Back in the late 1990s,when the KDE and GNOME desktops were getting started, KDE had the reputation of being the most suitable choice for new GNU/Linux users, especially those migrating from Windows. Whether this generality is still true is debatable (personally, I could never see much difference between the two desktops), but KDE remains one of GNU/Linux's most popular graphical interfaces, as well as one of the most easy to learn.

Still, whenever you're dealing with a piece of software as large as a desktop, some features are going to be hard to find. To help new users get up and running, here are twelve tips for getting more out of KDE. Many are available from the KDE Control Center, a centralized configuration window with a daunting array of options, but others are located elsewhere.

Similarly, if you're read my earlier article, "12 Tips for GNOME Users," some of these features will be familiar to you already. However, KDE has its own unique take on many of these shared features, as well as one or two advantages that are all its own.