Sunday, May 24, 2009

Desktop Environments

There's an on going thread on the Debian user mailing list which underscores why I avoid desktop environments altogether. This thread discusses KDE 4.2.2 which has just entered Debian testing. The problem is the latest KDE depends on MySQL server. Of course, many KDE users are questioning the necessity for for installing a full RDBMS on a desktop system at all. But for me the broader question is why are Linux desktop environments becoming so complex at all?

My theory is that the Linux desktop developers are trying very hard to make the Linux desktop more comfortable for Windows’ users. There nothing wrong with that goal but I feel that it will inevitably lead to the same bloat that infests the Windows’ desktop. From what I can tell, the MySQL dependency is the result of adding MS Exchange-like functionality to KDE's PIM and email applications. Again, that's OK but SQLite might have been a better default for such a simple database, especially on a desktop system.

And please don't think that GNOME is any less immune to this type of thinking. Desktop environments are becoming ever more complex and I see no reversal in that trend.

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