I like how kwin has so many options. This has always been one of KDE's selling points vs gnome (configuration options). However I do agree that the current layout of how to get to/use those options makes it hard to find the options that you want to use.

@Chris - that transparent window is called "Folder view" and by default shows the "desktop folder" it's a place to put shortcuts etc, or can be used to store documents, it can be resized and will form a scroll bar when needed. I'm not logged into KDE right now so I can't show you a screenshot, but I use one for shortcuts, and another pointed to my "currently editing" documents folder.

To remove it, mouse over it and an options menu comes up next to it. If it doesn't, then right click the taskbar and go "unlock widgets" (or similar, can't quite remember), then mouse over it and the options should come up.

I think you have your point.

1. First, KWin is slow.
2. So many effects and settings will make KWin even slower.
3. GUI is imperfect way to manage all possible settings. I'd rather read a manual than clicking through zillions of tabs.
4. With GUI in control, there is no reasonable way to overview or backup my settings.

If there was a replacement to KWin, I would use it.

Whats the trick to removing this empty transparent window covering half the desktop? Also the round widgety thing top right?
I dont want anything on my desktop.
http://racepics.co.nz/images/linux/snapshot.png

I think that KDE is for users with a IQ greater than 110. Gnome are for users with a IQ greater than 80 but less than 110

I must thank you. I wasn't aware of those setting options before and learning about them here helped me achieve two things:
1. Start my Kmail minimised and keep it out of the Task Manager (since it's already in the system tray).
2. Set up Firefox's Error Console to automatically group itself with Firefox when I start it, and keep itself out of the Task Manager.

So, two small issues that were a nuisance than a really big problem, but two issues that those settings allowed me to solve.

I stopped using KDE when 4.0 became available. With the amount of bloat added, I don't see any reason for KDE4.

The best part of KDE and other desktops is that you can make them look like YOU want. The perfect desktop is the one that suits your needs.
Being able to configure all the little things means when I put Linux on an aunt or inlaws machine, I can change the minuscule default windowing for Plastik which you mix with large window fonts give you BIG buttons to maximize and minimize.
That ultra slim look that the UI tweekers like might be elegant but its useless to many peoeple with bad eyes.

My 80 yr old dad knows how to change themes and how to turn on-off desktop effects but most of my family doesnt know or care once the ciomputer is ready. I noticed that people love using the virtual desktops and having a wallpaper slideshow.

I dont like any default. I really hate the light Air theme in KDE (Im a SlimGlow theme guy) and windowing and icons and fonts size and panel size.
It doesnt make KDE a bad choice just like having certain default Kwin effects turned on and off.
I love to show the spinning cube to friends but its not something I use as often as Ctrl-F8 to split my screen into 4 virtual desktops... while my kids love the Magic Lamp minimize or Exploding minimize.
No good or bad, everyone has their own tastes.

I know quite a bit of people who run the default Kubuntu and PCLinuxOS and Mandriva and are very happy. Never mind that most distros all look the same, use the same programs...

Does my dad use all of Kwin's options? No, just the 2-3 he likes to change sometimes. Does Kwin have to be simpler for him to still not need to use programs he has no need for?!?!
No. He just uses the options he needs and is not interested in the rest. Actually, he IM me recently so I could tell him again where the you change the fonts on either the toolbar or taskbar...
He now knows.

I love the mandriva control center and find it very easy to use just like I love VLC but only use the simple settings but am in awe of all the options in the complicated mode even though I dont use or even know what most of them mean.
I think that's how free software should be made.
You have a simple mode like VLC for newbies to not be ovewhelmed by two many choices and you click a button to get a more elaborate set of choices. Some people can graduate from the first to second group and some people can forever use the simple options.

Hey man, that is why we love KDE... :)

Carlie Coats: in the desktop toolbox (or right-click menu) there's a settings option... "Desktop Settings" or something. in there is "Mouse Actions".
that'll get you what KDE3 had (minus one plugin - if anyone has time to write it I can explain how). it was my gsoc project in 2009 :)

I'm with Yoda -if you don't dig then everything's good out of the box, but it's great to be able to tweak.
One thing I'd love is to easily be able to export and import a 'behaviour theme' with tweaked settings to apply to other computers or users.
Of course you can do it by selectively copying ~/.kde4 stuff, but a one-button selection for 'Tabbed Windows' that included the tweaks necessary to get this perfect would be great for less adventurous users to play with. (as would the inevitable 'Behave like XP' and 'Behave like Mac' behaviour themes, to easily set up guest accounts.)
Anyone know if this exists already? -a query which proves Geoff's point and those of many commentors...

tsk, tsk, tsk...

A classic case of a tempest in a teapot.

I find it amazing that while using Linux that you are complaining about having TOO MUCH control over your KDE desktop. IF Linux & KDE mean anything it is that the user is in control. IF you believe you've found a bug then you could check the bugzilla to see if a "special applications settings" bug has been reported. In this case it has: https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=187539, although it may not apply to your complaints.

So, if such capabilities are over your head just leave all the settings in the default mode.

At least with Kwin, the option to make detailed configurations is there to the user if they choose to use these options.
For most users the defaults are just fine.

kwin by default work great, but it also gives you the freedom to customize so that it works the way you want it to... not like Gnome that make you work the way it wants you to, or make you jump a lot of hoops to make it work for you...

http://www.abload.de/image.php?img=centeristp.jpeg

Is this what you try to achieve?

KDE 4 for me is *very* slowgish.
Then, one day I tryied to run it with metacity vm. Guess what? It flyied!

I don't know man, seems like a lot of complaining about nothing. If you don't like all those options, just use the defaults.

I *DO* agree with you that Special Window and Special Applications shouldn't exist unless they actually do something different.

The rest of it just seems like the usual KDE-ness. If you want to be able to customize your desktop so much that no one can tell what DE you're using, then perhaps KDE's the DE for you. If you want a desktop that looks like everyone else's use Gnome.

I am a Gnome/Xfce person and I pretty much just leave everything the way it comes with my distro other than adding some launchers on the panel and changing the desktop background.

Even when I used to use KDE (back in the 3.x days), I used to change the background and add SuperKaramba. That's it. Oh, I used to play with the Window theme like Plastic, Redmond, etc But I used to leave it on the one I liked (Plastic, I think)

What you wrote could be right, but I cannot follow your directions since they do not work/apply for KDE 4.5.2.

What version of the KDE you use? :-)

Im using KDE right now and Im happy with kwin. It feels more polished than Compiz, but it does lack the configurability.(I like to right click on the screen edge to switch desktops.) Other than that, Kwin is awesome.

Are you kidding me?
You can not praise for configurability then scream "Too many options" the truth of the matter is this is much like the linux command line, its powerful,robust with many tools that may never be used or fully understood by an average user but I for one would rather live in a world where all the choices were mine than in one where I had to live with the ones laid out for me. Your outlook is short sighted, you claim because you dont fully understand a feature and because YOU cannot tell the difference between the two similar choices that they should not both exist? Pardon me, but i have a friend that does not fully understand all the different forms that exist for tax filing but he does not proclaim that his lack of understanding should render all similar forms pointless. As a matter of fact my friend (as most of us do) only concerns himself with the ones he wishes to use and by process of elimination works ONLY with what he needs. I suggest you stick to the same ethic.

I am fine with how windows are handled by default and have never found any real reason to use any of the settings but if someone wants to it's nice that it's available. For most typical users they don't even know that option exists, nor do they care. I have switched about 5 of my relatives from windows to ubuntu/kde and not one has asked about changing kwin behavior. it just does what they expect out of the box so I really don't see an issue here to be honest.

I just checked with KDE 4.5.2 running in a virtual machine under PCLinuxOS.
I can *not* find any way to bind "window" or "application" menus to mouse buttons -- something that *has* been possible in every window manager I've been willing to use, all the way back to OpenWin on Slowlaris4, and something that KDE3 did the *best* job of all I've tried.

The average user doesnt care about the fancy stuff and power users want to tinker every possible detail. KWin has best of both worlds.

Chris: No, it's not. Lack of options doesn't make something "simple" by default, and having loads of options doesn't by necessity force you to tweak them. Just like having a compiler installed doesn't force you to learn to program in C.

For windows positioning

Windows specific settings:
- Give it a description
- leave the rest of the first tab alone
- "Window Extra" choose normal window
- "Geometry" for placement "force" the placement option of your choice.
- Ok

And now you have a default windows placement for all normal windows. No need to create a placement for each application. The default install only has one rule and that is a default behavior so it confuses me that you are not aware that default behaviors are possible.,,,

[I dont give a rats ass what it looks like...]

May be you don't but others might.

If you don't want to deal with what you call complexity, then take the defaults and don't touch it. Others might care about how it looks like and they have the choice to do something about it.

All what you listed above have been accomplished by KDE 4.5.2. Many do see how great KDE 4.x turned up to be and moving away from the dumbed down GNOME. And to use your type of language, No One gives a rat's ass of what you think either.

Um, no, you don't need to centre each window individually. You can set the placement strategy. Pick "configure window behaviour" instead of "advanced->special window settings".

I agree that the advanced configuration dialogs could use some cleanup to be less intimidating (yes, advanced doesn't have to mean scary :), but you really ought to do some research.

oh man... if you don't want to get hands dirty just STOP DIGGIN! these are special otions (and that oxygen-settings are hidden from normaln user), so stop picking holes in kwin because kde works great out of box, you don't need to messing around, you're not forced to set this things for crying out loud!

idiot-proof settings are in system settings and that's fine for most of users but kde had always give power and possibilities to users who needed more and that is beauty of kde

@Chris,
1) gnome is beyond point of simplicity, it's too much "oh, lets hide this and this and this and also get rid of this and this and this because our users are fuc*ing morons and if we put a "ok" button they will get a stroke"
2) it works without crashing because there is almost nothing to crash, gnome is really tiny compared to kde, and its not change since a couple of decades

I actually use some of these features, and my problem isn't that they exist -- nay, I am grateful -- but that they are so poorly documented. What is force temporarily? (My guess, do it for this session, but don't remember...?)

@chris: gnome is for idiots, remember? linus told you so. @author: experiment, learn otherwise become obsolete. I think it is more or less a verbatim copy of what X can do to windows.

Is that why so many love the simplicity of Gnome :)
If it works without crashing.
If it does what it should.
If its functional and logical to use.
Then the developers have done a fine job in my book.
I dont give a rats ass what it looks like...