(BTW, I didn't really intend to hijack so much of this thread). Anyway, not exactly "don't care". I found it easy to look up how to customize Windows right click behavior, so I did. I found it hard to look up how to customize KDE behavior so I spent more time than I had wanted to, failed anyway, and haven't yet found more time to try again.

I'm fine with editing it for THAT PURPOSE or for a very few other purposes. In general, the Windows registry is one of the things I hate about Windows. It lumps a whole lot of stuff together that shouldn't be lumped together. It tends to collect wasteful and harmful entries, while it maximizes the difficulty even an expert user would have at understanding or controlling it. But for right click behavior, that's where it is, and it is simple and flexible and gives the experienced user great control.

IMHO ->

KDE is much more customizable. But I feel KDE is very ugly. I don't know what it is that is ugly about it - I can't put my finger on it. There's something off that irks me in the back of my mind.

Gnome has a Mac-like elegant simplicity. I don't even use or like Macs, but I can appreciate that something about the look/feel puts you at ease subconsciously.

But really one way you could make a choice is to look at the applications you routinely use. Are they KDE apps (start with a K) or Gnome (mostly everything that doesn't start with a K)? If they are KDE apps, they will probably tie in more neatly with a KDE desktop. Same thing with Gnome.

Wow, lots of opinions.

It sounds like I could just go with whatever one came as default and it would be fine.

I'm curious, what are the types of things that can be configured in kde and what kinds of plugins can you get for gnome?

Doed kde really have more features or do you just have to get the add-ons for gnome?

I have gnome right now and so far it's done everything I want.

Well, as for gnome, you can extend its functionality by doing the following:
- open up synaptic package manager and enable any nautilus plug-ins you like (typically, they are called "nautilus-something")
- install/enable gconf-editor (ubuntu installs it by default but you still need to enable it by right-clicking on applications, then Edit Menus and under System Tools, check gconf-editor)
- look on the net for various Nautilus Actions and Scripts
- if you use Ubuntu, install Ubuntu Tweak (a package is available from getdeb.net but I recommend using the one from their own site so you get automatic updates)

And without additional software it is not easy. This feature is available for free on several desktops, so I think that commercial desktops should support it without additional 3rd party clutches. If some commercial desktop doesn't support it - then that commercial desktop is not worth my attention/money.

If you are interested in this feature in KDE - do your own research about it. I almost never use context menus - in both linux/windows.

BTW it is not clear what exactly do you mean by "configurable context menu".

OH yeah! I almost forgot! Whenever someone asks if they should use A or B, someone always suggests to use Y. No one has done that yet, so I'll give it a shot. Gnome and KDE are great, but also check out:

Xfce - basically Gnome-lite. Uses GTK like Gnome, but a bit less RAM. Usually a bit quicker to start up. It's a Desktop Environment so it comes with a file manager and other amenities. Try it if you like Gnome and have an older CPU

Then there are the Window Managers. They are very light and don't provide extras like file managers or, in some cases, desktop icons.

Fluxbox, Blackbox, Openbox, Enlightenment, Ion3, StumpWM, RatPoison, and so on...

If you find Gnome or KDE are both lacking something, try Xfce and then some of the others. Just because they aren't as big or well known as Gnome or KDE doesn't mean they might not fit you perfectly. I was using Fluxbox exclusively for over a year when I only had Linux on an older computer.

KDE has much more developments than gnome.

Gnome is a lite version of kde.

KDE, you can press ESC, it works to exit popup windows. Kde is greater than gnome for sure and without any doubts.

If you like something lite, gnome is perfect.

Definitely not true. Gnome and KDE have nothing to do with each other. Gnome was started in a reaction to the fact that the QT widgets were originally not licensed under an FSF approved license.

The reason why you should prefere Gnome is because of most Bill Gates devotes in this thread as johnsfine and others, told you you'll feel in a more Windows-like environment using KDE rather then GNOME.

Obviously, if you ( like me ) are running away from that proprietary, unstable, unsafe environment, where evolutions and upgrades are just coming from "money-related" threads...every choose keeping you away from that source shoud be welcome :-)

Maiden

KDE is better than windows environment.

I've no dubt on what you said, consider my previous post just a joke ;-)

No, it isn't hard, but is part of the problem. My experience (based on earlier versions of Windows, so it may not be as true now) is the more miscellaneous widgets you install on Windows to cure bad, or inadequate, bits of interface design and, in particular, the more miscellaneous system-y widgets of slightly uncertain provenance you install, the less stable Windows becomes.