Linux Desktop: What Makes KDE Plasma So Appealing?
If you’ve done any reading or searching about Linux, then you’ve probably run across plenty on the different desktops that are available to the open source operating system. There’s GNOME, Xfce, Budgie, Pantheon, i3, Cinnamon, MATE and so many more.
One particular Linux desktop that gets plenty of attention is KDE Plasma, which is one of the more popular desktop environments available. Although KDE Plasma might not enjoy the popularity of GNOME (as GNOME is used as the default for a lot of distributions), that doesn’t mean it’s a lesser desktop. In fact, KDE Plasma is one of the most exciting desktop environments on the market.
That’s right, I said it … on the market.
But what makes KDE Plasma so appealing?
Let me count the ways.
1. It’s Beautiful
I know not everyone places the same importance on aesthetics as I do, but when you’re dealing with an operating system like Linux, there’s no end to the beautiful desktops you can try, and KDE Plasma is certainly a looker.
The thing about KDE Plasma is that it offers just the right balance of beauty and practicality. The desktop offers a familiar layout, with a panel, a desktop menu, clickable icons and a system tray. Of course, the developers and designers aren’t just satisfied with creating a pragmatic interface, so they upped the ante and created something that offers a modern elegance along with that user-friendly UI. KDE Plasma offers the perfect combination of form and function, just the right amount of transparency and effects.
You can enable effects like Slide Back (an animation for when you switch between windows) and one of my favorite options, Shade. With Shade, you can double-click a titlebar and the window rolls up, so all you see is the bar. This is a great way to keep all of those open windows available without having to minimize them. The one caveat with shading is that it has yet to work with Wayland, so if you’re using that protocol, Shade has yet to be sorted out.
There are also a ton of themes you can install (Figure 1) that cover just about every style you can imagine.
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Figure 1: The KDE Plasma theme installer simplifies the process of theming the desktop.
2. It’s Highly Configurable
Ask anyone who’s used Linux for long enough, and they’ll tell you the mark of a good desktop is configurability. Some desktops, such as GNOME, limit user configurations and require extensions to expand the feature set. With KDE Plasma, you get all the configuration you need … and more. KDE Plasma has a vast array of options within the System Settings app. In fact, one could make the point that there are too many options, especially for new users. That’s fine, because you can always leave it be. But for those who like to spend hours tweaking their desktops until they have the perfect layout, KDE Plasma has you covered.
Open the System Settings app (Figure 2), and you’ll find options for Input & Output, Connected Devices, Networking, Appearance & Style, Apps & Windows, Workspace, Security & Privacy, Language & Time and System.
Figure 2: Within each category, you’ll find a bevvy of options available.
The configurations don’t end there, as you can also enter Edit mode for the desktop, where you can configure the panel, add panels, manage widgets and more. Suffice it to say, the KDE Plasma desktop is one of the more configurable desktops available.
3. Performance and Stability
Once upon a time, KDE Plasma was doggedly slow and often felt as if it would crash at any moment. That’s no longer the case. Over the past few years, the KDE team has worked diligently to make the desktop as stable as any and perform better than most. I’ve tested so many distributions as virtual machines (VMs) with a bare minimum of system resources (typically 3GB of RAM and 2 CPU cores), and KDE Plasma performs spectacularly. Imagine what that desktop environment would do with a more robust machine?
On top of that, KDE Plasma is rock solid. In all my testing over the years, KDE Plasma 6 is easily one of the steadiest environments available.
4. Out-Of-The-Box Goodness
Quite often, I’ll install a Linux distribution for a specific desktop environment and wind up spending time customizing the interface to suit my taste. With KDE Plasma, I can log into the desktop for the first time and not have to touch a thing. The developers have done such a good job with the defaults. And even with distributions that tinker with KDE Plasma, the defaults are typically much better than a lot of the competition. In other words, you could use KDE Plasma and never touch a single customization and still have an amazing experience.
When I think about the Linux desktop, KDE Plasma never fails to bubble up to the top of the list of choices. If you’re looking for an exciting desktop environment for Linux, don’t skip over KDE Plasma. If you want to give KDE Plasma a try, here’s a short list of distributions that offer it as the default:
