I started to use Linux in the early 2000s. After exploring various distributions, my preferred choice was Debian 2.1 (Slink) at that time. Among the two major desktop environments, K Desktop Environment and GNOME, I picked the second one (although I played around with various window managers too). KDE didn’t really appeal to me, but most probably because it was promoted as the desktop environment for people coming from Windows and none of my friends in the local Linux community used KDE either. Long short story, I settled with GNOME/GTK and never used KDE.
There comes about a decade of a break from Linux here. I switched to OSX because of work, and hence I stopped using Debian on the desktop. Then lately, for various motives, I’ve quit using OSX and started to use Linux again. I installed Fedora on my Macbook Air. Fedora’s default desktop environment is GNOME. I enjoyed all the visual and workflow improvements since the last time I used it. Coming from the OSX/yabai world, it was easy to orient myself at GNOME: I had a dock, a tiling window manager, multiplace workspaces, a visual app launcher, and so on.
However, over time, I started to feel restricted by GNOME. It promoted a particular type of workflow and too soon I reached a point where I had to install 3rd party GNOME shell extensions only to have a floating dock or pomodoro timer on the panel. I was like: let’s give KDE Plasma a try. What a surprise it was!
In the meantime, I was in need of upgrading my work computer and I decided to purchase a Tuxedo laptop. It comes with Tuxedo OS, a customized Ubuntu with Plasma as its default desktop environment.
Plasma has its defaults too, but it seemingly allows way more configuration and customization options by design. It supports everything that GNOME does, and I could tweak it easily to fit my needs. It offers a good set of built-in widgets, there was no need to search the internet for addons. I like how its file manager (Dolphin) prompts me to choose whether I want to copy or move the file when dragging it with the mouse. I don’t need to know how it works in Plasma. At the same time, it also indicates to me that the next time I want to move files again, I could press Shift while dragging, or Ctrl for copying. I was also fascinated by Plasma’s screenshot taking app (Spectacle). It’s just like in OSX but fully configurable. The system tray is very helpful to adjust sound volumes, Bluetooth connections, or explore attached devices. You can even customize each tray item whether they should be visible at all times or only when they are relevant.
Here’s my current workflow with Plasma:
- I have a single top panel with the running apps (aka Task Manager), widgets, and system tray. I like to have on the top of the screen because on the bottom I have the Emacs mode line or terminal prompt (I got used to it in OSX).
- I don’t use any virtual workplaces or desktops. All windows are opened full-size on the same desktop. I occasionally use the built-in window tiling feature to put windows next to each other.
- I start new apps, search documents, do math, etc. by the keyboard using the Plasma’s launcher (KRunner, Alt-Space)
- I use the toggle windows view to switch to another app window (Meta-Space). This Plasma view includes a filter, and therefore it’s very quick to switch applications by keyboard too. I type Meta-Space fi and I’m in Firefox. This way of switching windows is analog to how I’m used to switching buffers in Emacs. For reverting to the previous window I use the classic Alt-Tab.
And this is it. It feels like Plasma enables me to design my workflow instead of promoting one. This made me happy and even inspired to write this piece about it.