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04 August 2009, 16:04

KDE to be openSUSE default desktop?

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At the end of July, Frank Karlitschek, a new KDE eV board member, submitted a proposal to openSUSE's openFATE feature-tracking system suggesting that the distribution select KDE as the default desktop environment. Karlitschek believes that it's confusing for new Linux users to decide between KDE and GNOME during the installation. He goes on to say that, according to a recent surveyPDF, more openSUSE users use KDE than use GNOME, so making KDE the default desktop for the distribution is the logical choice. His idea has gained its following, but has also sparked some controversy on the projects mailing list.

All of this has resulted in a bit of a heated discussion, especially from KDE supporters demanding that Novell make the changes. So far, more than 60 per cent of openFATE users have voted for the proposal. In a post to the mailing list, SUSE Linux product manager Michael Löffler said that, as the feature raises so much attention, it needs to be addressed. He has promised to discuss the topic with the openSUSE Board and plans to have a decision in mid-August.

Just two minutes after Löffler's post, Andreas Jaeger, openSUSE Board Chair from 2007 to 2008 and Director of Platform and openSUSE, submitted a draft Desktop Policy proposal. In his post, Jaeger says that there should be an updated screen during installation that offers both of the desktops. The most popular should be preselected and the screen should explain that the default is based on popularity. He also suggests the topic should be openly discussed at this years openSUSE Conference, which is scheduled to take place from the 17th to the 20th of September in Nürnberg, Germany.

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(crve)

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