That is what I do here, every once in awhile I like to toy around with
KDE, though I don't use it often. And yes, everything shows up, you
just have to dig around to find things sometimes.

I run every possible desktop environment. I found that best thing to do is to
install Ubuntu and then add Kubuntu. However, I recently learned that Kubuntu as
far as 8.10 goes is KDE 4. If you want KDE 3 then you have to choose KDE. As you
said less work seems to go into Kubuntu which is why I install Ubuntu with Gnome
first instead of Kubuntu. With other distros I start with what they specialize
in and then add the others on my own. If it is a KDE distro then I add Gnome
afterwards.

All of this depends on your habits and the amount of HD space you have. If you
are limited with time, bandwidth of drive space then you should instlal whatever
you are bound to use first. You get different packages depending on whether you
install KDE or Kubuntu and the same could be said for Ubuntu and Gnome (plus
Xubuntu and XFCE). You lose all of the look and feel, plus some Gnome packages
are substituted for in Ubuntu.

When I first started with Linux, I tried many
distros and fell for Kubuntu (6.10) because I don't like Gnome. So I
intend to spend most of my time in KDE4. If not, maybe I'll just bite
the bullet and use Gnome until it grows on me.

Or you could try XFCE (Xubuntu). It is faster and it has a different feel from
Gnome. I find it is faster than either Gnome or KDE and is highly configurable
(almost on par with KDE).

Ok, all due respect here, but I don't really see the difference between
gnome and XFCE. In my opinion XFCE is gnome light. But what do you see
that has a different feel in XFCE than in gnome?

XFCE has a control panel similar to KDE's where you can configure it centrally.
It usually has the panel at the bottom, like KDE. You are right that it has a
Gnome feel to it as well. It has simple lines and simple menu structure like
Gnome. However the menu looks more like KDE's, all in one column instead of
spread across three columns. It bridges the gap between Gnome and KDE which is
why I said he may like it.

I had been using XFCE for the better part of last week. Like with all desktops
there are things to like and things to dislike. I like that it is highly
configurable, but still keeps it simple. I don't like its file manager and some
other applications that it uses by default, but it will run just about anything.
Beware though if you run Nautilus as you will lose your desktop including all of
the icons, devices and wallpaper. The reason is that Nautilus is part of the
Gnome desktop and XFCE is made to work in conjunction with other desktops and
Gnome can overlay XFCE. The only way to get back to pure XFCE is to go into the
task manager and kill the Nautilus process or logout and back in. Similar things
can happen with Enlightenment and Nautilus. KDE applications work well in XFCE
and do not overlay the desktop.

I found that Compiz works really well in XFCE, since it is faster than either
Gnome or KDE. Overall it was a positive experience. I used it both on my desktop
computer and with my eeePC, just to see how the wireless would work and the
wireless worked as expected. I am back in Gnome now, BTW.