IIRC KDE4 wasn't as much breaking existing usage patterns but pushing intrusive things like desktop widgets and generally trying to lock me into tightly integra

IIRC KDE4 wasn't as much breaking existing usage patterns but pushing intrusive things like desktop widgets and generally trying to lock me into tightly integrated system. I remember it was really easy to create a desktop note by accident and somehow really difficult to delete one. KDE3.5, or Xfce for that matter, felt more like something that is good for launching apps, managing desktop and some generic utilities. The clumsy UI design didn't also help.