diff --git a/nixos/configuration.nix b/nixos/configuration.nix
index c8a2004..2648468 100644
--- a/nixos/configuration.nix
+++ b/nixos/configuration.nix
@@ -55,6 +55,9 @@ in
   boot.loader.systemd-boot.enable = true;
   boot.loader.efi.canTouchEfiVariables = true;
 
+  # make the boot look good
+  boot.plymouth.enable = true;
+
   networking.hostName = "thinknix";
   # networking.wireless.enable = true;  # Enables wireless support via wpa_supplicant.
 
@@ -154,6 +157,9 @@ in
   services.xserver.displayManager.sddm.enable = true;
   services.xserver.desktopManager.plasma5.enable = true;
 
+  # dconf required for several Gnome applications like Cawbird
+  programs.dconf.enable = true;
+
   # Flatpak support
   services.flatpak.enable = true;
   xdg.portal.extraPortals = [ pkgs.xdg-desktop-portal-kde ];