6 ms·

This is underappreciated. So useful. Just works. Can do almost anything. I think KDE in general needs better marketing. It is by far the best desktop environme

by corty 5y ago

This is underappreciated. So useful. Just works. Can do almost anything. I think KDE in general needs better marketing. It is by far the best desktop environment available.

Jiejeing 5y ago
I am not a huge fan of the KDE desktop experience, but KDE Connect among others is something that provides an amazing value.
peterrus 5y ago
Works great on Gnome as well, with this extension: https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/1319/gsconnect/ https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/1319/gsconnect/
ChuckNorris89 5y ago
>KDE in general needs better marketing But how would the KDE community do that without spending money?
- azangru 5y ago
  Through blog posts and videos? ;-) Cool things that KDE can do, or how to be productive with KDE.
ognarb 5y ago
About your point about a better marketing, as a KDE developer and member of the small KDE Promo team, I completely agree with you. Unfortunately like most of open sources projects, our budgets and manpower is very small. If someone is interested to help our promo team, feel free to join: https://community.kde.org/Get_Involved#Promotion https://community.kde.org/Get_Involved#Promotion. We always need more help with writing and proofreading announcement texts, maintaining the websites, doing videos, writing tweets/toots, ...
- solarkraft 5y ago
  The fediverse presence is fairly nice!
- Zancarius 5y ago
  I absolutely love what you guys do. One of the unfortunate things I run into on social media is this idiotic perception that KDE is bloated and cumbersome, then when you drill down into the argument, you often find that these same people haven't used it for 10-15 years. I'm not sure how you can fix branding perceptions that are based on fallacious experiences that weren't updated in the last decade, but I think some manner of user evangelism can also help!
  - ghostpepper 5y ago
    If a person used KDE 10 years ago and it was bloated, and I haven't used it since, I don't think it's fair (or helpful for that matter) to use terms like 'idiotic' when trying to convince someone to give the project a second chance.
    - bluGill 5y ago
      KDE has always been the most bloated in the initial install. However when you actually try to do something you discover that whatever the environment they are all about as big, with KDE being the smallest since they trade initial bloat for in use leanness.
    - nmstoker 5y ago
      Their use of the term is not meant personally I'm sure, but for anyone applying insights that are ten years out of date in a fairly rapidly changing field of software like this, they are hardly going to win awards for being smart are they? This happens too much with software - look at various open source filesystems that had reliability issues in the early days (which is pretty reasonable), someone writes a piece that highlights this and years later people are still parroting it as current insight - with the downside being that it can crush a project and thus in time make a self fulfilling legacy.
  - 5y ago
aantix 5y ago
Can I send/receive the same messages I received on my iPhone? Similar to the OSX message app? Agree on the better marketing. It wasn't obvious from the website.
- smoldesu 5y ago
  > Can I send/receive the same messages I received on my iPhone? Nope. Apple doesn't extend their messaging protocols to developers like that. But it does work perfectly fine on Android! There's both a QT5 and GTK interface for it, both of which are pretty fully featured and actively developed, and it syncs with your phones messages over WiFi or Bluetooth.
Blackthorn 5y ago
Indeed, better marketing would be good. I was so burned on the KDE 3->4 transition I haven't been back since, even though that was a very long time ago. And clearly from the article, they're doing some pretty fantastic stuff now! Gotta get in and try it out again!
- ajyotirmay 5y ago
  You missed out on the Plasma5 transition. It surprises me how no one eyed Gnomr for the mess Gnome 3 was. Gnome 40 is a mess as well, trying to reinvent the UX. But KDE's desktop gets criticized for what it was when it tried 3D graphics at a time when Qt wasn't ready.
  - Blackthorn 5y ago
    I don't use gnome, so I have no knowledge there. Just going my experience of going from what I considered the perfect desktop (KDE3) to what I considered a major downgrade. I'm glad KDE is good again!

by corty 5y ago

This is underappreciated. So useful. Just works. Can do almost anything. I think KDE in general needs better marketing. It is by far the best desktop environment available.

Jiejeing 5y ago

I am not a huge fan of the KDE desktop experience, but KDE Connect among others is something that provides an amazing value.

peterrus 5y ago

Works great on Gnome as well, with this extension: https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/1319/gsconnect/ https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/1319/gsconnect/

ChuckNorris89 5y ago

>KDE in general needs better marketing But how would the KDE community do that without spending money?

azangru 5y ago
Through blog posts and videos? ;-) Cool things that KDE can do, or how to be productive with KDE.

ognarb 5y ago

About your point about a better marketing, as a KDE developer and member of the small KDE Promo team, I completely agree with you. Unfortunately like most of open sources projects, our budgets and manpower is very small. If someone is interested to help our promo team, feel free to join: https://community.kde.org/Get_Involved#Promotion https://community.kde.org/Get_Involved#Promotion. We always need more help with writing and proofreading announcement texts, maintaining the websites, doing videos, writing tweets/toots, ...

solarkraft 5y ago
The fediverse presence is fairly nice!
Zancarius 5y ago
I absolutely love what you guys do. One of the unfortunate things I run into on social media is this idiotic perception that KDE is bloated and cumbersome, then when you drill down into the argument, you often find that these same people haven't used it for 10-15 years. I'm not sure how you can fix branding perceptions that are based on fallacious experiences that weren't updated in the last decade, but I think some manner of user evangelism can also help!
- ghostpepper 5y ago
  If a person used KDE 10 years ago and it was bloated, and I haven't used it since, I don't think it's fair (or helpful for that matter) to use terms like 'idiotic' when trying to convince someone to give the project a second chance.
  - bluGill 5y ago
    KDE has always been the most bloated in the initial install. However when you actually try to do something you discover that whatever the environment they are all about as big, with KDE being the smallest since they trade initial bloat for in use leanness.
  - nmstoker 5y ago
    Their use of the term is not meant personally I'm sure, but for anyone applying insights that are ten years out of date in a fairly rapidly changing field of software like this, they are hardly going to win awards for being smart are they? This happens too much with software - look at various open source filesystems that had reliability issues in the early days (which is pretty reasonable), someone writes a piece that highlights this and years later people are still parroting it as current insight - with the downside being that it can crush a project and thus in time make a self fulfilling legacy.
- 5y ago

aantix 5y ago

Can I send/receive the same messages I received on my iPhone? Similar to the OSX message app? Agree on the better marketing. It wasn't obvious from the website.

smoldesu 5y ago
> Can I send/receive the same messages I received on my iPhone? Nope. Apple doesn't extend their messaging protocols to developers like that. But it does work perfectly fine on Android! There's both a QT5 and GTK interface for it, both of which are pretty fully featured and actively developed, and it syncs with your phones messages over WiFi or Bluetooth.

Blackthorn 5y ago

Indeed, better marketing would be good. I was so burned on the KDE 3->4 transition I haven't been back since, even though that was a very long time ago. And clearly from the article, they're doing some pretty fantastic stuff now! Gotta get in and try it out again!

ajyotirmay 5y ago
You missed out on the Plasma5 transition. It surprises me how no one eyed Gnomr for the mess Gnome 3 was. Gnome 40 is a mess as well, trying to reinvent the UX. But KDE's desktop gets criticized for what it was when it tried 3D graphics at a time when Qt wasn't ready.
- Blackthorn 5y ago
  I don't use gnome, so I have no knowledge there. Just going my experience of going from what I considered the perfect desktop (KDE3) to what I considered a major downgrade. I'm glad KDE is good again!