@Vinícius Felipe Posselt well I know that some gnome and elementary devs are contributing to each other's DE but I mean making videos promoting each other is just another level of effort I think
You can drag and drop a window to the space in-between the workspaces in thumbnails section. This will create a new workspace with the application window at desired position. Buon divertimento 😊
I have both Gnome and KDE on my notebook since the release of gnome 40. I prefer KDE but the gestures are a game changer on a notebook to the point I don't even feel the need of a mouse most of the times.
Gnome is very basic and that makes it so smooth,stable and charming. No argument there But if you want adventure, creativity and 500 options to controll all that .. kde is the way to go No reason to fight, both are linux after all 😊
I'm forced to use KDE bcz Gnome apps looks good in KDE but KDE apps looks bad in Gnome, So I can have best of both on KDE and random crashes are complimentary
@@NamasteProgramming it'll be less consistent though, you'll have half your apps looking like they were designed for a tablet and the other half looking like they're designed for the machine you're running them on. No themes in libatwaita is a bad move.
@@Semperverus0 As long as they follow light and dark theme correct I don't care, apps are always going to look different and that's okay, people who want to get work done don't care much as long as UI is sensible
Very interesting video and I think it is very important for developers from each DE to spend time in other DEs to see how others are doing something. Plasma is great but yea first impressions could be better. I am curious what were the things about the new overview that you don't like?
My biggest issue is that the new overview flattens the structure of virtual desktops by not showing grids; no transition from your desktop to the effect; graphically speaking I prefer the approach where you have the background of the desktops with windows over it and then the blurred wallpaper behind
As far as I know they are working on an overview effect. (Workspace Behavior → Desktop Effects → Under Window Management) and you can bind it to a hot-corner or a keyboard shortcut. I think it should get a big overhaul in 5.24 and be more like Gnome's There's also a Kwin Script called "Dynamic Workspaces" that does, well, just that, very much like it works in Gnome Shell. It worked quite well, when I tried it.
My ideal desktop environment is basically a hybrid of KDE Plasma functioning identically to how it is right now with all of the KDE compatible apps and global themes built for KDE and without the Proton bug I hear GNOME has where there's allegedly some minor input delay compared to KDE, but with the _one and only_ functional difference from KDE being that when I tap or double tap the super key, it functions identically to GNOME where it brings up what happens at 2:40 when I tap once and 10:07 when I tap twice. GNOME's super key functionality, and specifically only this feature, was enough to almost completely get me to switch over because to me it's the perfect balance of efficiency and flashiness without overloading you with information, but I love KDE's... well, everything else more than GNOME.
I think someone should fork Gnome 41 and make a fully fledged desktop environment out of it instead of a hybrid desktop/tablet environment. That way we could get the best of the both worlds... but who is going to do that?
You may like the extensions Sound Output Device Chooser Application Volume Mixer Arc Menu As for window management, I agree with your critiques. FWIW I use Material Shell, its a very heavy duty extension but with the right keybind settings its great, I don't know how it works with touchpad gestures. I think the reason default Gnome sends you back to the currently open instance of Files when you click the icon, instead of opening another instance, is because thats what would happen on a smartphone. People say Gnome has a different "desktop metaphor". Perhaps this is good, it makes your computer act like your tablet act like your phone. Personally I don't think its worth it.
6:10 There‘s a extension called Sound Input & Output Device Chooser for this. You can switch in the menu (in the top right corner) microfone and speaker.
4:30, you can open a new window with middle click on vanilla Gnome. There's also an extension (I know, it's not vanilla then) to always launch a new instance when clicking an icon on the dash, it comes preinstalled (but disabled) on Fedora, I'm personally not a fan of that behaviour though. Nice video by the way. Fun to see things from the perspective of people that are generally used to an entirely different workflow. Edit: Removed a bit about only showing applications from the current workspace, that setting only affects application switching (e.g. alt-tab).
I'm sure I am not the first person to tell you, but the dock _is_ part of the default gnome experience - (just not in the way ubuntu implemented it) I agree with the workspaces though! You _can_ put a window on a new workspace to the left, or between existiing workspaces, but it should be more discoverable. Cool to see someone with fresh eyes coming to gnome. Thanks for beeing so open and constructive. :)
I really like gnome for simplicity and core desktop experience focus with a well thought and implemented workflow that is indigenous to Gnome. The way they lean on apps that are simple but elegant and excellent for one task, and that they support customizations via extensions which is a helpful thing for those who want a good and supported desktop but don't need or want all the extras, and some may call bloat, on their desktop.
@@niccoloveslinux would be awesome to have something like this in the new KDE overview. Also if don't feel like I would be using "fast change" for activities
Well, but that's not the biggest issue people have with GNOME. Interface customization is it. For example, there's no way to change the size of the top bar. I feel like modern DE's waste too much vertical space with ginormous elements. The vast majority of people don't have 4K displays and there are no options to down scale content. As per GNOME extensions...They're mostly XML+CSS.
@@aaronrancsik4 That is BS and easily disproven. All apps following the freedesktop spec properly stop and resume suspend. Its MPV that relied on a Xorg hack to prevent suspend and its core developer being too stubborn to implement the actual solution.
It's really great that you stick to GNOME for a while. I think it allows for new fresh perspectives when you (hopefully) return to Plasma. It's also healthy to appreciate the good work that other projects do.
Say what you will, but GNOME is a very stable platform. If you want things done and not worry about your Desktop braking down you, it is the way to go.
100% true. As much as I love the customization of KDE I always find several bugs within like using 30 minutes of it. Its sad really. Hopefully we get better QA and have a more stable kde experience
@@Tamtam-hh3xv Not only this, some times some behaviors that are not common on other DEs got my nerves, like right clicking behavior on xorg... Not sure it changed, but it triggered in the press event instead of release event, sometimes triggering the first item on the menu on the release event...
It often breaks when you add a new extension and the shell updates to a new version. Using GNOME without extensions makes it too barebones and even the GNOME devs use it.
Io uso entrambi...tuttavia Gnome senza estensioni è abbastanza inusabile e molte estensioni sono buggy. Plasma di default è abbastanza buono, non ho mai avuto interruzioni. Con l'esperienza ho imparato che di solito il default è quello che funziona meglio ed è meno soggetto a bug. Purtroppo per me è davvero difficile utilizzare Gnome vanilla, mentre trovo ottimo Plasma. Tuttavia è sempre questione di gusti, necessità, abitudini...sono due ottimi DE.
I use Gnome with a mouse instead of a touchpad, and when I need to open a new window on my current desktop, I middle click the application icon on the dash. Depending on the touchpad, 3 finger tap, or 3 finger click simulates middle click.
Thank you for doing this. As others already mentioned caffeine and the sound chooser extension, I will mention that there are mockups for new quick settings. Which also have a sound chooser, seems like they might be targeting the fall release.
Control + lmb to open new instance Drag an app and put it between 2 workspaces in the overview to create a new one There is an extension to choose sound output on status menu Caffeine is an extension that puts an indicator on the top bar to halt auto blank/suspend
If you are not using GNOME on fedora (most recommended), you are not experiencing GNOME the way it wants to project itself. Fedora to GNOME is what Pixel phones are to stock android.
Tbf he disabled the majority (if not all) the Ubuntu's specific extensions, so this is as close as vanilla as it gets on Ubuntu. One guy on the comments suggested the GNOME session which is 100% vanilla, which is a great point. But yeah, I am with you on this, Fedora is the way to go for the authentic GNOME experience (SUSE and Arch are good options aswell)
Depending on how you use Gnome, having the dash icons take you to an already open window even if it's on a different workspace can be nice. I use the workspaces on Gnome the same way someone would for something like i3. I dedicate each workspace to a specific purpose. So I might have a general purpose workspace, a browser workspace, a chat workspace, an email workspace, a terminal workspace (sometimes I move them to general purpose or browser, depending on my needs though). With this workflow, being able to click on firefox to jump to the 2nd workspace is convenient.
The only downside to Gnome for me is the extensions break on every update. That's actually a deal breaker for me because you need the extensions to make it usable.
Considering extensions aren't supported by Gnome Devs, you're upset with volunteers that make these in their spare time for not somehow being on the bleeding edge before it's released. Not all of them have that kind of time.
@@experimental0000 That's not what he's saying though. The problem is that extensions are needed to customize gnome and make it function like most people want it to. And just like you're saying most of the volunteers won't have time to fix their extensions day 1. Which results in broken and abandoned extensions when Gnome has a major update.
My biggest problem with GNOME is the lack of a system tray. GNOME devs in their arrogance think their notification system and APIs are better, but they are not. It sucks compared to system tray from a user perspective, especially if you are dealing with instant messaging apps. I know that from a system perspective the system tray implementation might not be as good, but system tray makes my life so much easier and convenient.
I used Gnome for a while and kept track since 2005 (well, Gnome2 era). When Gnome3 came out I also relied on extensions to recover or add functionality, and my experience tells me that is not a good idea. There are many cool extensions, but they tend to not get updated and you end on an eternal cycle of looking at forks from forks from forks of the original extensions. (and of course, good luck keeping track of the names!). Also the lifespan of such extensions is less than a year in many occasions.
Opening a new app when there's an existing one open can be done by holding Ctrl. This works for clicking as well as for Ctrl+Super+. There are gnome extensions for some of the other issues - e.g. Caffeine to prevent screen suspend
Ctrl+ clicking on an app opens a new window on the current workspace. You then move them into any workspace. Pressing super twice opens app drawer directly when overview is not open. Super+click and drag from anywhere of the app window. What we the users need to do is to check the keyboard shortcuts first. Is it necessary? Maybe not. Is it useful? 100% yes.
For these problems you mentioned there are actually extensions for most of these issues. Not saying this shouldn’t be in stock gnome but there’s an extension that ads your mic and speakers to the system tray (Sound Input & Output Device Chooser) as well as an extension for the auto suspend in mpv (Caffeine) which lets you set programs to disable auto suspend for!
This is great! Its always a good idea to see what others are doing. With regards to KDE with gestures and fingerprint reading. Well, these things take time and I am more than confident that KDE will get this done and done right. Just need time. :-D
I would prefer it to be an out-of-box feature but I use "Sound Input & Output Device Chooser" extension for immediate/easy system menu access to changing my output device.
To open a new window od an app in a specific virtual desktop you just need to drop the app icon into the virtual desktop and it will open up a new window.
To open a new window pull the icon. To open a new desktop to the left drog a window to the left of the list. You can also Insert new desktops between other desktops the same way. Celloloid (ex gnome mpv) should block the timeout. There is a plugin for gnome to add audio device selector to the system menu... (which is great). It's called _Sound Input & Output Device Chooser._
I played with Gnome a few years ago, and I liked it visually but: I couldn't get the exact look, layout and desktop workflow as I wanted - in Plasma I can. There are so many things that I miss on Gnome that I can't consider it seriously. However, there are few things on Gnome that I would like to see implemented in Plasma, among them the overview, gestures, etc. My question here is, since GDM is open source, can you re-use backend code and implement it or rewrite for SDDM if fingerprint is so good in GDM? There is no need to reinvent a wheel anew, and the point of open-source is that we are able to use and improve on code that is there. You rather shouldn't publish such Gnome extension, because you would need to keep it updating with Gnome versions. If you switch to Plasma again and forget your Gnome affair, your extension will quickly become obsolete.
> There are so many things that I miss on Gnome that I can't consider it seriously. What are these? Serious question from a gnome user thinking of switching to KDE.
I agree, totally wish they added back audio switching into the top panel. I swear it used to be there (maybe in Unity) but got deprecated. It’s such a common task I shouldn’t have to open settings/pavucontrol every single time.
I think someone already wrote that. But nontheless: Instead of right click → new instance do drag and drop of the app icon/Starte to the desktop the new Window should start on. :-)
There's a Keep Awake extension that will stop your screen from sleep during watching videos. However, I agree that the most logical thing would be for video player app to override the sleep
It is good to try other desktops so that you can see and implement some of the features in KDE. Gnome does have some good points and some bad stuff. It is good to find out why this desktop takes such directions and why people love it. For me, I still prefer KDE over Gnome because of the customizations. The only reason for me to move away from macOS is the customization of the desktop. That is it.
id like to see you port KDE widget panels to Gnome Desktop, imagine KDE global menus on gnome!!! or KDE system widgets on gnome desktop...that would make Linux History!! id pledge $25 a month to see that happen!! Love your wallpaper!
I did have to configure the trackpad a little bit myself, but is worth a shot, everything works as I wanted, you just have to reconfigure your trackpad, there's no need to tweak or touch the DE, it's actually kinda easy.
Great video, it's also good to show that this tantrum between plasma x gnome doesn't exist (except on the part of cranky users trying to praise something by knocking down one or another project). About the extension did you succeed? I was curious because I didn't quite understand your proposal.
About the virtual desktop thing, don't know how much it would help someone else, but I like using alt+f1/2/3/4/etc for the virtual desktops (just like text consoles)d. I removed normal gnome functionality from alt+f1/2/3/4. Am using ctrl+w to close window, ctrl+q to quit application, which is more consistent to linux/unix shortcut keys. I rarely use the mouse. And if I do, I just go in overview mode (or whatever it is called) and just move stuff around. When you press windows key and you can see all virtual desktops. It's even more useful when you have a multi monitor setup. Which raises the complexity even more. I have 2 monitors most of the time, sometimes 3. I love the fact that I can configure 1 of them or more than 1 as work monitors and some as extension monitors. Meaning (at least in my case), one of them has all the virtual desktops that I switch around with alt+f buttons, and 1 or 2 are static and are unaffected by the other. So the second monitor can be used to keep a console open and read logs while working on monitor 1, and monitor 3 can run a movie for instance on the tv. Moving things around is very easy. Just press windows button, and move windows around. Also GNOME devs are available on IRC if you want to ask them questions. Personally I don't use more than 4 virtual desktops, because of the second and third monitor, but I looked it up and it works. There are 2 (well 3) which dramatically change the way gnome behaves. One is gnome-control-settings which is what you call settings, the other is gnome-tweaks. In gnome, these virtual desktops are called workspaces. So in tweaks, the last option is workspaces. And gnome has 2 options. By default, it is single dynamic workspace, primary display only. Which means, you start with 2 virtual desktops and then add on. You can switch with ctrl+alt+left/right arrow. Now that desktops are side by side. used to top one on top of each other, and you used ctrl+alt+up/down. I think they changed it in version 39 or around there. Anyway, the point is that you can set whatever number of _static_ virtual desktops, assign a key shortcut for them, and they will show in the overview window. Personally I keep an open desktop on alt+f1. got work on alt+f2 (mostly these days vim/gnome builder or smth like that) . got a browser on alt+f3. got an email client (evolution) on alt+f4. got my console on the right display, and a movie on the top display on the large tv. If something is not game/movie (display 3), or a console (display 2), or an email (desktop 4), or a web page (desktop 3), or work (desktop 2), then it's prolly on desktop 1 that is strange stuff that doesn't fit other screens... :)
To me, the Dashboard + VD overview at about 10:20 is very attractive indeed, more so as I gather you can use it to send apps to specific workspaces. I'd love to see that in Plasma.
I use the present windows and present desktop, as well as desktop switching, multi-finger gestures with KDE using libinput-gestures. It't not built-in, but it's an option that works with KDE.
GNOME's strength is it's stability. It gets out of the way and stuff just works. There are some annoying things with it, true but it truly gets out of the way. The dance of going to settings and finding a specific setting you need is really annoying if you have bluetooth headphones which are used on multiple devices. Each time I turn on my machine I have to go to settings - sound - blue tooth head set - enable. It's 4 or 5 clicks, and it gets old fast.
5:08 Workspace Matrix extension allows you to do that but the number of workspaces is fixed ,not dynamic. And Put Windows allows you to specify which workspace a particular app will open in.
I'm not fussed about DE's. Gnome, KDE Plasma, Mate, XFCE etc I can use them all fine. WindowMaker is my favourite, possibly because it was the first I ever used in Redhat 5.2.
To start an application more than once simply hold down ctrl while left clicking the application icon in the bar. Another example of keeping things simple.
@@PapasFilms could be. Performance wise, plasma is fairly light and runs nicely on low end, but crashes are another thing entirely, and depends a lot on the setup
Depends. I find KDE lighter in a VM fore sure, easy win for KDE there. GNOME does feel really sluggish in a VM, on bare metal GNOME feels fast only with Wayland to me, Sure X is fine, but when I switch between them the difference is immediately apparent to me. Unfortunately Wayland Nvidia GNOME is still a crash fest, unusable for a full work day, crashes begin within 20 minutes of use. apps that still require X are a disaster in GNOME NVidia Wayland. I've not tried KDE on Wayland on bare metal, since my KDE is on POP it comes with X only out of the box. it feels normal to me, no complaints, not bad, nothing special :)
Also, it took me a long time to get KDE configured to my liking, i.e nothing what like what it is out of the box, when you play with a lot settings in a single session, and latte dock I find KDE mega unstable, BUT now that I am happy how it looks, the layout etc, and just use it, it has been fine actually, no more problems. It is more like KNOME now the way it works :D I find the defaults very outdated, looks, the way it works etc.
Middle-click or 3-finger click on the app icon open a new windows too. 😉 If it isn't working on vanilla GNOME, install dash-to-dock or floating dock and customize it.
2 года назад
For me the audio selection is essential because my webcam has a crappy mic that connects *first*, so I have to change the default mic every start. Doing it in GNOME is an absolute pain without the sound extension, which stopped working after yet another API breaking GNOME shell update
One of the things that plasma always forced me to switch to gnome was dimmed 'Toggle Present Windows' . I used a 4 * 4 desktop grid but while zoomed out it was confusing to see around 50 small windows and I always lost track of my present workspace. I just want to see the windows open on a particular workspace and gnome just nails it. No DE can match the panels and system tray of plasma.
I'm a KDE user since 1999 and for the first time trying Gnome for more than 20 days now. For me, it was hard to understand activities as workspaces and also about sound devices setup long way to settings and switch (I've found a gnome extension to select device but I really miss Plasma's way to remind devices by applications).
Opening a new window of something should be possible with holding control while pressing enter instead of flying accross the universe to go back to the file manager you opened some other place. Still not ideal imo, would rather have it work the opposite way, but it works.
@@niccoloveslinux Ubuntu is stuck on GNOME 40 until 22.04 LTS comes out by April, so maybe this feature was made available on GNOME 41. I say maybe because I am not sure of that.
O.o You don't have a dock in the activities overview? I thought that was part of vanilla Gnome. For opening programs, I use keyboard shortcuts for the things I use most (browser, files, terminal,...). Programs I use less, but still on a regular, are in the dock inside the activities overview, and for anything else I just type the name in activities to find it.
What KDE needs are Presets, one Windows like, one Gnome like and one MacOS like. So you have a base for how the Desktop looks and handles. I dont use KDE since the i love the MacOS/Gnome App overview and POP_OS has a interresting new style for it. But there open a not so good Applaucher app on using the SUPER key :/
Fun fact: The reason your microphone registers as an output device is probably not a bug, but a feature! Like it is with my own microphone, yours likely has a 3.5mm headphone jack at the bottom which is used to monitor the microphone's audio but can also be used to pass through desktop audio as a regular output device.
I've tried to use KDE a multitude of times, and unfortunately, I tend to switch back to Gnome after awhile. Gnomes dynamic workspaces are the killer app for me, and I also like the way that GTK based apps look personally. Plasma, while being awesome and so configurable, I get lost with it because of how many nuanced things you can do with it. It's both a good and bad thing. If Tiling ever gets of the ground with Plasma, I might make that switch. I've been playing around with Sway lately, and It's been pulling me into the dark side of Tiling window managers lol My biggest gripe about Gnome isn't the simplicity, but how poorly it performs with a few things on screen, at least with my computers. My 1070 rig runs it fine, but all of my laptops (4th gen integrated graphics) struggle with Gnome.
with audio issue, I actually have the same problem because my microphone accepts 3.5 jack for audio and 2 solutions I found is: In windows you can disable audio devices, which I do for stuff I don't need or disable driver for that audio thing specifically.
thou with this I can tell, windows 11 has NO normal way to disable audio from what I know, I often pray that I can find legacy audio menu from windows 7 and disable it there, I hate new interfaces like that where they make everything big, okay fine.. and then don't add same functionality as before, I would say the only good thing about windows 10/11 audio tab is: you can select (if you find it) in mixer specifically which sound device to use for audio, which actually is a nice thing, I used it before to listen to music on stream without passing it to viewers.
problem with GNOME is that it doesnt have a functioning desktop anymore and it did not include copy paste history by default. And i dont have to change as much on plasma as i would i GNOME to get the look i want
I just switched to back KDE. I switched from Gnome. I also switched from DWM. I still have DWM and it's still installed and I still use it...but...let's consider this a win for KDE. I say I switched back because I used it daily back in 3.5. I hated KDE 4. I hated it so much that I switched to Gnome 3. Then I switched to OSX. Those were dark days. Then I came back to Linux. I used Gnome then switched to DWM then Gnome then I ran them both. Now I'm back to KDE. Bismuth is awesome. Sorry I am not using Breeze. It's nice, but I prefer the Nord color schemes. You were part of the reason I came back to KDE. It was mostly Gentoo that caused the switch. Also, Gnome refuses to connect to my NextCloud and I hate things having features that are broken. It's apparently a known bug. Anyway. Enjoy the wall of text.
you can create desktops to the left by just dragging windows in the overview to the left of the first desktop. It will create a new desktop to the left and let you place a window there. And for the screen timeout feature, there is an extension that does this with a single click on the top panel. I think I saw an extension for adding an audio switcher to the panel as well at some point. And yes, the gestures on gnome are amazing. I wish I could do that on Windows, Gnome literally made me hate windows. KDE to always felt like: ok about everything but good for nothing. Gnome is awesome for productivity.
But what about the most crucial part of a DE, the file manager? Gnome's file manager is just so much behind Dolphin... It is like using explorer in Windows.
Live this evening so you can hold me accountable for yesterday's video!
ruclips.net/video/NbnwpMh5530/видео.html
Using a Fingerprint reader for login is bs. Biometrical data can't be replaced when it is compromised. Thus it is very dumb to use that for login.
Top 10 betrayals nobody expected
Niccolò 🤝 Weatley
Top 10 betrayals nobody expected that were actually a double agent plot twist.
idek why this made me laugh hysterically.
To be fair my patreons knew :p
@@niccoloveslinux I have a feeling that some people would leave your patreon because of that :/
I feel like the devs from other DE's should do this kind of thing to learn from each other.
@Vinícius Felipe Posselt I doubt it's as common as you make it appear
@Vinícius Felipe Posselt well I know that some gnome and elementary devs are contributing to each other's DE but I mean making videos promoting each other is just another level of effort I think
One of the greatest things about free software is, they actually can.
@@niccoloveslinux But those who design & finalize the features should be doing it already if not devs. Isn't it ?
4:35 there's the official "Launch new instance" extension or you can use the middle click
6:25 thy the "Sound Input & Output Device Chooser" extension
You can also drag and drop the icon on the virtual desktop and it opens a new instance.
7:17 "Caffeine" extension
Gnome reminds me of Apple when you have to use 3rd party extensions for features that could be there OOB
Also there’s caffeine for disabling auto suspend and screensaver when certain programs like mov are opened!
@@vetrixfx9264 at least it makes it really easy to install them!
Welcome to the Gnome family!....LoL! I've been here since the Gnome 2.x days....we have come a long way and its pretty cool now!!
You can drag and drop a window to the space in-between the workspaces in thumbnails section. This will create a new workspace with the application window at desired position. Buon divertimento 😊
AMAZING!
I wish I knew about this before!!!
Which KDE plasma version introduced this feature?
If i try to do that in Debian 11 nothing happens.
This is on gnome
@@tobfos Ah thanks.
I have both Gnome and KDE on my notebook since the release of gnome 40.
I prefer KDE but the gestures are a game changer on a notebook to the point I don't even feel the need of a mouse most of the times.
wm are only good for desktop screen not for notebook
Gnome is very basic and that makes it so smooth,stable and charming. No argument there
But if you want adventure, creativity and 500 options to controll all that .. kde is the way to go
No reason to fight, both are linux after all 😊
I'm forced to use KDE bcz Gnome apps looks good in KDE but KDE apps looks bad in Gnome, So I can have best of both on KDE and random crashes are complimentary
@Yofiel Crashing part of KDE looking good in Gnome part?
Great, More consistency is better for Linux
@@NamasteProgramming it'll be less consistent though, you'll have half your apps looking like they were designed for a tablet and the other half looking like they're designed for the machine you're running them on. No themes in libatwaita is a bad move.
@@Semperverus0 As long as they follow light and dark theme correct I don't care, apps are always going to look different and that's okay, people who want to get work done don't care much as long as UI is sensible
What I like about gnome is the consistency and the "clean look", but kde is improving a lot in this field
Theres an extension called caffeine for gnome that does everything you said for MPV with one button press.
Espresso is a better one to use for Gnome 40+
Very interesting video and I think it is very important for developers from each DE to spend time in other DEs to see how others are doing something. Plasma is great but yea first impressions could be better. I am curious what were the things about the new overview that you don't like?
My biggest issue is that the new overview flattens the structure of virtual desktops by not showing grids; no transition from your desktop to the effect; graphically speaking I prefer the approach where you have the background of the desktops with windows over it and then the blurred wallpaper behind
Yes, please implement the gnome overview, and dynamic virtual desktops in Plasma!
As far as I know they are working on an overview effect. (Workspace Behavior → Desktop Effects → Under Window Management) and you can bind it to a hot-corner or a keyboard shortcut. I think it should get a big overhaul in 5.24 and be more like Gnome's
There's also a Kwin Script called "Dynamic Workspaces" that does, well, just that, very much like it works in Gnome Shell. It worked quite well, when I tried it.
The audio comment about switching between microphone and speaker - think Sound Output and Input extension. I never have to go back to settings.
Done :D
My ideal desktop environment is basically a hybrid of KDE Plasma functioning identically to how it is right now with all of the KDE compatible apps and global themes built for KDE and without the Proton bug I hear GNOME has where there's allegedly some minor input delay compared to KDE, but with the _one and only_ functional difference from KDE being that when I tap or double tap the super key, it functions identically to GNOME where it brings up what happens at 2:40 when I tap once and 10:07 when I tap twice. GNOME's super key functionality, and specifically only this feature, was enough to almost completely get me to switch over because to me it's the perfect balance of efficiency and flashiness without overloading you with information, but I love KDE's... well, everything else more than GNOME.
I think someone should fork Gnome 41 and make a fully fledged desktop environment out of it instead of a hybrid desktop/tablet environment. That way we could get the best of the both worlds... but who is going to do that?
yes! the gnome's overview is their best feature. hopefully they dont take too long to bring it to plasma
I just want a KDE that's not built on Qt - it's the only thing that makes me shy away. :(
@@Onkoe why QT made you shy?
@@МаксатРсымбетов-з9о so cinnamon?
You may like the extensions
Sound Output Device Chooser
Application Volume Mixer
Arc Menu
As for window management, I agree with your critiques. FWIW I use Material Shell, its a very heavy duty extension but with the right keybind settings its great, I don't know how it works with touchpad gestures.
I think the reason default Gnome sends you back to the currently open instance of Files when you click the icon, instead of opening another instance, is because thats what would happen on a smartphone. People say Gnome has a different "desktop metaphor". Perhaps this is good, it makes your computer act like your tablet act like your phone. Personally I don't think its worth it.
About 8:35, you can use gdm do launch plasma and the fingerprint will work fine
I really like how fair you were in this video. I agree with most of your criticisms
6:10 There‘s a extension called Sound Input & Output Device Chooser for this. You can switch in the menu (in the top right corner) microfone and speaker.
Also, you could just switch the mic's mode in pavucontrol.
Thanks for this! I never thought to look for an extension to add this functionality. It works quite well with Pop!_OS 21.10.
4:30, you can open a new window with middle click on vanilla Gnome. There's also an extension (I know, it's not vanilla then) to always launch a new instance when clicking an icon on the dash, it comes preinstalled (but disabled) on Fedora, I'm personally not a fan of that behaviour though.
Nice video by the way. Fun to see things from the perspective of people that are generally used to an entirely different workflow.
Edit: Removed a bit about only showing applications from the current workspace, that setting only affects application switching (e.g. alt-tab).
I think he said that he's using Ubuntu. So that means that he's stuck on the old version of GNOME :'(
@@miljantrajkovic1862 it’s gnome 40 tho!
@@realtimestatic But there were many improvement, especially with multitasking in 41.3
I'm sure I am not the first person to tell you, but the dock _is_ part of the default gnome experience - (just not in the way ubuntu implemented it)
I agree with the workspaces though! You _can_ put a window on a new workspace to the left, or between existiing workspaces, but it should be more discoverable.
Cool to see someone with fresh eyes coming to gnome. Thanks for beeing so open and constructive. :)
I really like gnome for simplicity and core desktop experience focus with a well thought and implemented workflow that is indigenous to Gnome. The way they lean on apps that are simple but elegant and excellent for one task, and that they support customizations via extensions which is a helpful thing for those who want a good and supported desktop but don't need or want all the extras, and some may call bloat, on their desktop.
The last thought about many rows presentation is like "I would like to take activities to Gnome"
well kinda yeah, but easier to switch between them! Activities aren't necessarily a bad idea...
@@niccoloveslinux would be awesome to have something like this in the new KDE overview. Also if don't feel like I would be using "fast change" for activities
Well, but that's not the biggest issue people have with GNOME. Interface customization is it. For example, there's no way to change the size of the top bar. I feel like modern DE's waste too much vertical space with ginormous elements. The vast majority of people don't have 4K displays and there are no options to down scale content. As per GNOME extensions...They're mostly XML+CSS.
For the mpv problem there is the caffeine extension. :)
Installed it right now!
It’s a workaround for wayland’s or free desktop’s incomplete specification.
@@aaronrancsik4 That is BS and easily disproven. All apps following the freedesktop spec properly stop and resume suspend. Its MPV that relied on a Xorg hack to prevent suspend and its core developer being too stubborn to implement the actual solution.
I use ToucheggKDE (with some customizations) in KDE, it makes the gestures at least on par with Gnome!
It's really great that you stick to GNOME for a while. I think it allows for new fresh perspectives when you (hopefully) return to Plasma. It's also healthy to appreciate the good work that other projects do.
I think that gnome's simplicity can be from a development point of view better maintained and can have a quicker evolution to new requirements.
Say what you will, but GNOME is a very stable platform. If you want things done and not worry about your Desktop braking down you, it is the way to go.
100% true. As much as I love the customization of KDE I always find several bugs within like using 30 minutes of it. Its sad really. Hopefully we get better QA and have a more stable kde experience
@@Tamtam-hh3xv Not only this, some times some behaviors that are not common on other DEs got my nerves, like right clicking behavior on xorg... Not sure it changed, but it triggered in the press event instead of release event, sometimes triggering the first item on the menu on the release event...
It often breaks when you add a new extension and the shell updates to a new version. Using GNOME without extensions makes it too barebones and even the GNOME devs use it.
Io uso entrambi...tuttavia Gnome senza estensioni è abbastanza inusabile e molte estensioni sono buggy. Plasma di default è abbastanza buono, non ho mai avuto interruzioni. Con l'esperienza ho imparato che di solito il default è quello che funziona meglio ed è meno soggetto a bug. Purtroppo per me è davvero difficile utilizzare Gnome vanilla, mentre trovo ottimo Plasma.
Tuttavia è sempre questione di gusti, necessità, abitudini...sono due ottimi DE.
I wish they would take pop_shell tilling extension and make it a thing out of the box, everyone would be using gnome
I use Gnome with a mouse instead of a touchpad, and when I need to open a new window on my current desktop, I middle click the application icon on the dash. Depending on the touchpad, 3 finger tap, or 3 finger click simulates middle click.
Thank you for doing this. As others already mentioned caffeine and the sound chooser extension, I will mention that there are mockups for new quick settings. Which also have a sound chooser, seems like they might be targeting the fall release.
4:30 There's an extension for that: "Launch new instance"
Control + lmb to open new instance
Drag an app and put it between 2 workspaces in the overview to create a new one
There is an extension to choose sound output on status menu
Caffeine is an extension that puts an indicator on the top bar to halt auto blank/suspend
If you are not using GNOME on fedora (most recommended), you are not experiencing GNOME the way it wants to project itself. Fedora to GNOME is what Pixel phones are to stock android.
Tbf he disabled the majority (if not all) the Ubuntu's specific extensions, so this is as close as vanilla as it gets on Ubuntu. One guy on the comments suggested the GNOME session which is 100% vanilla, which is a great point.
But yeah, I am with you on this, Fedora is the way to go for the authentic GNOME experience (SUSE and Arch are good options aswell)
Depending on how you use Gnome, having the dash icons take you to an already open window even if it's on a different workspace can be nice.
I use the workspaces on Gnome the same way someone would for something like i3. I dedicate each workspace to a specific purpose. So I might have a general purpose workspace, a browser workspace, a chat workspace, an email workspace, a terminal workspace (sometimes I move them to general purpose or browser, depending on my needs though). With this workflow, being able to click on firefox to jump to the 2nd workspace is convenient.
it might be worth keeping GNOME around for when GNOME 42 comes out in a couple of months :)
The only downside to Gnome for me is the extensions break on every update. That's actually a deal breaker for me because you need the extensions to make it usable.
Considering extensions aren't supported by Gnome Devs, you're upset with volunteers that make these in their spare time for not somehow being on the bleeding edge before it's released. Not all of them have that kind of time.
@@experimental0000 That's not what he's saying though. The problem is that extensions are needed to customize gnome and make it function like most people want it to. And just like you're saying most of the volunteers won't have time to fix their extensions day 1. Which results in broken and abandoned extensions when Gnome has a major update.
@@experimental0000 The idea is that those volunteer extension developers should not have to work to fix after every update
as someone who uses gnome+sway on laptop and plasma on desktop, i completely agree with your critiques
My biggest problem with GNOME is the lack of a system tray. GNOME devs in their arrogance think their notification system and APIs are better, but they are not. It sucks compared to system tray from a user perspective, especially if you are dealing with instant messaging apps. I know that from a system perspective the system tray implementation might not be as good, but system tray makes my life so much easier and convenient.
in KDE Plasma, the touchpad gestures I think can be implemented independently with touchegg
Not 1:1 though, so not nearly as good
I used Gnome for a while and kept track since 2005 (well, Gnome2 era). When Gnome3 came out I also relied on extensions to recover or add functionality, and my experience tells me that is not a good idea. There are many cool extensions, but they tend to not get updated and you end on an eternal cycle of looking at forks from forks from forks of the original extensions. (and of course, good luck keeping track of the names!). Also the lifespan of such extensions is less than a year in many occasions.
Excellent video! Really enjoyed it, even though I am currently using neither KDE nor Gnome. 🙂
Opening a new app when there's an existing one open can be done by holding Ctrl. This works for clicking as well as for Ctrl+Super+.
There are gnome extensions for some of the other issues - e.g. Caffeine to prevent screen suspend
Ctrl+ clicking on an app opens a new window on the current workspace. You then move them into any workspace.
Pressing super twice opens app drawer directly when overview is not open.
Super+click and drag from anywhere of the app window.
What we the users need to do is to check the keyboard shortcuts first. Is it necessary? Maybe not. Is it useful? 100% yes.
You can use the extension, “Sound input & output device chooser” to change your input and output sources.
Why do you need to install a plug-in to get basic desktop functionality?
@@Semperverus0 No clue ask the developers
@@cpuccino It is most likely to be available in GNOME 43
For these problems you mentioned there are actually extensions for most of these issues. Not saying this shouldn’t be in stock gnome but there’s an extension that ads your mic and speakers to the system tray (Sound Input & Output Device Chooser) as well as an extension for the auto suspend in mpv (Caffeine) which lets you set programs to disable auto suspend for!
This is great! Its always a good idea to see what others are doing. With regards to KDE with gestures and fingerprint reading. Well, these things take time and I am more than confident that KDE will get this done and done right. Just need time. :-D
The screen brightness thing on Gnome, there's an extension called Caffeine.
I would prefer it to be an out-of-box feature but I use "Sound Input & Output Device Chooser" extension for immediate/easy system menu access to changing my output device.
That may be available in version 43 I think
To open a new window od an app in a specific virtual desktop you just need to drop the app icon into the virtual desktop and it will open up a new window.
Baby Wogue will be happy to see that. Are you really switching or just discovering Gnome to compare it with KDE Plasma ?
To open a new window pull the icon.
To open a new desktop to the left drog a window to the left of the list.
You can also Insert new desktops between other desktops the same way.
Celloloid (ex gnome mpv) should block the timeout.
There is a plugin for gnome to add audio device selector to the system menu... (which is great). It's called _Sound Input & Output Device Chooser._
I played with Gnome a few years ago, and I liked it visually but: I couldn't get the exact look, layout and desktop workflow as I wanted - in Plasma I can. There are so many things that I miss on Gnome that I can't consider it seriously. However, there are few things on Gnome that I would like to see implemented in Plasma, among them the overview, gestures, etc.
My question here is, since GDM is open source, can you re-use backend code and implement it or rewrite for SDDM if fingerprint is so good in GDM? There is no need to reinvent a wheel anew, and the point of open-source is that we are able to use and improve on code that is there.
You rather shouldn't publish such Gnome extension, because you would need to keep it updating with Gnome versions. If you switch to Plasma again and forget your Gnome affair, your extension will quickly become obsolete.
> There are so many things that I miss on Gnome that I can't consider it seriously.
What are these? Serious question from a gnome user thinking of switching to KDE.
I agree, totally wish they added back audio switching into the top panel. I swear it used to be there (maybe in Unity) but got deprecated. It’s such a common task I shouldn’t have to open settings/pavucontrol every single time.
I think someone already wrote that. But nontheless:
Instead of right click → new instance
do drag and drop of the app icon/Starte to the desktop the new Window should start on. :-)
YOU WERE THE CHOSEN ONE, YOU WERE MEANT TO DESTROY THE GNOME NOT JOIN THEM!
No need, Gnome team is already working on that.
@@NamasteProgramming 😂😂
@@NamasteProgramming Gnome Team is working on some amazing features in the next Gnome 42 update, give it a try maybe :)
@@NamasteProgramming 👍!
@@weebhavv I would say yes they are, After all adding dark is amazing TBH
When you're done with Gnome the next video title is gonna sound even stranger: "KDE Developer Switches to Plasma!"
Can also access "Sound" from overlay without having to click settings. Saves a few clicks
my problem with extensions is every major update half of them break, and ones that don't wind up bugged out .
There's a Keep Awake extension that will stop your screen from sleep during watching videos. However, I agree that the most logical thing would be for video player app to override the sleep
It is good to try other desktops so that you can see and implement some of the features in KDE. Gnome does have some good points and some bad stuff. It is good to find out why this desktop takes such directions and why people love it.
For me, I still prefer KDE over Gnome because of the customizations. The only reason for me to move away from macOS is the customization of the desktop. That is it.
Thanks for pushing for a healthy Linux Desktop friendship!
id like to see you port KDE widget panels to Gnome Desktop, imagine KDE global menus on gnome!!! or KDE system widgets on gnome desktop...that would make Linux History!!
id pledge $25 a month to see that happen!! Love your wallpaper!
This is already possible by using Latte under Gnome
I did have to configure the trackpad a little bit myself, but is worth a shot, everything works as I wanted, you just have to reconfigure your trackpad, there's no need to tweak or touch the DE, it's actually kinda easy.
Great video, it's also good to show that this tantrum between plasma x gnome doesn't exist (except on the part of cranky users trying to praise something by knocking down one or another project). About the extension did you succeed? I was curious because I didn't quite understand your proposal.
Also you could take a look on other desktops/WMs, like XFCE, i3 etc
About the virtual desktop thing, don't know how much it would help someone else, but I like using alt+f1/2/3/4/etc for the virtual desktops (just like text consoles)d. I removed normal gnome functionality from alt+f1/2/3/4. Am using ctrl+w to close window, ctrl+q to quit application, which is more consistent to linux/unix shortcut keys. I rarely use the mouse. And if I do, I just go in overview mode (or whatever it is called) and just move stuff around. When you press windows key and you can see all virtual desktops. It's even more useful when you have a multi monitor setup. Which raises the complexity even more. I have 2 monitors most of the time, sometimes 3. I love the fact that I can configure 1 of them or more than 1 as work monitors and some as extension monitors. Meaning (at least in my case), one of them has all the virtual desktops that I switch around with alt+f buttons, and 1 or 2 are static and are unaffected by the other. So the second monitor can be used to keep a console open and read logs while working on monitor 1, and monitor 3 can run a movie for instance on the tv. Moving things around is very easy. Just press windows button, and move windows around.
Also GNOME devs are available on IRC if you want to ask them questions. Personally I don't use more than 4 virtual desktops, because of the second and third monitor, but I looked it up and it works.
There are 2 (well 3) which dramatically change the way gnome behaves. One is gnome-control-settings which is what you call settings, the other is gnome-tweaks. In gnome, these virtual desktops are called workspaces. So in tweaks, the last option is workspaces. And gnome has 2 options. By default, it is single dynamic workspace, primary display only. Which means, you start with 2 virtual desktops and then add on. You can switch with ctrl+alt+left/right arrow. Now that desktops are side by side. used to top one on top of each other, and you used ctrl+alt+up/down. I think they changed it in version 39 or around there. Anyway, the point is that you can set whatever number of _static_ virtual desktops, assign a key shortcut for them, and they will show in the overview window.
Personally I keep an open desktop on alt+f1. got work on alt+f2 (mostly these days vim/gnome builder or smth like that) . got a browser on alt+f3. got an email client (evolution) on alt+f4. got my console on the right display, and a movie on the top display on the large tv. If something is not game/movie (display 3), or a console (display 2), or an email (desktop 4), or a web page (desktop 3), or work (desktop 2), then it's prolly on desktop 1 that is strange stuff that doesn't fit other screens... :)
Nice! Hope you keep your job ;)
I'm a volunteer!
@@niccoloveslinux Thanks for your work!
To me, the Dashboard + VD overview at about 10:20 is very attractive indeed, more so as I gather you can use it to send apps to specific workspaces. I'd love to see that in Plasma.
I use the present windows and present desktop, as well as desktop switching, multi-finger gestures with KDE using libinput-gestures. It't not built-in, but it's an option that works with KDE.
GNOME's strength is it's stability. It gets out of the way and stuff just works. There are some annoying things with it, true but it truly gets out of the way. The dance of going to settings and finding a specific setting you need is really annoying if you have bluetooth headphones which are used on multiple devices. Each time I turn on my machine I have to go to settings - sound - blue tooth head set - enable. It's 4 or 5 clicks, and it gets old fast.
5:08 Workspace Matrix extension allows you to do that but the number of workspaces is fixed ,not dynamic. And Put Windows allows you to specify which workspace a particular app will open in.
I'm not fussed about DE's. Gnome, KDE Plasma, Mate, XFCE etc I can use them all fine. WindowMaker is my favourite, possibly because it was the first I ever used in Redhat 5.2.
To start an application more than once simply hold down ctrl while left clicking the application icon in the bar. Another example of keeping things simple.
Does GNOME feel snappier? Faster? Personally, I think it is.
Sometimes just selecting "Power Off" on plasma crashes the desktop.
Personally, I did not notice any significant performance differences
@@niccoloveslinux Interesting… maybe it has something to do with GPU?
@@PapasFilms could be. Performance wise, plasma is fairly light and runs nicely on low end, but crashes are another thing entirely, and depends a lot on the setup
Depends. I find KDE lighter in a VM fore sure, easy win for KDE there. GNOME does feel really sluggish in a VM, on bare metal GNOME feels fast only with Wayland to me, Sure X is fine, but when I switch between them the difference is immediately apparent to me. Unfortunately Wayland Nvidia GNOME is still a crash fest, unusable for a full work day, crashes begin within 20 minutes of use. apps that still require X are a disaster in GNOME NVidia Wayland.
I've not tried KDE on Wayland on bare metal, since my KDE is on POP it comes with X only out of the box. it feels normal to me, no complaints, not bad, nothing special :)
Also, it took me a long time to get KDE configured to my liking, i.e nothing what like what it is out of the box, when you play with a lot settings in a single session, and latte dock I find KDE mega unstable,
BUT
now that I am happy how it looks, the layout etc, and just use it, it has been fine actually, no more problems. It is more like KNOME now the way it works :D I find the defaults very outdated, looks, the way it works etc.
Knome is the way
Middle-click or 3-finger click on the app icon open a new windows too. 😉
If it isn't working on vanilla GNOME, install dash-to-dock or floating dock and customize it.
For me the audio selection is essential because my webcam has a crappy mic that connects *first*, so I have to change the default mic every start. Doing it in GNOME is an absolute pain without the sound extension, which stopped working after yet another API breaking GNOME shell update
One of the things that plasma always forced me to switch to gnome was dimmed 'Toggle Present Windows' . I used a 4 * 4 desktop grid but while zoomed out it was confusing to see around 50 small windows and I always lost track of my present workspace. I just want to see the windows open on a particular workspace and gnome just nails it. No DE can match the panels and system tray of plasma.
Me as a KDE user seeing this, it's just crazy to see a KDE contributor switching to GNOME.
Could you make a video where you point out the things that you personally did for/on KDE?
I would love to see what parts made by you! 😊
I've done it! It's called what do I do in KDE or something like that
@@niccoloveslinux oh, okay🙈
Should open my eyes more widely when watching RUclips🤣
Thanks!
I used to use KDE and I've been using it for over a year but I have now switched to Gnome, sacrificing appearance and features for bugs...
I'm a KDE user since 1999 and for the first time trying Gnome for more than 20 days now. For me, it was hard to understand activities as workspaces and also about sound devices setup long way to settings and switch (I've found a gnome extension to select device but I really miss Plasma's way to remind devices by applications).
Opening a new window of something should be possible with holding control while pressing enter instead of flying accross the universe to go back to the file manager you opened some other place. Still not ideal imo, would rather have it work the opposite way, but it works.
Actually drag and drop work-spaces has already been implemented a while ago
oh?
@@niccoloveslinux Ubuntu is stuck on GNOME 40 until 22.04 LTS comes out by April, so maybe this feature was made available on GNOME 41. I say maybe because I am not sure of that.
O.o You don't have a dock in the activities overview? I thought that was part of vanilla Gnome. For opening programs, I use keyboard shortcuts for the things I use most (browser, files, terminal,...). Programs I use less, but still on a regular, are in the dock inside the activities overview, and for anything else I just type the name in activities to find it.
I do have it but it's out of the recording. I'm filming on a 1920x1200 screen so the bottom 180px are cut out
7:30 - there is Caffeine extension that allows to prevent system sleep.
What KDE needs are Presets, one Windows like, one Gnome like and one MacOS like. So you have a base for how the Desktop looks and handles. I dont use KDE since the i love the MacOS/Gnome App overview and POP_OS has a interresting new style for it. But there open a not so good Applaucher app on using the SUPER key :/
Fun fact: The reason your microphone registers as an output device is probably not a bug, but a feature! Like it is with my own microphone, yours likely has a 3.5mm headphone jack at the bottom which is used to monitor the microphone's audio but can also be used to pass through desktop audio as a regular output device.
TIL!
I've tried to use KDE a multitude of times, and unfortunately, I tend to switch back to Gnome after awhile. Gnomes dynamic workspaces are the killer app for me, and I also like the way that GTK based apps look personally. Plasma, while being awesome and so configurable, I get lost with it because of how many nuanced things you can do with it. It's both a good and bad thing. If Tiling ever gets of the ground with Plasma, I might make that switch. I've been playing around with Sway lately, and It's been pulling me into the dark side of Tiling window managers lol
My biggest gripe about Gnome isn't the simplicity, but how poorly it performs with a few things on screen, at least with my computers. My 1070 rig runs it fine, but all of my laptops (4th gen integrated graphics) struggle with Gnome.
with audio issue, I actually have the same problem because my microphone accepts 3.5 jack for audio and 2 solutions I found is: In windows you can disable audio devices, which I do for stuff I don't need or disable driver for that audio thing specifically.
thou with this I can tell, windows 11 has NO normal way to disable audio from what I know, I often pray that I can find legacy audio menu from windows 7 and disable it there, I hate new interfaces like that where they make everything big, okay fine.. and then don't add same functionality as before, I would say the only good thing about windows 10/11 audio tab is: you can select (if you find it) in mixer specifically which sound device to use for audio, which actually is a nice thing, I used it before to listen to music on stream without passing it to viewers.
You can install a default gnome session on ubuntu I think so you can use a vanilla install.
problem with GNOME is that it doesnt have a functioning desktop anymore and it did not include copy paste history by default. And i dont have to change as much on plasma as i would i GNOME to get the look i want
I just switched to back KDE. I switched from Gnome. I also switched from DWM. I still have DWM and it's still installed and I still use it...but...let's consider this a win for KDE. I say I switched back because I used it daily back in 3.5. I hated KDE 4. I hated it so much that I switched to Gnome 3. Then I switched to OSX. Those were dark days. Then I came back to Linux. I used Gnome then switched to DWM then Gnome then I ran them both. Now I'm back to KDE. Bismuth is awesome. Sorry I am not using Breeze. It's nice, but I prefer the Nord color schemes. You were part of the reason I came back to KDE. It was mostly Gentoo that caused the switch. Also, Gnome refuses to connect to my NextCloud and I hate things having features that are broken. It's apparently a known bug. Anyway. Enjoy the wall of text.
4:57 Yep I wish gnome had that workspace rearrangement feature.
I never expected this to happen
you can create desktops to the left by just dragging windows in the overview to the left of the first desktop. It will create a new desktop to the left and let you place a window there. And for the screen timeout feature, there is an extension that does this with a single click on the top panel. I think I saw an extension for adding an audio switcher to the panel as well at some point. And yes, the gestures on gnome are amazing. I wish I could do that on Windows, Gnome literally made me hate windows. KDE to always felt like: ok about everything but good for nothing. Gnome is awesome for productivity.
But if you have a dynamic microphone, it IS actually a speaker! Look it up, it's true!
But what about the most crucial part of a DE, the file manager? Gnome's file manager is just so much behind Dolphin... It is like using explorer in Windows.
as about sddm, it also does not have accessibility support
KDE Devs using GNOME! KNOME is finally Coming, I can feel it!