in the news: KDE vs Gnome

[John]

Daniel Robitaille wrote:
> A few online articles have now started appearing about the KDE vs
> Gnome debate; a couple of these articles include quotes from the post
> by Jeff Waugh on the subject.
> 
> The original email thread:
> http://lists.osdl.org/pipermail/desktop_architects/2005-December/000390.html
> 

I'm with Tim and Linus. They give a concrete example of a fault in the 
Gnome design. I just checked in Ephiphany which, I think, is a Gnome 
application and find the dialogue is even sillier than what I see in 
Moz. I can't choose printer resolution? Or duplexing if my printer 
supports it? If I want to use A5 paper _this_ time I have to go to 
"Print Setup," "Print," then (probably) "Print Setup" a second time.

That's good usability?

I note Linus's peeve is to do with mouse configuration. What he wants is 
what Gnome used to do years ago, to use the right button on the titlebar 
push a window to the bottom. I remember cursing it because it was 
different from KDE (I think we were using fvwm on RHL then, at least 
optionally, and that it also used the middle button for that, but I 
could be misremembering that).


I think an important point that the Gnome folk have overlooked is that, 
if I buy a printer that collates and binds, then I want to choose to use 
or not to use those features. _I_ don't care how many or how few others 
want to use the collating and binding features of a printer, it's vital 
to me.

And as for vendor-neutral language, give me a break!! I read my vendor's 
documentation about the whiz-bang features in my new printing, 
collating, folding and binding printer, and then I have to determine how 
to translate that to Gnomese?*

Gnome isn't ready for me.

*I don't use ipcop for this very reason: I don't have the foggiest idea 
of red zone, green zone, blue zone, but I can refer to any text and find 
what DMZ means, and about private LANs (which may be divided into 
functional zones) and the public Internet.