With the Fink people making it easy (for some definition of easy) to get both Gnome and KDE installed on Mac OS X, here are some random thoughts about using them.- Gnome feels faster than KDE, both for launching the environment and for launching apps.
KDE comes with a boat-load of small apps, many more than Gnome. For a basic office-type workstation, KDE comes with batteries included.
Both Gnome and KDE come with some nice-looking themes. For KDE, Plastik looks really nice and unobtrusive. It’s too bad Red Hat doesn’t want the Gnome crew to be able to distribute Wonderland, aka Blue Curve, as it’s one of the nicest X11 themes I’ve ever seen.
KDE definitely has a more corporate-ish feel than Gnome. While both of them are, let’s face it, Windows knock-offs, KDE takes it to a higher level. Gnome feels more homey, at least to me.
KDE has application-launching notification built in, in the shape of a bouncing icon attached to the mouse pointer. Good idea, terrible implementation.
The default fonts in KDE are an atrocity against humanity. Oh, they hurt!
Since Gnome and KDE can coexist, there’s very little reason, except for purity, to only install one. Hard drives are cheap. Fill ‘er up.
In conclusion, it’s very rewarding to see the strides both projects are taking, becoming more mature and usable by leaps and bounds.
Posted Monday, 09 February, 2004 by Nic Lindh
Another book roundup, including some stellar athletes and soldiers, what might be the most jaded, soul-weary protagonist ever, and some grimdark fantasy.
The Internet is getting creepy, and Nic is breaking out his tinfoil hat after newspaper paywalls push him over the edge.
Nic is tired of tech sites obsessing over Apple’s financials and business strategy. So very tired.
Nic reads a book about the processed food industry and is incensed.
Computers are complicated. This brings out the irrational in people.
Nic proposes the loan word Rechthaberei be incorporated into American English.
The Core Dump is back! Books were read during the hiatus. Includes The Coldest Winter, Oh, Myyy!, Tough Sh*t, The Revolution Was Televised, The Rook, Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore, Gun Machine, Fortress Frontier, Standing in Another Man’s Grave, and The Memory of Light.
This site will return in February.
From a true patriot to a world-weary detective, a dead god, and a civilization about to sublime from the galaxy, this book roundup spans the gamut. Includes Where Men Win Glory, Wild, Inside the Box, The Black Box, Three Parts Dead, Red Country, and The Hydrogen Sonata.
Springsteen gives a concert in Phoenix. It’s fantastic.