Rambling On -- KDE, GNOME, file browsers

gnome-commander isn't a bad file browser, just like Nautilus isn't a bad one. I know that some folks say that what they don't like about KDE compared to GNOME is that the configuration options get too confusing -- they get in the way. Comparing gnome-commander to Krusader, and Nautilus to Konqueror, I can really see how GNOME's approach might help those kinds of people.

As I'm getting used to Krusader, I'm finding myself stopping a lot because there are so many things that you can do with Krusader, and you have to spend some time figuring things out, getting used to things. It doesn't go like that with gnome-commander. It's a much simpler browser. It doesn't have many configuration options.

You can't even configure the toolbar, unless I'm completely missing something. I don't see any way to add/remove icons to/from the toolbar. (Krusader is set up more like Konqueror in that sense -- you have complete control over which icons sit on the toolbar.)

When it comes to file browsing, gnome-commander and Nautilus are both fine. You can do what you need to do. I don't mind using them.

But no self-respecting KDE fan can ever be truly happy with either of them.

They almost seem like they're made for children when you compare them to Krusader and Konqueror.

Now, I generally like GNOME. I like how things look. I like how things "feel." I'm as happy logging into Linux Mint as I am logging into Mepis.

But I don't think I'll ever be able to use GNOME without my favorite KDE apps:


Amarok

I don't know if this is the best music player or not but I like it the best because I'm used to it, I guess.


Konqueror and Krusader

In my opinion, Konqueror is the best file browser I've ever used.

I think that I can use Krusader most of the time instead of Konqueror, especially now that I've taken the time to get to know it better.

There are three things, however, that will send me back to Konqueror on occasion.

- One thing is the Services button that Konqueror has, where you can access applications, looks like a KMenu right there inside of Konqueror. It's something that has come in handy for me quite a few times when I'm setting up Openbox or Fluxbox or something and I don't have my menus set up well enough. Yeah, I guess I could run certain apps from the terminal or whatever, but it's nicer to just open Konqueror up and go right to the menu there.

- The second thing is the split views -- being able to have more than two windows available. It isn't something that's really necessary, but... I love that feature of Konqueror. I don't know of any other file browser that can do it.

Here's the kind of scenario where it's very handy for me: I'm wanting to go into /etc to work on fstab, but I also need to have /boot/grub open for the menu.lst, and I also need to have my main data partition open so I can check my notes, and maybe I also want to have my home directory in view as well.

Or, maybe I'm comparing two directories in one distro to two directories in another distro.

Or, maybe I'm doing something with my ~/wallpapers directories in two distros and I also need to see my wallpapers directory from my data partition, which has every background that I've collected, even the ones not currently in use by either distro.

I just can't do those kinds of things quickly and easily without that multiple split viewing capability.

- The third thing is Konqueror's ability to show man pages in html format, which comes in handy quite often here.


KSnapshot

There might be better screenshot apps out there, but GNOME doesn't have a better one! KSnapshot does exactly what I need for it to do.


Kuickshow

Okay, this one isn't really necessary, but I like it, even if it's a dead project. I use other image viewers and I'm generally happy with them, but when I'm in Konqueror or Krusader and feel like taking a quick look at a some images in a directory, Kuickshow is my favorite tool to use.


Those are the KDE apps that I take with me to GNOME. Without them, I don't think I would like GNOME as much. They are the apps that I like to have no matter what DE or WM I'm using. I guess that means that I've never really stopped being KDE-centric.

For other KDE apps, the GNOME counterparts are just as good, and sometimes I like them better. I like gedit and gnome-terminal. GNOME's desktop accessories like the GNOME character map and the calculator, well, hard to mess those kinds of things up.

I think that Synaptic would be considered a GNOME app. Besides that, the only other GTK+ app (that I know of!) that I always bring in is GQView.

I realize that some of the apps I've mentioned might not be the best, but often the favorite app is the one you're most comfortable with and most used to, and if it does what you need it to do then it doesn't matter if it's the best or not, I guess.


Sometimes people complain that KDE overuses the "K" in their application names. But GNOME really does the same thing. You just don't notice it as much because in a GNOME distro like Mint, you'll see things in the menu like Calculator, Character Map, Text Editor, or Terminal. But when you look under "About" you'll see that the actual names for those apps are gcalctool, Gucharmap, gedit, and gnome-terminal. So I think that the complaint about the "K" in KDE names is silly -- GNOME does the same thing with "G."