Red Hat releases new hobbyist Linux

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Depends on what you need.

Prime21 summed it up pretty nicely.

I am a developer and I personally use KDE, but that is because the previous gtk wasn't as nice looking. If I was starting out today, I would choose the new gtk. They got it cleaned out and althought there is room for improvement, it is pretty nice. Today, their look and feel are more or less the same.

The Qt GUI toolkit is difficult to keep separate from the meat of your code but it is very quick to deploy an app (maintaining is a bit harder). Gtk is much easier to keep completely separate from your code, making it easier to change and evolve your program.

People say Gnome is more like Windows, but that is only on the surface. In reality, KDE is more similar to Windows under the skin. Many things are integrated, exist for you to use, work together, and are supported by a common group of developers. Unlike Windows, everything is an independent module that can be removed or added.

Gnome is more like separate groups that are specializing in their own field on top of gtk. It requires a tad bit more work from you (or a distro), but you have many more options laying around. Both follow the Unix idea of having many pieces do a little work very well working together to do a big task. IMO, Gnome seems to follow it closer.

The licenses are also an issue. Qt has a bit complicated one. Basically, you can use the commercial one for making commercial software, and the GPL one for making only GPL software. Gnome on the other hand, uses the LGPL and GPL in the correct way, which allow for royalty free development for any kind.

KDE uses more resouces than Gnome, but is better at sharing them. So if you got many instances running, KDE will win out in the end. As a desktop server for many workstations, it currently wins.

Finally, KDE is more or less settled. Qt has, IMO, reached a plateau. I don't expect too many big improvements and such in KDE's core. So it is stable, many bugs worked out, and the API's feel crisp and clean. Gnome and gtk are still improving and I expect one day it will surpass KDE. Currently, it is just one step behind KDE.

As a personal desktop or development station, I would invest my time in learning the Gnome Desktop. It is more robust and has a greater chance for expansion. If the machine is for multiple desktops and for a more professional looking desktop in an environment that must have high reliability, I would choose KDE. If your machine is a true server (FTP, HTTP, DNS...) FreeX86, KDE, or Gnome are too rich of a desktop environments and take up too many resources. Something like Xfce, or, if you must have X11, fluxbox should be used.

Posted by: doe_z   Posted on: 05/18/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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