Which Has the Best Apps?: KDE vs. GNOME, Part 2

April 22, 2007
By Bruce Byfield

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Today, although AbiWord and Gnumeric are not integrated with each other, both have become mature programs with a solid user base. AbiWord has found its niche as a lightweight word processor, useful on systems with lower memory or as a reader for MS Word attachments downloaded from the web. Similarly, Gnumeric has a reputation among advanced spreadsheet users for the speed of its calculations and unique functions.

Other Applications

Historically, one of KDE's advantages has been the number of programs written specifically for it. In recent releases, GNOME has started to close the gap, especially for programs. Still, it seems accurate to say that, for every three GNOME-based programs, there are at least five KDE-based ones.

Yet, increasingly, many GNOME programs are functionally equivalent to their KDE counterparts. Personal taste and the occasional difference in hardware support aside, there is little to choose between, for example, GNOME's FSpot and KDE's digiKam for uploading and organizing photos or Eye of Gnome and Kview for the quick display of graphics. The same is true for GNOME Baker and K3b for CD and DVD burning, even though K3b has the better reputation, since it was the first easy-to-use burning software for GNU/Linux.

Moreover, in many cases, desktop-independent programs are becoming more common. The GIMP has long been the main tool for rasterized graphics, regardless of the interface used. In the same way, Mozilla Firefox is shoving aside both Konqueror and Epiphany, the Mozilla-based browser that is supposed to the default for GNOME. With other large programs such as Scribus and Inkscape also being designed to be desktop-independent, this trend is likely to continue, especially given the increased cooperation between KDE and GNOME. Existing programs may continue to be oriented towards a particular desktop, but chances are that new programs will not be.

Making a decision

So which desktop should you choose? The answer must be both personal and context-based. Some users make their decision on the basis of aesthetics, arguing that one desktop is more corporate-looking or friendlier than the other. Others choose on the basis of a feature that is important to their work or habits, such as KDE's multiple clipboard or Evolution's business-like structure.

However, if neither GNOME or KDE seems decisively better than the other, why choose at all? With hard disk space no longer at a premium, you can install both desktops with all their bells and whistles in no more than six or seven gigabytes. If you are selective, the desktops and their basic utilities should occupy less than a gigabyte each. After all, not being locked-in to specific programs is part of the power of free software -- so why not take advantage of the fact to pick and choose the best of both?