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"Bare minimum" is certainly an exaggeration, so I apologise. Gnome is indeed perfectly usable out of the box. And KDE is not "far more usable", it's just more c

"Bare minimum" is certainly an exaggeration, so I apologise. Gnome is indeed perfectly usable out of the box. And KDE is not "far more usable", it's just more convenient in lots of small ways. I haven't used it for a while, but I found that for certain audio controls, or to allow certain window layouts, I've needed to install extensions. I also found the information it provides about wifi to be less than adequate, and I'd imagine that you'd need to install extensions to fix that. KDE provides a running graph of traffic to/from a Wifi endpoint, and other information that you might not have considered.

prmoustache 4y ago
I do most of my audio controls with pavucontrol (which is not a gnome extension) regardless of the DE and I don't think that running graphs to/from a wifi endpoint is something many people do on a regular basis. And if I want graph for any kind of metrics I usually use netdata. I think gnome defaults works for anyone that subscribe to their desktop metaphor. I like it, some don't, but I don't think that is because it is not complete. It is certainly less configurable out of the box than KDE though and I understand why some people would prefer KDE.
- cassepipe 4y ago
  I agree the graph thing is not very a "basic" example. I have another one : Someone asked me recently how to change the luminosity on GNOME. I looked at the keyboard but saw no sun icon so I turned to the system tray... No icon either. I, in turn, asked someone else "Oh, just click the volume icon" Turns out there is a whole panel of unrelated settings hidden you can see either clicking on the logout button or volume button... It's actually the same button. I am generally against hiding settings in menus and submenus but if you're going to, can it at least be a universal cog icon? Seems more like the product of an artist-architect willing to sacrifice everyday usability to commit to his "vision". In our case the system tray must look symmetric and bare. I do want tools not get in my way but not out of the picture.
  - prmoustache 4y ago
    What you call the volume / logout button is a complete area per se. It is where also lies the battery and network indicators. I think it is more intuitive for the people used to android (not sure about iOS, can't be too sure it has been to much time I have been using it). On android most quick configuration parameters such as luminosity is accessed by sliding the upper part of the screen which do not have a cog icon either and a similar appearance to that gnome systrayish area. My biggest critics is that those controls aren't afaik directly accessible with a keyboard shortcut ( super + something) while said controls can, like many things in gnome, perfectly be navigated with a keyboard. I haven't seen for age laptops and even standalone keyboards that do not have either dedicated buttons or function keys to manage luminosity though and can't think of any good reason to use the mouse to do that.
petepete 4y ago
Yeah I'd agree that having the ability to customise what's displayed in the top bar could be useful, and the audio source selection could definitely be improved. It only takes a few clicks to get to settings but if you do it a few times a day it'd become a chore.

prmoustache 4y ago

I do most of my audio controls with pavucontrol (which is not a gnome extension) regardless of the DE and I don't think that running graphs to/from a wifi endpoint is something many people do on a regular basis. And if I want graph for any kind of metrics I usually use netdata. I think gnome defaults works for anyone that subscribe to their desktop metaphor. I like it, some don't, but I don't think that is because it is not complete. It is certainly less configurable out of the box than KDE though and I understand why some people would prefer KDE.

cassepipe 4y ago
I agree the graph thing is not very a "basic" example. I have another one : Someone asked me recently how to change the luminosity on GNOME. I looked at the keyboard but saw no sun icon so I turned to the system tray... No icon either. I, in turn, asked someone else "Oh, just click the volume icon" Turns out there is a whole panel of unrelated settings hidden you can see either clicking on the logout button or volume button... It's actually the same button. I am generally against hiding settings in menus and submenus but if you're going to, can it at least be a universal cog icon? Seems more like the product of an artist-architect willing to sacrifice everyday usability to commit to his "vision". In our case the system tray must look symmetric and bare. I do want tools not get in my way but not out of the picture.
- prmoustache 4y ago
  What you call the volume / logout button is a complete area per se. It is where also lies the battery and network indicators. I think it is more intuitive for the people used to android (not sure about iOS, can't be too sure it has been to much time I have been using it). On android most quick configuration parameters such as luminosity is accessed by sliding the upper part of the screen which do not have a cog icon either and a similar appearance to that gnome systrayish area. My biggest critics is that those controls aren't afaik directly accessible with a keyboard shortcut ( super + something) while said controls can, like many things in gnome, perfectly be navigated with a keyboard. I haven't seen for age laptops and even standalone keyboards that do not have either dedicated buttons or function keys to manage luminosity though and can't think of any good reason to use the mouse to do that.

petepete 4y ago

Yeah I'd agree that having the ability to customise what's displayed in the top bar could be useful, and the audio source selection could definitely be improved. It only takes a few clicks to get to settings but if you do it a few times a day it'd become a chore.