For Your Business: GNOME or KDE?: Page 2

KDE or GNOME - appearances matter?

So how do computer users react to being switched from Windows onto a workstation loaded with Linux using KDE or GNOME? Actually, from my own experience, it has been a mixed bag of results, largely depending on the person or their work on that particular PC. On both sides of this coin, the user is generally not too thrilled about the change in their daily routine either way.

One thing that has continued to ring true with my own clients when making such a switch, is how KDE just "looks better" than GNOME in their eyes. Remember, these are Windows users and this is not necessarily my own opinion. Nearly every single person I have made the switch with prefers KDE, despite it often times being more frustrating for them to use than GNOME.

Considering most of these same individuals do not even need to know how to navigate to the settings for these workstations, you might think that more of their focus would be put into daily application usability. To some degree, they do place importance on the difference in applications, but more from a Linux vs. Windows viewpoint rather than with the toolkit the apps were built from.

Developers – Java, GTK or QT?

Having worked with developers from within the Windows/Mac world, looking to make an entrance into the Linux realm, much of it comes down to sticking with something that will run anywhere. This is where I see the preference in Java.

Sure, Qt can be run on OS X, and GTK has installable packages for Windows, but at the end of the day, some developers from the closed source world interested in migrating over to the open source side of the fence are just not seeing advantages to either toolkit.

Speaking for myself, I see this as a lost opportunity, as KDE applications and those of the GTK variety can be run in either desktop environment with the right libraries in place. Any modern package manager will ensure success there.

Another argument I have heard from some developers is that the documentation for Qt and GTK is simply too difficult to navigate to be of any value. This is an excuse.

I will agree that documentation is a bit scattered (more so with GTK), but I would not say that with either toolkit that it is actually to be considered sparse. A quick trip to Amazon and a search for books on programming for either toolkit will yield substantial results for anyone interested in making a real commitment to developing without resorting to Java. And I would point out again, with both toolkits, porting to other platforms is entirely feasible. Unfortunately as many of you already know, non-Linux development is often times more about glamorous appearance and less about something that is available for all to enjoy.

Continued: Selecting the logical choice for daily use