KDE 4 vs. GNOME 3: An Early Comparison: Page 2

Another reason why GNOME Shell users may be tempted to use virtual workspaces is that the overview makes them so convenient. The overview is only a mouse click away, and adding another workspace is only another click. Just as importantly, in the overview, the workspace previews are as large as their number allows, and show all the windows open in a workspace in clear rows.

This view, unfortunately, has no relation to the actual desktop, so you might be confused when switching to a particular workspace to find that the windows are not arranged in orderly rows as in the overview. It also means that these advantages are lost if you have more than about eight workspaces, or eight or nine windows open in each one, although for many people, that limit is probably more than enough.

After experimenting with a zoom out similar to GNOME Shell's overview, KDE has currently settled on displaying available workspaces on a horizontally scrolling window that must be specifically summoned if you want to switch workspaces or add a new one via the mouse. But, like GNOME Shell's, KDE's workspaces are far more efficient if you learn the keyboard shortcuts for switching between them.

Another complexity in KDE is the presence of two implementations of virtual workspaces -- one named Virtual Desktops and another dubbed Activities. The two can be made to overlap, but are not synonymous fresh from the installation. As a result, confusion may keep some users from taking advantage of multiple desktops.

My suspicions is that fewer KDE users than GNOME Shell users will make regular use of virtual workspaces. However, if they do, they will probably find switching between them via the mouse less irritating than GNOME Shell users. Constantly switching between desktops and the overviews can quickly make GNOME Shell irritating, while in KDE, the focus remains more on the desktop. Although those who denounce KDE at every opportunity may find this a strange statement, in many ways, using the modern KDE feels closer to the classic desktop experience than using GNOME Shell.

KDE 4

Menu Wars

In the latest series of releases, KDE moved away from the classic unfolding menu to one confined to a single window. However, you can easily switch to a classic menu, or even replace the default with Lancelot, which represents a sort of compromise between the classic and default menus.

By comparison, GNOME Shell abolishes the three top-level menus that the GNOME 2 series has used for years and combines them in a single pane on the overview, adding the taskbar to display open windows. Besides not being present on the desktop, the GNOME Shell menu has the problems of growing in length as you open applications -- which obscures the lower sections -- and of listing applications in a single alphabetical list.

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