KDE and GNOME
 

What is the difference between the two desktop environments KDE and GNOME. Why there are more than one desktop environments

There is more than one desktop env because geeks like choice. There are dozens of Desktop Env. Some only use the keyboard. Gnome is for Corporate types, and people afraid of too much choice, or whom just like to keep it simple. KDE can configure every little thing, but is the most "windows like", so most people new to linux like it, and some real old time geeks hate it. KDE also runs just a little faster than gnome, in my experience anyway, and some tests claim it uses less ram. It all comes down to personal preference. There is more than one way to skin a cat. Try a bunch, and pick the one you like best. I like fluxbox when I'm doing something my box will have to chew on for a while, as there is less stuff running to get in the way, and fluxbox when I'm just working with text, otherwise, I use KDE, which because of the way I have it set up, looks nothing like windows at all. I also prefer most kde apps, and the fact you can configure the hell out of the apps too. Linux is all about choice. How you interact with your computer is a basic part of that. With linux, you can have it EXACTLY they way you want it.

Enjoy....

David

Surprising question from someone who signed up here almost 4 years ago!!

Why not try them both? If you are running Mandriva, I think you have KDE. You can install Gnome and have the choice of which to use at login. You can create two logins--one Gnome and one KDE, and toggle between them. (Best to use two different user names when doing this.)

Differences:
Gnome uses GTK, KDE uses Qt (Qt license restricts you when developing commercial SW, GTK does not)
by default, Gnome puts the main menu bar at the top, whereas KDE is at the bottom
KDE menu tends to look more like Windows
KDE applications tend to start with "k", Gnome with "g"
The Gnome logo is a foot, the KDE logo is (I'm not sure WHAT it is.)

Why is there more than one brand of toothpaste? Why is there more than one word processor?

KDE is setup more like window which make it a little easyer for a newcomer to learn or should I say find things. Some say KDE is more configurable than Gnome I'm not realy sure though. I like the way Gnome is setup myself and I think it uses less overhead, but with a newer pc that's not even an issue.

I can sum it up in one word "Freedom" KDE and Gnome are the two most popular WM, but if you are using an older system with little ram it would make life a little better if there were WM with little overhead. In windows you will take what you get (and they want you to spend your money on the newest version) but in Linux there are many to chose from that will get the job done and turn that useless pc that will not run a newer version of windows on it into a system that can be useful. I use a pI 266 gateway solo with 386mb ram to learn programming, I'm running Slackware 11 with Fluxbox as a windows manager. It's not the fastest but it is usable.

GNOME exists because at one time qt which is the toolkit used to create KDE was proprietary and this did not go down well with some people in the opensource community. /They set about creating GNOME which is built on the Gimp Toolkit (GTK). Qt is now completely free, so the problem with licensing is no longer and issue.

Last time I checked, it was a gear. And reddazz, I'm pretty sure GTK stands for Gnome Tool Kit, which the GIMP just happened to have been built using.

Personally, I prefer the feel of Gnome/GTK rather than KDE/Qt, but I used to be the other way around. I've also used XFCE, and liked it at the time, but mainly because it ran the best on my old hardware. However, KDE does seems to offer much more customization than Gnome does, even if just in each desktop being able to have its own background.

Judging from my usage on an old computer from 1999 running 64 MB RAM, 433 mHz processor, and Slackware 10, Gnome seemed to run faster and with less resources than KDE ever did, and XFCE with less than either.

Nope. GIMP existed before GNOME and the GNOME devs used the GIMP toolkit to create their desktop environment (this is why some argue that GIMP is not a GNOME app, just like Firefox, Thunderbird, Inkscape etc). More info is available here and here.

http://www.gnome.org/

Sure looks like a foot to me......

There is no longer a restriction on the use of Qt in commercial SW?

He said gnome was a foot. One guy said he didn't know what kde's logo was, another guy thought it was a gear.

OOOOOOPS!!! I misread.
In re KDE, I was referring to the creature--I guess that's not the logo. Yes, I found the "k-gear"---after all,KDE has to have "k"s in everything.......

I was referring to using qt to develop opensource software. You still have to pay a licence fee if you want to develop commercial or proprietary applications.

Simply: It's located on RAM source and also desktop configuration. If you're MAC fans, use GNOME. And if you win fans, use KDE

Huh???? no makka sense

KDE uses a dragon (Konqi or Konqui, I've seen as the name) for their mascot, with the K'd Gear as their logo.

And to Reddazz, I remember now being surprised several years ago to see it as the GIMP Toolkit, rather than Gnome. I guess I just see it used so often for Gnome apps that I forgot it was Gimp's.

Who Made Who??
 

Now I'm really confused. The first link took me to a site that claims GTK was developed by the GNOME Foundation...:scratch:

Cheers