So, Mandriva is great and everything, but there update update and install programs (rpmdrake) is really buggy and as i have found it just seems to be that way. Granted in their latest release those problems seems to be fixed. So, i am thinking of going to Ubuntu/Kubuntu, but there is my other problem, now i don't know whether to go Gnome or KDE ether. I like KDE a lot, but i've done a good amount of reading up on Gnome that and Ubuntu was built around Gnome. I dunno, i need input, thanks.
If you like KDE and you're comfortable with it, then stay with KDE. Ubuntu works fine under KDE in Kubuntu although I think it lacks the polish that ubuntu has with gnome. Both KDE and gnome are complete and full featured desktops. It's just a personal preference. I would recommend downloading ubuntu and playing around with gnome in liveCD mode to see if it serves your needs. I started with KDE and I can't really use Gnome but it would be the other way around if I started with gnome. It becomes hard to switch after you get used to a certain environment. On a side note, I played with simplyMEPIS 6.5 this weekend and I thought it was much more KDE centered (so more polished and consistent) than kubuntu is. MEPIS is based on ubuntu so you have access to all the ubuntu software repositories. It runs as a liveCD so I would recommend that you give it a try in addition to ubuntu and kubuntu.
Gnome is the default desktop on many Linux distros simply because the Qt development stack (upon which KDE is built) used to be less than free in the libre sense. Now it is fully GPL'd, so there is no drawback, but most distros still use Gnome by default. I'd argue that KDE is better in terms of performance, flexibility and power. Gnome tends to assume its userbase is dumb (to put it bluntly), so leave out many features and configurational options under the assumption that it'll confuse your fragile little brain. :doh: I'd say go with KDE, but there's nothing keeping you from using Gnome on the same system if you really want to. You can have as many desktop environments as you want. I have Xfce and KDE on my Debian systems, but I've completely purged Gnome because I feel it's bloated and inflexible. My servers have no GUI it all; I admin them purely with SSH/BASH. The choice, of course, is yours.
yeah i prefer KDE too, but as god said you can have KDE & Gnome installed on the same distro, then just choose at logon which environment you prefer[ot]AT is a god to a mere mortal like myself[/ot]
yeah guys thanks for the input. I figure i might as well just poke around, i have some time now so i might as well. That said, i think i'll just try both, the only reason i wouldn't just be sticking with KDE is that is by default built around gnome, and i'm just looking for as few issues as possible, so if i don't have any problems with gnome, i'll most likely just end up with ubuntu, instead of kubuntu.
Gnome apps work in KDE and vise-versa. Use whichever distro you want, but using KDE over Gnome won't cause any undue difficulty. Besides, like I said, you can also have Gnome on Kubuntu if you want it, or KDE on Ubuntu. They're the same OS anyway, and Linux can have as many desktop environments as you want. Let me reiterate: Kubuntu and Ubuntu are the same OS. EXACTLY THE SAME; the only difference is which desktop they use by default.
huh, well from what i read (and maybe people are just being dumb) but people who have used KDE on Ubuntu have some issues and some things do go as smoothly as when using Gnome. Thats the impression that i was under, Ubuntu being the same as Kubuntu, but isn't Kubuntu Ubuntu only configured for KDE. There website is a little misleading, as they have separate webpages for Kubuntu stating its a related project.
well in my somewhat limited experience if you install KDE on Ubuntu that distro then becomes Kubuntu[ot]i presume if you uninstalled KDE from Kubuntu & put Gnome on that distro would become Ubuntu[/ot]
I see how this can be misleading. Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Edubuntu and on down the line are all the same core operating system; all are Ubuntu. The difference is that each is bundled with different software (on the CD or DVD), although they share the same software repositories. Each 'version' is simply bundled differrently but nothing is stopping you from installing anything that is bundled with another version. Ubuntu is bundled with GTK+ applications, Kubuntu with QT apps. The differences are minor.
