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Linux Mint Is Killing the KDE Edition (betanews.com)
BrianFagioli quotes a report from BetaNews: While both the Cinnamon and Mate versions of Linux Mint are decent choices for computer users, there was one version that was always utterly bizarre -- the KDE Edition. Don't get me wrong, KDE is a fine environment, but Kubuntu already exists. Having a version of Mint using KDE was redundant and confusing. Thankfully, today, the Linux Mint team announces it is finally killing the KDE edition. "In continuation with what's been done in the past, Linux Mint 18.3 will feature a KDE edition, but it will be the last release to do so. I would like to thank Kubuntu for the amazing work they have done. The quality of Plasma 5 in Xenial made backports a necessity. The rapid pace of development upstream from the KDE project made this very challenging, yet they managed to provide a stable flow of updates for us and we were able to ship good KDE editions thanks to that. I don't think this would have been possible without them," says Clement Lefebvre, Linux Mint.
Lefebvre further says, "KDE is a fantastic environment but it's also a different world, one which evolves away from us and away from everything we focus on. Their apps, their ecosystem and the QT toolkit which is central there have very little in common with what we're working on. We're not just shipping releases and distributing upstream software. We're a product distribution and we see ourselves as a complete desktop operating system. We like to integrate solutions, develop whatâ(TM)s missing, adapt what's not fitting perfectly, and we do a great deal of that not only around our own Cinnamon desktop environment but also thanks to cross-DE frameworks we put in place to support similar environments, such as MATE and Xfce."
Lefebvre further says, "KDE is a fantastic environment but it's also a different world, one which evolves away from us and away from everything we focus on. Their apps, their ecosystem and the QT toolkit which is central there have very little in common with what we're working on. We're not just shipping releases and distributing upstream software. We're a product distribution and we see ourselves as a complete desktop operating system. We like to integrate solutions, develop whatâ(TM)s missing, adapt what's not fitting perfectly, and we do a great deal of that not only around our own Cinnamon desktop environment but also thanks to cross-DE frameworks we put in place to support similar environments, such as MATE and Xfce."
I'm glad I never found Mint that appetizing. It always felt like an inferior version of *buntu distributions because it didn't have at least 1:1 package parity. The custom stuff like mintBackup was never that useful to me since these problems had been solved long ago by others.
Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
Mint is focused on providing a desktop environment that keeps everything consistent in the UI, never making a change unless absolutely necessary so as to not throw off the user. In that sense, desktops like KDE seem more experimental, changing things as they innovate.
I'm glad Mint is staying focused and consistent, that's why I stick with their distro. I want something for daily use for me and my family and it's been perfect.
Twinstiq, game news
I am writing this comment from Linux Mint KDE and I am wondering why the derisive tone for this distribution in The Fine Article linked. It was marginally better than pure Kubuntu and I was anticipating the next version. Sadly I'm more inclined to KDE than Mint so if they part ways I'll look for another KDE distro.
Captcha: repelled - is there an AI in this? :-)
I can't run Linux because it is not capable of running the majority of software I need for my business. I can't afford to fiddle-fuck around with my computer trying to get things done; there's 100 more urgent things I need to spend my time on and the ROI on using an accepted, industry-standard OS like Windows is worth it 1,000x over.
Since Canonical nor Mint really gave KDE much love, there's little reason for KDE Mint or Kubuntu to exist when KDE now have their own Ubuntu spin.
Very good! Keep using what works for you, as shall we.
>>Having a version of Mint using KDE was redundant and confusing.
Right, because The Linux Community will absolutely not stand for any redundancy and confusion in our distros. Sure glad those chuckleheads at Mint got with the program. Man, what were they thinking...?
Now I have to go find another distro to move to. I have multiple computers with multiple users, all running Mint/KDE. I thought I'd finally found a easy to use, Debian based distro with KDE. I tried Kubuntu a couple of times, and it was very clearly a second class citizen, even to the point where it almost imploded in Oct 2015. Unless it has improved very dramatically in both quality, focus, and stability it's not a viable alternative.
Sigh. Fine. Back to the drawing board.
Dammit.
-- "Never underestimate the power of human stupidity." - R.A.H.
Yeah, I don't understand that sentence. Mint has Cinnamon and Mate.. how are they not "bizzare, redundant and confusing"? After all, doesn't Ubuntu have those too?
It's amazing how much some of the community still can't get over how KDE is a better, healthier project than any of their GNOME babies.
Yet you can afford time to come here and post completely off-topic. Must be really busy mate!
I think it is confusing in the sense, that if you were to log in to a KDE Mint system, you wouldn't know the difference between a Kubuntu system. So you may do things the Ubuntu way vs the Mint way, and finding a bunch of packages that you expect are not there and replaced with a bunch that you didn't expect.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
I love the geeks who complain about KDE's stability or being bloated.. as if you run a real time system and painfully notice every nanosecond. KDE is a well built, well designed desktop that has been on Linux from the very beginnings. If it weren't for some licensing issues in the early years of Linux, GNOME would never have gotten started.
The fact is, if you have a wonky KDE desktop, it's because the people who maintain your distro are biased towards GNOME and half-ass their KDE builds. If KDE is so bloated and terrible, why is it that it has never been forked (other than Trinity, which is just a continuation of KDE 3), yet there's what, 3? 4? GNOME forks going, most of which were sparked by GNOME being such a clusterf*** to build.
ONE KDE environment is "bizarre and confusing" but 4 GNOME environments are not? Biased much dude?
It's amazing how much some of the community still can't get over how a lot of us don't like KDE, despite your opinions of its awesomeness.
Lemonade stands are notoriously Windows-centric.
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
It's amazing how much some of the community still can't get over how KDE is a better, healthier project than any of their GNOME babies.
And Captain Picard would totally kick Captain Kirk's ass.....
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
KDE has been a bit disappointing, because I like their design sensibilities, but they tend to have more random glitches in various components. Specifically KWin is a fantastic window manager/compositor and I have little reason to complain there.
Meanwhile Gnome has tendend to be less glitchy, but I hate their design, and they lack flexibility. They settle for being marginally better than Microsoft Windows.
Meanwhile most other desktops fail to take advantage of compositing for producting fetures. Sure a lot of the compositing effects is shiny fluff, but it does provide useful views of data (which is one thing I like about KWin).
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
I can't run Linux because it is not capable of running the majority of software I need for my business. I can't afford to fiddle-fuck around with my computer trying to get things done; there's 100 more urgent things I need to spend my time on and the ROI on using an accepted, industry-standard OS like Windows is worth it 1,000x over.
I can't figure out if this is bragging or whining.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
Please elaborate, you have not provided any useful details.
Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
Who used Mint for KDE anyway? Those 5 people will surely be pissed off.
Well, it *can* be ok, for 'most users' is the hypothetical case among the general computing population.
Of course, the Linux desktop is more enthusiast centered, and I think we have to recognize that reality and accept it, instead of continuing to sacrifice enthusiast friendly flexibility and power for the sake of the mythical casual linux desktop user that is using a traditional linux distro rather than android or chromeos...
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
Maybe the Linux "Desktop" came in a form that nobody recognized.
While there are plenty who use an actual Linux Desktop, it is also a fact that Linux based systems vastly outnumber Windows to the point that Windows is really the strange incompatible orphan child. No wonder Microsoft's efforts to embrace open source and Linux in the last few years. The efforts to force everyone into Windows 10 subscription model is an admission that the monopoly desktop model is at an end.
Chromebooks have outsold Windows laptops on Amazon for years and years now.
Most people only need phones and tablets -- the vast overwhelming majority of which run . . . Linux.
While Microsoft has a solid business with its enterprise software, if they don't screw it up, it seems like their other efforts are to keep from falling into irrelevance. Linux owns the cloud space. Linux owns IoT. Everything from set top boxes to wristwatches to thermostats, digital cameras, car infotainment systems, so called "smart" TVs, and on and on and on. A mere 99% of supercomputers run Linux. The open source model has produced more software that is freely available for everyone else to use, instead of the locked up proprietary model, that it is no wonder Microsoft is starting to embrace this model.
Maybe the Linux "Desktop" came and nobody noticed.
I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
why does another distro having a KDE desktop option have anything to do with another
its linux, the whole fucking thing is redudant, which is why there's umpteen billion distro's based on ubuntu in the first place, which is one of the umpteen billion distro's based on debian
is it not the whole linux mentality to have unlimited choice while in reality its all the same crap?
I was a KDE lover back in the early 2000's. Until KDE 4. I had no choice but to switch to a desktop that actually worked, even if not as nice as KDE. Now, more than a decade later, I sometimes think of trying KDE again. Looking back fondly to KDE 3. How integrated everything seemed. But I just can't get over the inertia to even give it a try.
Now one of my favorite distros, Mint, that was the one that might have let me dip my toes into the waters of KDE, is abandoning KDE. Oh, well. It was nice knowing KDE. Like Apple back in its heyday (I mean the 1980's and early 90's) it was great. But things change.
I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
In a fist fight, your best bet is Captain Benjamin Sisko. Hell, he punched Q right in the freakin' face.
#DeleteFacebook
Stuff Windows in a VM and live happily ever after. At that point, the choice of host OS becomes less relevant, so long as the system is stable. Almost entirely upsides to this, unless you're dealing with software that is dependent on hardware acceleration for tolerable performance. Being able to snapshot Windows instances is a godsend when you're doing non-trivial reconfigurations... a couple minutes to restore a disk snapshot, versus taking your chances with System Restore, or spending hours trying to pull down backups from 'the cloud'. Being able to migrate the VM to other hardware without a fuss is also huge.
There is no XUL, only WebExtensions...
I'd like to see mint go with TDE as an option.
I won't use KDE4/5 or Gnome but I still use TDE.
When I finally gave up Mandriva, I went with Ubuntu because TDE was an option.
LK
"Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
In a fist fight, your best bet is Captain Benjamin Sisko. Hell, he punched Q right in the freakin' face.
At risk of taking this even further off topic, Sisko had a freaking awesome voice. Picard's was right up there as well.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
Like every modern laptop. Need a magnifying glass to get anything done on Chromebook Pro for example. With KDE, I can just change a setting and it works great.
Qt is an infinitely better toolkit - always was, still is. For some reason those in the Linux desktop world have never got with the programme that says you need good development tools for a desktop. If you've been around long enough this has been rinsed and repeated endlessly for the past twenty years or so. But, it's Linux Mint, so no one will care.
I've found KDE bloated and complex, gnome is a better fit for most users, while LXQt is great for users wanting a traditional WIMP GUI.
The only thing more obnoxious than KDE is Gnome. To each his own.
It's amazing how much some of the community still can't get over how KDE is a better, healthier project than any of their GNOME babies.
And Captain Picard would totally kick Captain Kirk's ass.....
Even Captain Nemo of the Nautilus would kick Captain Kirk's ass.
I'd rather watch Kirk tangle with a sticky situation, but I'd prefer Picard's solution
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
there's 100 more urgent things I need to spend my time on and the ROI on using an accepted, industry-standard OS like Windows is worth it 1,000x over.
I can't figure out if this is bragging or whining.
Anonymous humble brag fellating Windows? I'm betting advertising. Nobody gives a damn what an AC says unless they prove their chops right in the comment, so they're just doing their job and moving on.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
I've found KDE bloated and complex, gnome is a better fit for most users, while LXQt is great for users wanting a traditional WIMP GUI.
The only thing more obnoxious than KDE is Gnome. To each his own.
Gnome is simpler and easier. It doesn't do all the things nerds want to do (although you can get most of those things with Compiz if you care) but most people don't want to do those things anyway. Even lots of nerds don't give a damn, and would prefer the ease of support that comes with a common configuration.
I do think that the more primitive desktops would serve lots of users better, though. Whether it's LXDE or XFCE or something else simple and light, they have a tendency to just stay out of your way and not crash. That's a massive win in my book.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
They should have killed of Gnome 3 linux mint
Chromebooks have outsold Windows laptops on Amazon for years and years now.
Could you cite a source for those numbers? I searched but didn't find anything that shows Chromebooks anywhere close to matching Windows laptops. I did find a claim on ZDNet that said Chromebooks had surpassed Windows laptop sales but I ignored it because the accompanying chart showed the latter dominating the market. Business Insider compares sales for 2014-2016.
"I've found $DE bloated" and "just stay out of your way " two of my favourite phrases than mean nothing
"The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
"I've found $DE bloated" and "just stay out of your way " two of my favourite phrases than mean nothing
I've found that your comment means nothing, unless you consider whining to be something.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Chromebooks have outsold Windows laptops on Amazon for years and years now.
Cherry picking data much? ChromeOS has 0.84% market share on StatCounter's OS statistics.
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
I can't cite a source for that. So I will concede that point.
I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
See my post directly above that I cannot cite a source for that.
I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
because desktops like KDE, Deepin, and others that take queues from current UIX developments, try very hard to be modern desktops for modern users, while older desktops try very very hard to be strictly a Linux desktop, for Linux users. That's not how you market your product for the masses and build Linux adoption.
Thanks - I was just curious because I hardly see any Chromebooks in my repair shop. Almost all Windows laptops and desktops (never a Linux machine, either).
17.3 was the last Mint version where they integrated KDE right. Everything after just sucked bad.
I like/prefer KDE as my main desktop environment compared to most of the others out there and I liked Linux Mint as an alternative to Ubuntu which is why after many years of using Slackware I started to use Linux Mint KDE edition. Looks like I will be saying goodbye to Linux Mint now with this decision.
Have you even used KDE? I don't think so. If you did you'd see how it's superior to gnome. Gnome is more like a simple childs desktop. Not a professional environment. When I use a machine with Gnome, the first thing I do is upgrade it to kde. Get rid of that Gnome interface that seems to put you right into a straight jacket. I can't imagine why anyone likes it. When I show people that have never used Linux both setups, there is no question. They always chose KDE.
Hi Guys and Girls,
I've been a Linux Mint KDE user for years and loved it (Since Linux Mint 7). However, due to to the issues I experienced with the early Linux Mint 18 KDE releases and Plasma 5 bugs, I decided to give Maui Linux a try.
Maui Linux:
- Ubuntu 16.04 Base
- Based on KDE NEON
- Rolling upgrade of KDE Plasma ONLY (Currently on 5.10.2 @ October 2017)
- Linux Mint tools integrated
https://mauilinux.org/
I've not looked back and would highly recommend the switch.
Zubin
I tried some search, but it looks like a person actually took the time to write it, just for the comment I'll give them credit where it's due. I have no problem whatsoever with folks expressing their own opinions, disagree as I may.
There is no XUL, only WebExtensions...
Yes, and I really like Mint KDE 17.3 The newer versions seem a bit weird. What am I going to do without Dolphin...