Any resolution to Activity / Desktop confusion?

[Frank616]

Workspaces, Desktops, Activities are all just words for very similar things. You can have separate desktops within Activities. You can have different wallpapers and widgets on different Activities. You can go into System Settings and bring up the Activities pager and change the shortcut to whatever you want (currently, <meta> + <q>). You can add the Activities pager widget to your desktop or panel for easy switching. You can even turn them on or off individually.

Since Activities are basically just desktops with more features, I don't see what the problem is? It honestly seems like the name "activities" scares people away. Maybe they should be re-named "desktops+" or something? It seems to really be tripping people up. I really don't get the hate towards them...

No hate here. Just trying to figure out what they are good for, and to decide if I want to adjust to the changes at this point or not.

And, yes to what you mentioned above. However, KDE5 is still not fully baked yet. The activities pager is there, but forces an alphabetic sort (there is a workaround). It is also slow and 'clunky' compared to the desktop switcher in 4.x. And, on a very insignificant level, some of the 'eye candy' is gone -- no desktop / activities cube. Haven't tried wobbly windows yet.

Anything new is disruptive. The question is whether the disruption is worth it or not. My jury is still out.

FWIW, I am making myself use Activities, and trying to learn how. I have 6 activities set up much like the 6 desktops I had in 4.x. They all have different wallpapers. I am using the Activities pager. That is as far as I have gotten so far. Time will tell.

Frank.

[Frank616]

The feature isn't gone, just changed, in fact for the better. Now, in Dolphin running as me if I want to edit a file in /etc I just right click on it and select "sudoedit kate". Kate opens up with that file and after I am done editing it and select save I get a prompt which asks for my password. After I enter it and click "Ok". the edited file is saved. Nothing could be easier, and equally safe.

I dunno. I found it easier to just put a desktop widget / icon on my "Files Management" desktop that opened Dolphin / Kate / Konsole with root privileges. ONE click. Done. "Easier" is to click, select root from a menu, then click again? I don't see the workflow advantage.

However, I am glad that I can still open them with root access.

Frank.

[chimak111]

How frequently does the "average" user need to use Dolphin or Kate with root privileges?

[GreyGeek]

I dunno. I found it easier to just put a desktop widget / icon on my "Files Management" desktop that opened Dolphin / Kate / Konsole with root privileges. ONE click. Done. "Easier" is to click, select root from a menu, then click again? I don't see the workflow advantage.

However, I am glad that I can still open them with root access.

Frank.

Opening Dolphin with root privileges, and not requiring your password, IS the problem, unless you can absolutely guarantee that NO ONE will have physical access (or even remote access!) to your desktop. If you are asked a password then the difference is trivial.

As it is now, your password is required each time you save a file.

[Frank616]

Opening Dolphin with root privileges, and not requiring your password, IS the problem, unless you can absolutely guarantee that NO ONE will have physical access (or even remote access!) to your desktop. If you are asked a password then the difference is trivial.

As it is now, your password is required each time you save a file.

Opening Dolphin with root always requires a password (AFAIK). I didn't mention that in my previous post as it was equivalent in both scenarios. I was only trying to point out the differences. I still think the previous way was simpler, but that is moot. The devs will do what the devs will do, and a little guy like me is not going to change that. I am just happy that those volunteer developers exist, even if I don't agree with them. I sure don't have the talent to replace them.

In any case, I have no wish to antagonize anyone. I am trying to learn. To do that, I question. That is how I learn.

Thanks for your input GreyGeek. I respect your years of experience.

I now consider this thread closed. I'll open new threads as questions come up in my migration to Plasma 5 -- should that take place.

Frank.

[kubicle]

"Easier" is to click, select root from a menu, then click again? I don't see the workflow advantage.

You don't actually need to do that. You can just open a file normally in kate (or by clicking a file in dolphin, for example)...if you need root privileges to save after editing, you'll be prompted for authorization when you try to save. Just that simple. No need to open kate as root.

[dequire]

This question was brought up on Reddit, so linking and sharing here

Activities vs Virtual Desktop

Activities:

• different set of desktop widgets
• undefined number, you can "stop" activities and then they are not shown in <meta><tab> selection for example.
• Possibility to set per application if show on an activity or not...not just "Show only on his desktop/Show on all desktops"
• Ability to suspend all program running on an activity by stopping the activity
• Different powermanagment settings per activity (Never turn off the screen or go in standbye mode on the "movie" activity for example)
• Program and recent files history are per activity...Your "Office" activity won't have your recently opened porn movies from the "porn" activity but instead the speadsheet you opened to pretend you work.
• relative "position"...Activities are sorted by "Last used"...there is no "second activity" (You could "stop" it anyway and it wouldn't be in the list anymore)

Virtual desktops:

• easier to setup, no need for excessive kwin rules to make everything work as you want usually.
• absolute "position"...desktop 4 is always desktop 4 and you can easily jump directly to it.

Activities and Desktops are not mutually exclusive...I assume lots of people who use both at the same time..activities for managing general tasks and then desktop to manage the respective applications needed for a task. But I personally only use activities by now...virtual desktops are completely disabled. But that's just my personal preference.

Thought that was a pretty good write-up. Other comments on the thread as well.

[kubicle]

For those wishing for different backgrounds on virtual desktops, you could keep an eye on this wallpaper plugin that seems to aim for this functionality: https://store.kde.org/p/1197828/

Haven't tried it myself, and it's fairly new (so expect bugs)...but looks promising (if you are into that sort of thing).

EDIT: Just tested it for the heck of it, and seems to work mostly as expected...set Vallpaper as my wallpaper type (plugin) and set different images for each virtual desktop (you can do slideshows as well) and that part works fine.
It updates the wallpaper only after you switch to a desktop, so the different wallpapers aren't shown on the cube or desktop grid (they show the current wallpaper on all desktops)...so it's not a "complete replacement", but at least you can have different backgrounds for each desktop.

[woodsmoke]

HI
will all due respect to the above...

but...JRR Tolkein wrote a ...BOOK about... "tree and root"... and the trees threw down the castle of Bill Gate...sorry...Saruman...

as to "root" useage...

the average user... not so much but ...sometimes one needs to be root!!

The old woodsmoker learned THE HARD WAY about "root" in a forum where the "old guard" said READ THE FU#$ING MANUAL... it drove me to do it ...nowadays with kids who have a JILLION other devices...i think it would be a definit turn off...but...sometimes...one needs to be root...

and that...is how "they" the great unwashed...learn...

woodjustsayin'smoke