when i first started learning computers, a few years ago, i was experimenting with linux. i was playing with gnome mostly, but had tried KDE a few times to see what it was all about. i never really cared for its UI - it's widgets and widnow decorations and main menu, so i ditched it for gnome and never looked back.

when i seen compiz, and finally got it working, i had setup the cube effect, as well as {ctrl}{left} to toggle maximize-window-horizontally and {ctrl}{right} to toggle maximize-window-vertically, via CCSM (compiz config settings manager). i always had a very specific setup: firefox maximized-vertically on the left side of desktop #1 and firebug maximized vertically on the right side - for web app testing (and general web browsing); gedit full screen on desktop #2 for web development; mysql-workbench full screen on desktop #3 for sql administration; terminal maximized-vertically on the left side of desktop #4 for local and remote server administration and natulis vertically maximized on the right side - and this last desktop was also used for miscellaneous other tasks like image editing and instant messaging. i grew so used to this setup that i was VERY productive and happy with my setup - i got alot of work done very quickly and conveniently. i also had a lot of other custom commands and keyboard shortcuts setup in ccsm to help with productivity.

when gnome switched to gnome-3, and compiz wouldn't work with it any more, i didn't think to check out KDE again, but, instead, went to XCFE. i didn't know fedora had an XFCE desktop (i'm a web developer, not a linux guru ;-p), so i switched to xubuntu, and had been using it for a couple years now. with XFCE, as with gnome, i fought with getting compiz setup and running properly. i would spend days at a time setting up my new computers or my upgraded computers, as well as friend's computers that i was trying to entice into using linux. if any part of gsettings or xfcesettings or various other parts of the system configurations were modified, it would break the whole danged thing, and would be a pain in the neck to fix. i've been doing this **** for a few years now.

i came across a youtube video the other day, when i was interested in checking out debian or mint, to see what they were all about, and, i came across a video where the user was using KDE (plasma?), and claimed it had the cube effect right out of the box. i downloaded a distro's KDE installer (fedora's i believe), and ran it from a USB stick, and checked it out, and played around with the settings (had to do a lot of binging/googling to find the ones i was interested in), and i just a few minutes, had a desktop environment almost IDENTICAL to my beloved compiz setups, without the hassle, and in a FRACTION of the time; and, to beat it all: it was beautiful, right out of the box! so, of course, i installed it, without delay .

i've been using KDE for a few days now, and the prevailing thought in my mind was "why haven't i seen any of this before! this is a life saver!". so, i'm now an officially converted KDE fan. i can setup my friends and family's computers, without fearing that it will break on them and become useless, and having to get them to mail it back to me to fix, thus leaving a bad taste in their mouth from their experience with linux. i can focus on GETTING MY OWN WORK DONE, instead of spending days fighting with setting up the environment that i need to be productive.

i've only found a couple things about the desktop environment that i did not like, and had suggestions for, but i will put them in separate threads. the primary one being the difference between the way KDE handles android devices when plugged in vs the way gnome's nautilus does it (it would just show the sd-card as a removable flash drive - and had an "eject" button next to its entry in the file browser to sync data modifications before removing) - i really just need direct access to file and folder operations on the device's sd-card, but KDE's implementation seems to be inadequate or broken (move operations do not work - though dolphin thinks they did) - again, i'll start a separate thread for this, but i figured i'd mention it here as well. update: i created the thread here: viewtopic.php?f=223&t=117237

i have one other suggestion, regarding the KDE forums interface usability. when viewing a thread, i don't see a breadcrumb navigation - a way to get back to the parent forums thread list, to view other threads in the same forum category. this would make your site more usable and convenient. i started a separate thread for this too: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=117238

as you can tell, i am absolutely ELATED by KDE. thank you for making a desktop that is [simple, beautiful, EXTREMELY customizable, EXTREMELY dynamic and flexible]. this desktop environment does not get NEARLY the amount of credit it deserves - and that will be in the back of my mind from now on, when suggesting software setups to others. for the 2nd time in my history of using linux, i found a software project i INSIST on making a donation to. do you guys accept donations? if so, where can i donate?

i have a suggestion for KDE's publicity - a way to raise awareness to others, like me, who don't even know what it can do now: i think it may be a great idea if KDE had an official youtube channel, and created a series of videos. each video would cover a small (targeted) set of features, what they do, how to install them (if applicable), and customize them. i think if more people seen this, there would be much more awareness, and much less basic questions being asked in the forums.

also, one other minor suggestion: i think it would be great if KDE had a slim-enviroment version - not a separate one, but, more like a "core" for the full fledged KDE desktop, that was much smaller in size, in case people wanted to INSTALL a distro using KDE to a 4gb or 8gb flash drive (not make a live boot), as a recovery drive. again, this was more of a passing thought, but, i HAD attempted it several times, to no avail, so, i figured i'd mention it.

thank you so much for all your hard work and a great product!!!

villan wrote:<snip>
also, one other minor suggestion: i think it would be great if KDE had a slim-enviroment version - not a separate one, but, more like a "core" for the full fledged KDE desktop, that was much smaller in size, in case people wanted to INSTALL a distro using KDE to a 4gb or 8gb flash drive (not make a live boot), as a recovery drive. again, this was more of a passing thought, but, i HAD attempted it several times, to no avail, so, i figured i'd mention it.

thank you so much for all your hard work and a great product!!!

openSuse has a project called Klyde that is less full fledged http://blogs.kde.org/2013/04/11/hackwee ... ct-updated