Is the COSMIC Desktop Getting Better Than KDE and GNOME? (xda-developers.com) 42
"While KDE and GNOME dominate the landscape, a relative newcomer is starting to make waves with features other desktops still don't fully support," argues XDA Developers:
Linux 7.0 was the first release of the kernel to officially support Rust, but COSMIC has been all-in on Rust since the very beginning, and COSMIC 1.1 finally stripped all the leftovers of C language from the desktop. It no longer has any traces of Nautilus (the GNOME file manager), and then there's now a COSMIC-native system monitor to replace the GNOME System Monitor, so you have even fewer chances of being afflicted by C-related problems. [The article calls COSMIC's system monitor "much better at showing detailed information about everything from processes to network and disk usage compared to the GNOME and KDE alternatives."]
Stacking Windows
As someone who used to love following Windows news, one of the most disheartening announcements was when Microsoft gave up on Sets, a feature that essentially turned every app window into a tab you could combine with other apps in the same window. I never thought I'd see that feature again, until COSMIC came along. Simply called "stacking", COSMIC has a feature that is exactly what Sets was supposed to be, though this time, you have more control. By default, apps still open in their proper, typical windows, with a title bar as you'd expect. But if you do want to combine multiple apps into one, you can right-click the title bar (or press Super + S) to enable stacking for that window. Then, simply drag another window over that one to start stacking them as tabs. This essentially gives you a whole new way to create "workspaces", as you can have a single window with all the tools you need, so you don't need to jump between different windows all the time, and you can keep a given window focused on a specific workload, but have multiple apps within it. It's a great reminder of what Microsoft took from us, too.
Tiling, But On Demand
Tiling windows is one of those features some power users simply love, and yes, there are ways to make it happen on KDE and GNOME with third-party apps or extensions, but those aren't ideal. It's an extra step to set them up, and very often they don't play nice with all the features those desktops offer, especially as new updates come out and those tools may have a hard time keeping up with the development of the desktops themselves. COSMIC is fantastic because not only does it have built-in window tiling, it's entirely controllable by the user. You can set any workspace to use tiling or floating windows depending on your preference, all completely independent of each other, and you can also choose the new default behavior for new workspaces so things are always tuned to your preferences. You can turn tiling on or off for a given workspace easily, and of course, even while tiling is on, you can allow certain apps to ignore it and still float above others. Not all these capabilities are exclusive to COSMIC, but to have this kind of feature built in with this level of control is still leagues better than anything KDE or GNOME offer in this regard.
The article argues COSMIC also makes customization extremely simple without stifling your options (like tweaking color options for your desktop). "This desktop environment just keeps getting better, and it's quickly establishing itself as a major competitor to long-standing alternatives."
Stacking Windows
As someone who used to love following Windows news, one of the most disheartening announcements was when Microsoft gave up on Sets, a feature that essentially turned every app window into a tab you could combine with other apps in the same window. I never thought I'd see that feature again, until COSMIC came along. Simply called "stacking", COSMIC has a feature that is exactly what Sets was supposed to be, though this time, you have more control. By default, apps still open in their proper, typical windows, with a title bar as you'd expect. But if you do want to combine multiple apps into one, you can right-click the title bar (or press Super + S) to enable stacking for that window. Then, simply drag another window over that one to start stacking them as tabs. This essentially gives you a whole new way to create "workspaces", as you can have a single window with all the tools you need, so you don't need to jump between different windows all the time, and you can keep a given window focused on a specific workload, but have multiple apps within it. It's a great reminder of what Microsoft took from us, too.
Tiling, But On Demand
Tiling windows is one of those features some power users simply love, and yes, there are ways to make it happen on KDE and GNOME with third-party apps or extensions, but those aren't ideal. It's an extra step to set them up, and very often they don't play nice with all the features those desktops offer, especially as new updates come out and those tools may have a hard time keeping up with the development of the desktops themselves. COSMIC is fantastic because not only does it have built-in window tiling, it's entirely controllable by the user. You can set any workspace to use tiling or floating windows depending on your preference, all completely independent of each other, and you can also choose the new default behavior for new workspaces so things are always tuned to your preferences. You can turn tiling on or off for a given workspace easily, and of course, even while tiling is on, you can allow certain apps to ignore it and still float above others. Not all these capabilities are exclusive to COSMIC, but to have this kind of feature built in with this level of control is still leagues better than anything KDE or GNOME offer in this regard.
The article argues COSMIC also makes customization extremely simple without stifling your options (like tweaking color options for your desktop). "This desktop environment just keeps getting better, and it's quickly establishing itself as a major competitor to long-standing alternatives."
No (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
doesn't work properly with Lutris.
I didn't even know what this was (a gaming thing for Linux that combines GOG, Steam, emulators, etc..).
That said, Lutris is available on the official COSMIC Store (appstream:net.lutris.Lutris). Are you sure it doesn't work?
Cosmic is not ready for prime time (Score:5, Informative)
After waiting on upgrading Pop!_OS 22.04 to Pop!_OS 24.04 with Cosmic for as long as I could (in hopes of avoiding the bugs I assumed would come with moving from Gnome to a brand new desktop environment) I finally did.
Cosmic is not ready for prime time. The number of bugs and PRs I've had to submit since switching to it is a deal breaker if this is your daily driver OS and desktop environment.
The components of Cosmic release very very frequently (every couple weeks). Upside is, when you encounter a bug, if you can write the PR to fix it and submit it, it'll get merged and deployed to the global user base of Cosmic in a couple weeks. Downside is that at this release frequency, the software isn't getting vetted at the level a production desktop environment needs to be. Example, I reported a bug in the compositor, a core developer fixed the bug and deployed it, but introduced a new bug (that is obvious as soon as you use Cosmic).
I have System76 hardware and so I'd like to run Pop!_OS, but I'm thinking of switching to Ubuntu 24.04 just so I can be on 24.04 but not be running Cosmic.
Some examples
* Delete a line in the editor and it crashes : https://github.com/pop-os/cosm... [github.com]
* Page-up and Page-down don't work in the file browser : https://github.com/pop-os/cosm... [github.com]
* Windows shrink each time you move them : https://github.com/pop-os/cosm... [github.com]
* After fixing the shrinking windows, windows when maximized extend outside the display : https://github.com/pop-os/cosm... [github.com]
Re: (Score:3)
This is a shame; the features sound compelling enough to make me consider switching desktops (especially the "stacking" feature) but those bugs sound like more than I'm willing to put up with. I can accept a few bugs here and there but unfortunately those are serious enough to be deal-breakers. For now.
Re: (Score:2)
FWIW, another HUGE feature is that Cosmic can provide display independent workspaces. IE: you can change the desktop on one monitor while the other remains fixed, and vice-versa.
This is how old X with multiple heads worked, except now it also allows you to move windows between them too (when X treated them as separate heads with their own display managers, windows couldn't be dragged from one to the other - though GIMP had a special workaround to send windows to the other display). This differs from nearly
Re: Cosmic is not ready for prime time (Score:1)
Fragmentation (Score:2)
We have duplicated code into a new language and removed all synergy effects by sharing a code base with the rest of the community. Hurray! /s
Maybe one day we can have bi-directional LLM-based translators that allow features and bug fixes to perculate back and forth forks ...
Re: (Score:3)
"Maybe one day we can have bi-directional LLM-based translators that allow features and bug fixes to perculate back and forth forks ..."
What stops you from doing this today? Get some agentic IDE plugin, check out both projects, tell it to do that. ... or you do
Depending on project sizes you may need to guide it a bit (like first asking it to write itself a guide which part of the code is responsible for what before syncing up), but I guess one of the billion AI harness projects is already optimized for that
Window stacking (Score:3, Interesting)
Window stacking is not very useful on its own. It basically ensures you can see either window A *or* window B but not both, so not ideal for two windows used together.
Stacking becomes helpful is when your workspace has three windows and you need to use A and B together, or A and C together, but not B and C. Then you put A on the left and B over C on the right.
CTWM is pretty cool (Score:2)
What meaningful improvements do these desktop environments offer beyond the capabilities of something like CTWM [wikipedia.org]?
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It will not "all come Wastylland". That is just what the usual hype-mongers want you to believe. Essentially a "constant delivery scam", where it is always the next version (or the one after that) that will finally be good. Of course, you absolutely MUT migrate now in preparation for that, you do not want to be left behind!
In actual reality, I now doubt Wayland will ever catch up to X11 in functionality. It has failed to do so for 20 years now. And as long as it does not, X11 clones like X.org will stay aro
Re: (Score:2)
As long as killing/crashing a screensaver process unlocks the desktop, X is a no-go for anyone who cares about security. I recently upgraded from a DVI monitor to a Display Port monitor. If I turn the screen off or it goes to sleep, the desktop resets itself to a tiny resolution and its panels crash. That moves and resizes all the windows that were open. Turning the monitor back on, you can see all the desktop windows while the desktop switches to the 'new' monitor's resolution even when the screen is l
Re: (Score:2)
All I hear is "bla bla I do not want it bla bla bla and I an incapable if doing a config that does what I want bla bla bla and I do not even know whether the other thing fixes that". Seriously, listen to yourself! And then think for a second. OF FUCKING COURSE the screen lock process crashing will unlock the screen. There is NO way around that. Select an option the prioritizes security over pretty pictures and stop whining.
Re: (Score:2)
Indeed. Or FVWM, which I have now been using for about 30 years with my own custom config?
Short answer is definitely, but... (Score:2)
COSMIC is going very well so far. Each release is a noticeable leap forward. That's because the product is in its infancy. I expect within a year COSMIC will be mature enough for daily use for the majority of users.
Compared to Gnome or KDE, COSMIC is fast. Blazing fast on the systems I've played with it on. That is due in part to it being a young product without decades of bloat or trying to continue supporting features of the product that have been around decades.
COSMIC is not feature complete yet, so ther
Re: Short answer is definitely, but... (Score:1)
Who needs GUI with AI now? (Score:3)
GUI never was a goal but just cumbersome means of human-machine interface.
I frequently find myself with AI CLI as a main interface to the computer. Infrequently would use browser with graphics, picture, PP/worddoc/pdf, video but these are all outputs. The input goes totally through the AI CLI. Including shell, git, edits, configuration changes et all.
Are there any 'desktops' centered now on AI CLI interface?
Re: (Score:3)
avoid bugs in legacy C code is to scrap it all and make new rust code
Because Rust completely deletes an entire class of bug that C allows.
COSMIC is new(ish) and wants to make a splash. So they are trying to quickly get their design goals and feature parity as fast as possible. That's going to introduce new bugs, a compromise they were willing to make. But they can slow down later.
Re: (Score:2)
COSMIC is new(ish) and wants to make a splash. So they are trying to quickly get their design goals and feature parity as fast as possible. That's going to introduce new bugs, a compromise they were willing to make.
Nah, they just don't know what they are doing. They are code monkeys, not software engineers.
Bugs take a lot longer to fix the more you delay.
Re: (Score:2)
Nah, they just don't know what they are doing.
Moreso than you.
Bugs take a lot longer to fix the more you delay.
Good thing they don't delay them.
Re: (Score:2)
Nah, they just don't know what they are doing.
Moreso than you.
Obviously not, since they don't know how to write code quickly without bugs.
And neither do you.
Re: (Score:2)
Lmao, says the one that just failed to close the quote properly.
Surely the code you write is better... doubt it, though.
Re: (Score:2)
Surely the code you write is better
Yeap.
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Love that lack of confidence.
The guy doesn't know a first thing about Plasma 6 (Score:5, Informative)
For KDE Plasma, tiling is available natively via a dragging/snapping mechanism since well... basically forever. No need for any extension, special script, or extra plugin. There are stuff that improve tiling, but basic tiling functionality is there right from the start.
I work as a translator, and I usually have a virtual desktop with two windows side by side, one for the source text, other for the ongoing translation, and I use KWin's tiling mechanics that come in Plasma by default to arrange these windows.
This is just an example. TFA guy obviously is talking about something he doesn't know at all.
Re: (Score:3)
Try Super+t for the advanced mode. I am not sure why they never advertised it, but they support very complex tiling setups out of the box.
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Indeed, talking about KDE needing an extension for anything but the most remotely interesting window management features (if there even is such a thing) shows the author hasn't actually used KDE seriously.
Then, raving about stacking windows, what useless feature that seems to me, to be honest. Sure, you can stack windows, then move them together. For what purpose? If they belong
Who cares? (Score:2)
I have been quite happy with my heavily customized FVWM desktop for about 30 years now. (Yes, apparently I was one of the early users, even if I did not know that at the time.) Works exactly as I want and I had one (!) day of maintenance effort when switching over to FVWM2. Anybody that goes with the hype on desktops does not understand how to do this.
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FWIW, I care. Modern DM's have removed the ability to have display independent virtual desktops - AKA Zaphod mode (IE: switch desktop and it only changes on the active monitor/head, like X with DISPLAY=:0.0 on the left and DISPLAY=:0.1 on the right), and that includes FVWM. Cosmic brings it back. Use of rust is a nice bonus (just ask my Enlightenment crash logs).
Re: (Score:2)
I have been quite happy with my heavily customized FVWM desktop for about 30 years now.
Same! It's just really good.
I have not yet switched over to fvwm3. I do not anticipate much pain.
Re: (Score:2)
We shouldn't care about a desktop environment because you have a spiffy window manager configuration you like? Really?
wobbly windows (Score:2)
Does it have wobbly windows? Otherwise I'm out.