--- Luke -Jr luke@dashjr.org wrote:
On Wednesday 12 March 2008, Leo Mauler wrote:
Well, considering that the other major alternative is KDE, which looks entirely too much like Windows, I think that a sigh of relief could easily replace that "eww".
Yes, KDE looks almost exactly like Windows *if you take the effort to click Windows as your default settings when you start it the first time*. On the other hand, if you choose, say, the default "KDE" settings, it's no more like Windows than GNOME is.
*Default* KDE has:
1) A "Start" menu in the lower left corner, which is very similar to Windows.
2) A single user application/applet bar at the bottom of the screen, again very similar to Windows.
*Default* GNOME has:
1) A "Start" menu in the upper left corner, completely unlike Windows.
2) A user application/applet bar at both the top and bottom of the screen, again completely unlike Windows.
A split-second glance at a *default* KDE screen reveals a desktop which looks very much like Windows. A split-second glance at a *default* GNOME screen reveals a desktop which is very *different* from Windows.
And as such, only the GNOME desktop will invite much comment about the difference in the desktop. The KDE desktop, if viewed idly across the room by a Windows user, looks enough like a Windows desktop that there's not much else to say about it.
And if your desktop isn't different enough to incite comments, then thats one less avenue through which to interest other people in Linux.
Ubuntu Linux is aimed at non-technical people. Non-technical people typically don't change their desktop because they've just come over from an OS which doesn't let you change your desktop. This means that default Ubuntu Linux is like a huge sign on their computers saying "Hey! I'm Different! Ask Me Why I'm Different!"
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