Things I Like About KDE
I've used KDE on Fedora Linux for a few years now. It's an absolute delight to use, and I've watched it improve steadily over time.
While many things in the tech world seem to be racing toward enshittification, I want to take a moment to share a few random things that bring me joy when using KDE.
1. Easy Window Moving and Resizing
On Windows, what happens when you click a window while holding the windows key? Trick question; nothing happens. It's a powerful feeling action that ought to do something though, right?
On KDE, holding the windows key will let you click and drag a window to move it no matter where you click it. Using right click will resize the window instead.
It sounds minor, but this is a GAME CHANGER for me. It is so tedious to hunt for the title bar of a window just to move it around. It's even more tedious to hunt for the very edge or corner of a window just to resize it.
This simple feature in KDE makes moving and resizing windows so easy, it's almost like a fidget toy. It just feels good to use.
2. Fun Surprises
I can't help but feel that computers used to be more fun. It felt like there was always some feature or game waiting to be discovered--like it was put there just for the fun of it.
Using KDE has brought that feeling back into my life. Want to play classic games like Minesweeper or Solitaire? No problem! Want to get a new wallpaper every day? There's an option for that!
I remember using Elisa, KDE's music player, and noticing a tab for "Radio Stations". I clicked it out of curiosity. Lo and behold, there were a variety of internet radios just waiting to be listened to. Some were strange, others surprisingly enjoyable. I now use it frequently and have some custom radios added. What a fun discovery!
KDE also has a handful of goofy desktop effects, like wobbling windows when they are moved, or arranging desktops in an cube formation. The recent accessibility feature to enlarge the mouse pointer when wiggling it has no cap on the cursor size, which is pretty hilarious.
This was deemed desirable behavior, btw
Using KDE makes computers feel fun again, and I'm still discovering little things that put a smile on my face.
3. Text subpixel Anti-aliasing
This is a pretty personal thing, but my monitor uses a BGR subpixel layout rather than RGB. Fonts can try to look extra smooth by using the specific subpixels to refine their shape. However, if the actual subpixel layout is something else, text will look blurry when it assumes the RGB layout.
This was the case when I was still using Windows, and there was no clear option to fix it. People online suggested turning the monitor upside down to reorient the subpixels!
On KDE, BGR subpixels have been supported as long as I have used it. I still remember the first time I saw fonts look truly sharp on my monitor. It was hard to believe!
Every time I notice how beautiful text looks on my display, I'm grateful to be using KDE.
4. System Settings
Some people say the amount of settings KDE offers is overwhelming. I disagree. KDE's System Settings exposes exactly the level of control I want. I don't have to use some other app to make necessary tweaks to my system.
Say I want to change my mouse speed. If for some reason I don't find it by searching for "Mouse", I can just open the System Settings, immediately see the Mouse & Touchpad page, and then change the speed dial. Other options are there if I need, but nothing intrusive or irrelevant.
The most important system settings, regarding input and output devices, are elevated to the top. Everything is in its right place. There are certainly a lot of settings, but the defaults are usually fine, so there's no pressure to comb through everything.
Configuration options are available when needed--no more, no less.
I have one word of caution, which is to avoid any settings that download user-submitted components like themes. It's a fan favorite way to radically change KDE's look, but it's also a reliable way to ruin how things look. Some components also run code, which has caused data loss in at least one exceptional case. I just use the stock Breeze styles--they're pretty great already.
5. Professional Apps
The Plasma desktop environment isn't the only thing KDE offers. They also produce some of the finest FOSS apps available.
I used Krita and Kdenlive even before switching to Linux. Commercial apps like Photoshop may be more capable, but for my projects, I've found it very rewarding to have invested effort learning the FOSS option. I don't feel close to the limits of what these apps are capable of.
Sketch from my latest game jam entry
That's a good way to describe many of KDE's apps. The Dolphin file manager, Okular PDF viewer, Elisa music player, and on and on. They are elegant and intuitive by default. However, when I poke around, I find a plethora of features that are genuinely useful to me.
Even the basic apps are often better than the alternative. For example, Filelight does one thing: it tells you which folders are taking up space, and how much. I can't believe how hard this is to do on other systems.
6. Beautiful 3rd-party Apps
Sometimes KDE doesn't offer the exact app I want. However, whatever app I do want will probably look better on KDE Plasma than anywhere else.
I really admire the GNOME design language. Their desktop and apps are beautiful, especially since libadwaita. On KDE, libadwaita apps look exactly as good as they do on GNOME. The same is not true the other way around, in my experience. Installing a KDE app on GNOME is a risky move.
I'm also surprised how many times an app that only has a garish light theme on Windows is themed properly on KDE. VLC, qBittorrent, and and MultiMC come to mind. Sure, it's just because these are Qt apps, but I still prefer it to using Windows which doesn't even give them any sort of dark mode.
qBittorrent following the system Breeze theme
7. Powerful Taskbar
I like the traditional Windows taskbar + start menu workflow, which is exactly what KDE offers. However, it won't be surprising that I strongly prefer KDE's taskbar.
It is so easy to change the thickness and position of the taskbar. Imagine that! There's other fun behaviors to play with too, like making it automatically hide when windows get close.
I can also expand the app icons so they are never collapsed. I like this approach because it lets me glance at the taskbar and see all windows that are open, without hunting behind tiny stacked squares.
The system tray is great too! Did you know that you can scroll the mouse over the tray icons to, for example, change volume or even change the display brightness? Pretty handy!
It all comes together into something simultaneously familiar, flexible, and fresh. Fantastic.
Conclusion
Using KDE is like slipping into an alternate reality where the desktop was designed by and for the people who actually use it. In a real sense, that's what it is! It's a strong community working to make an excellent desktop. In my opinion, it's an incredible achievement.
Want to give KDE a try? For a variety of reasons I recommend Fedora Linux. I plan to make a separate post about why that is, and how to pick a Linux distro for yourself if you are a beginner.