.. for the next 20 years.
It needs to be in the background, while I do real work, or enjoy other apps. If I have to do things, configure it constantly, modify it due to new versions, it has failed in its task.
Anyone trying to vastly change, or improve this, is bananas. It needs no massive change, for 1000s of years.
Aye, I found myself compiling some stuff on windows 10 the other day, not having used it at all, and other windows versions in years. It really felt downright hostile, with advertisements in the start menu, popups prodding me to make a microsoft account, and I only used the damn thing for like 2 hours. I returned to linux with a newfound appreciation for how it just does what I want it to, and isn't trying to sell me anything
> It really felt downright hostile, with advertisements in the start menu, popups prodding me to make a microsoft account, and I only used the damn thing for like 2 hours.
I really wish tech companies would look at users as customers who are willing to spend more for better and more useful software, instead of looking at users as commodities ripe for monetization.
When I use Windows I feel like I'm living in a refugee campl and I've entered a digital flea market where the PA announces every 10 minutes you have to get your parking ticket stamped, and you can get a no-admission charge get pass for $10 per month. The market has everything... there are some deals to be had, but you have to lookout for pickpockets and scammers at every turn. The camp? Well, I have to pay for protection (hi antivirus and antimalware industry) and I have to teach my family how to stay safe. It also feels like the host-state for the camp can change the rules at any moment.
When I use a Mac, I feel like I'm living in an apartment and I've walked into the company-run Super Target. The apartment is really nice, but there are lots of little rules. The store? it's a clean, modern place. The prices are higher than down the street, and the products on the shelf are a little different. It certainly feels a lot safer than the flea market. As long as I like the inventory and can afford the extra cost, the experience is great. The painful part is the apartment rules. Sometimes I want to do things Apple doesn't want me to, and well, the apartment isn't mine.
When I use Linux, I feel like I'm in my own home. It's safe. I own it. No one tells me what I'm allowed to do.