Where did the "Plasma" in KDE Plasma come from, and why do many people say that with or instead of just KDE?

[meekah@lemmy.world]

I have no idea about the history behind this but I assume it has to do with the abbreviation DE being inside KDE. I could see how that makes people think that KDE is the DE, and not the community that develops Plasma.

[lordnikon@lemmy.world]

Well KDE used to stand for K Desktop Environment as a rif off of CDE Common Desktop Environment. They named kde 4 plasma when kde was overhauled during that release. Since kde does much more than just the DE they moved to just be KDE stands for KDE like how KFC no longer stands for Kentucky Fried Chicken.

[ikidd@lemmy.world]

Was it 4? I thought it came around for the 5 release. I think I switched DEs for almost the entire 4 debacle then switched back at 5 when it stopped sucking.

[bradleyuffner@lemmy.world]

It's super confusing because "KDE" is literally the acronym for "K Desktop Environment".

[m4m4m4m4@lemmy.world]

Wait until you learn what "GNU" stands for.

[refurbishedrefurbisher@lemmy.sdf.org]

The "K" stood for "Kool"

[telodzrum@lemmy.world]

WINE would like to join the party

[deadcream@sopuli.xyz]

Not just synonymous, it the official name of DE itself.

[lordnikon@lemmy.world]

Yeah I think that was dropped to just K before the release of 1.0.

[feyter@programming.dev]

I thought it stood for "Kool Desktop Environment"

[lordnikon@lemmy.world]

Ah KDE netbook when the world thought that was going to be an ongoing thing. It's a shame MS killed the concept. Linux powered Netbooks like the OLPC and the Eeepc were great for on the go when you just need more than your phone. I'm still glad OLPC is still around.

[bluesquid0741@lemmy.sdf.org]

Ha, yes, I remember pretty much the entire Linux community dropped KDE 4. What a time for a rebranding.

[genderneutralbro@lemmy.sdf.org]

Kids these days and their "Plasma". BACK IN MY DAY it was just KDE!

I'm not sure why this feels new to me. Perhaps it's because I spent a lot of time on other DEs after 2009.

But also, from that link:

We will use "KDE" exclusively in two meanings:

• KDE, the community, which creates free software for end users
• As an umbrella brand for the technology created by the KDE community

So I don't feel like it's wrong to just call it KDE, just imprecise.

[zod000@lemmy.ml]

The issue is that it was the DE originally, some people (myself included) just didn't fully get the memo when it changed like 15 or so years ago. I haven't used the KDE DE since before that change, so I get how it could be missed. Rebranding is hard, even years later. I am sure many people think KFC still stands for Kentucky Fried Chicken too.

[half@lemy.lol]

I have an irrational fear of this acronym. I think I'm worried I might accidentally recurse forever, and that will become the only thing I do for the rest of my existence.