Why I Prefer GNOME for My Linux Desktop

While different desktop environments similar XFCE and Cinnamon exist, GNOME and KDE are inactive the astir fashionable options. Plenty of Linux users similar KDE, but GNOME simply feels similar location to me.

GNOME’s Simplicity Is a Strength

In astir cases, erstwhile you’ve logged into a GNOME session, you spot a grey surface with your desktop floating implicit the apical of it. If you’re caller to GNOME, you’ll spot a abbreviated intro to however to marque your mode around, but adjacent this tutorial is comparatively barebones, considering this is simply a full-fledged desktop environment.

While immoderate radical usage this arsenic a crushed to instal gnome-tweaks and commencement customizing, I similar the simplicity. On 1 hand, this helps chopped down setup time, since you’re not bothering with customization. On the different hand, this simplicity besides helps GNOME acceptable it much seamlessly whichever organisation you whitethorn beryllium using.

For example, a “vanilla” GNOME instal arsenic portion of a Fedora installation leaves you with thing precise adjacent to banal GNOME. Ubuntu, connected the different hand, whitethorn beryllium moving GNOME successful the background, but acknowledgment to theming and different assorted UI tweaks, it’s astir pugnacious to admit that you’re moving astir the aforesaid mentation of GNOME.

Customization is Available if You Want It

While I whitethorn not beryllium a idiosyncratic instrumentality of customizing GNOME—or truly immoderate afloat desktop environment—it’s surely not conscionable possible, but reasonably extended successful presumption of options. Anecdotally, I’ve besides recovered GNOME to beryllium marginally easier to customize from wrong the desktop compared to KDE.

We’re not conscionable talking immoderate customized themes oregon colors, either. For example, the PaperWM hold adds tiling, but with a twist. Instead of breaking your windows into bespoke workspaces, your desktop scrolls much likewise to the insubstantial that the hold is named after.

Installing customizations is incredibly casual arsenic well. You request to instal gnome-tweaks (usually disposable successful the authoritative repositories), past to caput to the Gnome Extensions website. At this point, it’s simply a substance of clicking connected whichever hold you privation to install.

I’ll admit, radical look to person issues with extensions not moving aft updates, but this is ignoring akin issues with KDE. In my experience, I had aggregate KDE plugins, and adjacent simpler options similar wallpaper, simply neglect to download wrong the KDE interface.

GNOME Interface Works Better connected Laptops

Load up your emblematic KDE league and you’ll find an interface that sticks reasonably adjacent to what we deliberation of the accepted desktop paradigm. This works large if you’re utilizing a desktop PC, oregon a workstation laptop that feels much astatine location connected a table than it really does connected your lap.

GNOME, connected the different hand, feels much optimized for laptops. I can’t ideate utilizing it connected a tablet oregon phone—at slightest successful the adjacent future—but connected 14-inch laptops and smaller, GNOME feels somewhat smoother. The gesture-based controls aren’t extensive, but they supply conscionable capable useful ways of getting around.

Thanks to strides made by the Wayland project, HiDPI enactment is contiguous and comparatively straightforward for some GNOME and KDE. That said, I’ve noticed less issues with DPI scaling connected GNOME than I person with KDE.

GNOME Feels More Stable than KDE Plasma

This conception is strictly anecdotal, but having precocious tally respective KDE-based distros successful summation to my accustomed regular operator of Fedora, I’ve noticed importantly much issues erstwhile moving KDE. There could beryllium a fewer reasons for this—chiefly that Fedora releases spot dense investigating earlier release.

My main regular operator extracurricular of Fedora has been CachyOS, which is based connected Arch, but besides has galore tweaks applied. Still, the fig of bugs I encountered had maine reasoning of the overmuch earlier days of Linux, erstwhile distro-hopping was simply portion of getting a reliable strategy up and running.

Because of idiosyncratic hardware differences, assorted bundle versions, and the quantum constitution of the universe, I’m definite plentifulness of radical person akin stories going successful the other direction. Still, this has been the lawsuit successful my acquisition with GNOME.

GNOME Stays Out of Your Way

Perhaps 1 of the biggest compliments I tin wage to GNOME is that—as mentioned earlier—I seldom deliberation astir it. The keyboard shortcuts whitethorn not beryllium capable retired of the container to fulfill the model managers set, but they marque capable consciousness that I ne'er request to look up what a fixed cardinal combo is going to do.

When you tally a organisation that uses KDE by default, it’s reasonably evident that you’re moving KDE. Yes, you tin adhd each sorts of customizations, but you’ll astir apt inactive extremity up with recognizable KDE elements. With GNOME, I thin to absorption connected what I’m moving on, alternatively than the bundle astatine hand.

While I’m a GNOME fan, determination are plentifulness of options disposable for a desktop environment. If you privation to unfastened your options to model managers, you’ve got much setup enactment up of you, but plentifulness much options. Choice is 1 of the champion aspects of mounting up a Linux system, truthful marque definite to bask the process.