INTRO
A few days back, I tried to change my XFCE desktop environment with KDE Plasma. whatever I noticed after changing the desktop environment, you will know in this article. you can even think of it as a compression between XFCE and KDE. in computing, a desktop environment (DE) is an implementation of the desktop metaphor made of a bundle of programs running on top of a computer operating system that shares a common graphical user interface (GUI), sometimes described as a graphical shell. READ MORE…
This article can be very useful if you are finding the best between KDE and XFCE desktop environment. it can also be useful if you are installing Kali Linux first time and you want to choose a better desktop environment. we will talk about all the pros and cons here for each desktop environment.
XFCE ¶
Xfce is a lightweight desktop environment for UNIX-like operating systems. It aims to be fast and low on system resources, while still being visually appealing and user friendly. XFCE’s latest release is 4.14 in which they have added a lot of new features and have fixed some bugs in their utilities.
Now, Kali is using XFCE as the default desktop environment instead of Gnome. but I like Gnome too. XFCE is fast and reliable in comparison to other desktop environments. if you don’t want to use too much customization and don’t want to use your PC resource too much.
There are some features of XFCE that matter to me most. for example, the XFCE taskbar is such a user-friendly extension. you will not see such a taskbar in Gnome or KDE. it is highly customizable. you can add, remove, create, and change the theme of Taskbar.
There is another great feature of XFCE, you can find it by clicking right (Mouse) on your Desktop. you will see an option to create launcher. I know that you can make a desktop entry manually but when you are in XFCE there is no need for that.
Installation
The new version of Kali Linux comes with the XFCE desktop environment. but if you are using an older version of Kali Linux with Gnome, you will need to install and apply XFCE manually.
Type this command:
sudo apt update && sudo apt install kali-desktop-xfce
This process can take some time, depends on your internet speed.
Screenshot:
when the installation gets completed, you will need to apply XFCE as a default desktop environment. type this command:
update-alternatives --config x-session-manage
Screenshot:
Choose the XFCE as default desktop environment. and reboot your system and choose the XFCE from the top corner while logging in.
I faced some errors while applying XFCE. so, I had to remove Gnome from my Linux. but I would never recommend doing so. but still, you are getting problem to apply XFCE, type this command:
apt purge --autoremove kali-desktop-gnome #AT_YOUR_OWN_RISK
KDE
Use Plasma to surf the web; keep in touch with colleagues, friends, and family; manage your files, enjoy music and videos; and get creative and productive at work. Do it all in a beautiful environment that adapts to your needs, and with the safety, privacy-protection and peace of mind that the best Free Open Source Software has to offer.
https://peertube.mastodon.host/videos/watch/67d5c560-2002-498e-91af-433147fe2ab5
KDE desktop environment is for you if you are fond of themes, appearances, and customization. Some people say that KDE is lightweight. but the reality is different. KDE gives you very powerful customization options. you can even customize the login screen. and you will understand it once you start using it that it is not lightweight.
there is this tool in KDE plasma named “KRunner”. it can find the application or you can use it to run any command. you will be able to see it on the taskbar. but the most interesting feature I like about KDE plasma is its clipboard. you can find any text you typed in your KDE installed Linux. for example, you typed a command which was so long and you forgot it. but you can search for that command in the clipboard. it is like a keylogger. not just commands, any text you type will be present in clipboard.
its terminal “Konsol” has some features which make it different from any other terminal. you can change the dir in the terminal and if you want, you can open the dir in the file manager. and the second best thing is “color schemes”. you can change it easily. even, you can install color schemes directly from the KDE. well, not just color schemes but also themes, wallpaper, widget, and much more stuff.
there is one more interesting feature of KDE is “KDEConnect”. as the name sounds, you can connect to your KDE desktop with a phone. you can control the KDE desktop with Linux.
Thanks For visiting.
I think this a very biased comparison, and you need to get more time with KDE, pretty much everything to ou have said is not truth in 2021, even the XFCE main developer agrees KDE is now lighter while having lot more eye candy and features, and the main reason being KDE project have more human resources and because of that its way more optimized than XFCE. KDE today is the king of personalization, its a known fact, you can pretty much make KDE look as everything imaginable, XFCE pales in this field compared to it. If you are on BTRFS I advice you to make a snapshot and seriously try KDE. Best greetings
Going to have to agree with the previous poster; you either have seriously out-dated information, or you don’t know what you’re talking about. If, when you said, “KDE is not lightweight”, if you meant that it wasn’t a “weak contender” then I agree, but if you meant that it’s heavy on resources, you need to do some testing, even the XFCE team admits KDE is very lean, while still being impressively customizable. This is not a valid test comparison, this is an opinion piece, and a rather badly supported one; there is not one single side by side comparison, testing-wise in this article. You should take this down; it makes you sound uninformed.