GNOME or KDE
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What is a "desktop environment"?
Undoubtedly you will come across the terms "KDE" and "GNOME". What are they, and why do you need them? Well, Windows 2000/XP and Mac OS are "monolithic" operating systems, meaning there is only the "whole" operating system. Linux (like Unix) is built as a lot of separate bits and pieces around a core system, and like in DOS there is only text display. If you want nice graphics, you need to run that "on top of" the core system -- not unlike how early releases of MS Windows ran "on top of" DOS. So a graphical "desktop environment" is the windows, menus, buttons, check boxes, and all the other stuff you see when your computer is running and ready to go. It's generally what makes it user-friendy.
There are several desktop environments to choose from; GNOME and KDE are the two biggest mainstream choices. There are plenty of others too, but don't worry about it too much - as a newbie, you only need be concerned with one thing: As long as you have both installed, there is nothing to worry about (except deciding which you like best). Even though GNOME and KDE are competing with each other, they can live happily alongside each other (but you can only use one at a time). Some distributions only come with one or the other, and if you're missing one it can easily be installed later on.
Mostly it makes little difference which one you use. They do look a little different, but efforts are under way to have the GNOME and KDE use each other's settings so they look and work the same way. Most major features are available in most desktop environments, but each might do it in its own little way.
An application is a 'KDE' or a 'GNOME' application if it uses the libraries (some of those supporting bits and pieces we mentioned earlier on) of KDE or GNOME respectively. Typically, the application developer chooses one of the two, not both. You'll probably want to have both GNOME and KDE installed because each has its own outstanding applications and you might want to run applications of both kinds.
Another confusing fact is that these desktop environments can be different versions on your computer (KDE is currently v4.4, GNOME is v2.6). When downloading an application you have to make sure that it is compatible with your version. This is sort of the same as finding out if a Windows program is compatible with Windows 95, 98, 2000 and/or XP.
[--More difficult than choosing GNOME or KDE for your desktop, where does XFree86 come in? Why do you need two programs (or three or four) to create a desktop? The graphical package should be prebuilt. "Do you want a desktop? (y/n)" Furthermore, is there any reason to prefer one over the other? Distributions should provide one prepackaged by default, one file to run which builds your desktop. Wait to provide the other until the first isn't found to be working. Also, on a slighly more technical side, windows gains a lot by having a basic driver guaranteed to work with ANY card at low colors and low resolution. Can't that be done on linux and *BSD?--]
/!\ Warning: The rest of the page is rather technical, and not strictly necessary in order to understand the concept of desktop environments. If you're not interested, it's safe to continue to another page.
History
Years ago, there were no "Desktops" in Linux, you just had a text interface somewhat like DOS. There was a toolkit called Motif, but it was very limited. KDE and GNOME aimed to provide a complete desktop environment for running and developing applications. Prior to these desktops your libraries were scattered and distributed seperately. The goal of the desktops was to have consistency. KDE came first.
KDE - K Desktop Environment@
KDE was based on a toolkit from TrollTech AS called "Qt"^. (Pronouced "Cute"). It is a very good tool kit, written in C++. But there were licensing issues back when KDE was started. Qt was not under the GPL license like it is today. The purists argued that this was a bad thing so they got together and built GNOME.
GNOME- GNU Network Object Model Environment.
GNOME is based on GTK, and both are written in C. It has been completely free and open since the day it was first started.
Shortly after the release of GNOME, the license on Qt was changed to a dual license scheme which included the GPL (Not for Windows, though). Both GUI toolkits and desktop environments are in very wide use.
- IF A NEWBIE READS THE PRECEDING SECTION, HE MIGHT THINK TO BE ON A PAGE FOR SPECIALISTS. PLEASE EXPLAIN WHY THIS STUFF IS (OR IS NOT) RELEVANT TO A BEGINNER. ISN'T THIS THE VERY EXAMPLE OF CRYPTIC LANGUAGE THIS SITE TRIES TO FIND SOLUTIONS FOR? IN MY OPINION, THIS TEXT SHOULD BE ON A "WHAT NOT TO WRITE" OR "EXAMPLES FOR BAD DOC" PAGE. - YOU'RE RIGHT, (but quit shouting already). I have put up a warning, but somebody should definitely (re)move this section.
Notes for Possible Application Developers
(Are developers newbies?) - Yes, they can be. Imagine Windows developers interested in porting their application due to numerous user requests, but they've never used Linux. Given the anticipated success of this site, first time Linux developers could turn here too. Personally I think computer documentation should read like a medical text book, with several levels of detail, each more detailed than the last. That way the user can educate themselves at their own pace.
There is small licensing difference between the two desktops. If you wish to create programs to sell, you have to buy a commercial Qt license from TrollTech (~$1500 US and up, per developer); whereas GNOME is free for anyone to develop on regardless if you sell your program or not.
One of the things that still makes Qt attractive is it is crossplatform, it will run on Mac OSX, Linux and Windows, so you could have a crossplatform application if you stick to the Qt classes (and not use KDE specific classes) which is becoming increasing important due to the rise of Mac OSX and Linux. The Opera web browser is done in Qt, and that is why they are able to have Linux, Windows and Mac versions.
Availible Linux programs on other platforms, and which toolkit they are based on:
GIMP (GTK) - Win32, Linux Sodipodi (GTK) - Win32, Linux Gnumeric (GTK) - Linux GAIM (GTK) - Win32, Linux Safari (Qt) - Mac OSX Adobe ImageReady (Qt) - Win32 Opera (Qt) - Win32, OSX, Linux
See the Application crossover page for more application information
^Qt and the Qt logo are trademarks of Trolltech in Norway, the United States and other countries.
@KDE is simply referred to as "K Desktop Environment". Further details from http://kdemyths.urbanlizard.com/viewMyth.php?mythID=55
Usability experiences and
What are workspaces?
For every beginner I recall, when I show them the workspaces, they ask: "what for?" and/or "Isn't it a mess?". I'm not sure if they would try to use them without me insisting in their usefulness. Later on, some people use them daily, and couldn't work without them, some people decide it's better with only one workspace. I think that the "first time druid", or the installation messages, should inform the user about the possible advantages of multiple workspaces.
My machine feels slow, some apps take forever to load
For slow machines, it's best to load only one set of libraries (not gecko's+OOo's+qt+gtk). I'm sure no beginner is aware of this. Somehow, it should be recommended, if the machine is found to be slow, to restrict the choice to one set of libraries, in my humble opinion.
In addition to this, if you are using KDE and experience slowdown during application startup, make sure your hostname is in the /etc/hosts file, as all KDE apps look up your IP address during startup. This has worked for quite a few individual users.
