Slashdot Mirror


KDE 2.1 Beta 2 and Nautilus PR 3 - are out

As the title says - KDE 2.1 Beta 2, and Nautilus Preview Release 3 are out. Both are in the last beta stages. So, if you like KDE or you like GNOME, then go ahead - download the source or binaries, install, test, torch it - and give bug reports. KDE announcment is here which includes LOTS of improvments, while on the Eazel side, there is a nice demo mode which you can test it here or download it here. Enjoy.

17 of 131 comments (clear)

  1. Setting solid background color by Raul+Acevedo · · Score: 3
    About the background: you can set it with Nautilus. Off the menu that has a bunch of pixmaps that you can drag and drop to change the look and feel, you can click on one of the left hand side buttons for solid colors, then drag and drop that into your background, and voila! it's changed.

    I'd tell you which menu, but right now it is completely refusing to startup.
    ----------

    --
    In a real emergency, we would have all fled in terror, and you would not have been notified.
  2. In related news by cje · · Score: 5
    The following software packages were also released today:
    • kpr0nharvest v0.93b2 - A KDE application that mass-downloads material from the alt.binaries.pictures.erotica.* hierarchy of netnews
    • ines2600 v1.0 - An Atari 2600 emulator implemented as a Nintendo Entertainment System ROM image, suitable for use in iNES or the Nintendo emulator of your choice
    • gweatheraudio v0.23 - A GTK+-based application that downloads a JPEG of the North American cloud cover from the National Weather Service, converts it to PCM audio, and feeds it to /dev/dsp
    • qdildo v1.3 - A Qt-based program that uses your machine's serial port to control various household devices according to several preset patterns
    • billbros v2.0 - An X11 parody of Super Mario Brothers featuring Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer working their way through eight wacky and wonderful words of destruction and mayhem
    • budwm v0.3b2 - A new window manager that pipes "WAZZZZAAAAP" through your speakers every time you open a new application
    • crap-b-gon v1.13a - A filtering package that blocks material written by BSD users
    • kB1FF - A KDE application that pops up a window reading "Y0U H4V3 N3W M41L, D00D!" whenever a new mail message arrives in your mailbox
    • ModeratorBuddy v3.3 - A curses-based program that takes your ZIP code as input and determines the nearest available dealer of $3 crack
    It seems a shame that with all of this software being released, Slashdot seems to have ignored nearly all of it in favor of those packages that are perceived as being "high-visibility." Let's get out to Freshmeat, people, and start downloading.
    --
    We're going down, in a spiral to the ground
  3. Nautilus by wowbagger · · Score: 3
    What happened to Nautilus's ability to show the contents of a text file in the file icon?

    Additionally, Nautilus needs a better way to edit mimetypes. Ideally, I'd right-click a file, and have the options of:
    1. Setting the mimetype of that file
    2. Setting the mimetype of that extension
    3. Configuring that mimetype


    For example, Gnumeric files are identified as gzip files (since a Gnumeric file is a gzip'ed XML file) that happen to end in ".gnumeric". While Nautilus knows about Gnumeric, it does not know to associate *.gnumeric with Gnumeric.

    Also, when I first launched Gnumeric, it scanned every file system for trashcan folders. Not good, since I have my server's 40G MP3 directory mounted via NFS...
  4. Hot damn! by JohnZed · · Score: 4

    All of the sudden, Konqueror got good! It used to have a LOT of Java, Javascript, SSL, etc. issues, athough it was good for lightweight browsing in KDE2. I've been using the new beta all day, though (including testing all the weird features), and its worked great. One crash while trying to load a netscape plugin so far, but thats not bad for 4+ hours of use. Java is slow to start, but otherwise works great. SSL is very good: fast and stable (so far).
    If only they could support IMAP in KMail working properly, I'd be able to leave Netscape behind. . .
    --JRZ

    1. Re:Hot damn! by Dr.Dubious+DDQ · · Score: 3
      All of the sudden, Konqueror got good!

      I'm using a daily snapshot from the beginning of the week, and I agree. They DO seem to have introduced a couple of minor rendering bugs (actually, the only place I've really noticed it so far is that the banner ad on some of the "Linux Today" pages shows up in the middle of the screen, obscuring the text - I haven't really noticed a problem anywhere else)

      BONUS - they finally got the "javascript:..." urls in anchor tags working properly. It still doesn't support the feature of typing "javascript:" directly in the location bar, but that's a comparatively minor issue

      The new versions even support the special "favicon.ico" thing that IE popularized (Even www.userfriendly.org uses it, it seems...). Purely a toy, in my book, but still kind of nifty.

      I'm finally able to abandon Netscape Navigator for browsing! Hooray!

      (Now, if only I could figure out what I screwed up on one of my machines that causes applications trying to use the kde sound server to crap out with a "Bad MD5 cookie" error...any hints? It works fine on my other machines, so it's obviously something I've screwed up...I've had this problem on this machine since the 1.9x betas of KDE...)


      ---
      "They have strategic air commands, nuclear submarines, and John Wayne. We have this"
  5. Install on RH 7 notes; stability issues by Raul+Acevedo · · Score: 4
    I used the Red Hat 7 RPMs, and I have all the latest Ximian stuff installed, also the latest stable Evolution.
    • To get the RPMs to install, I had to use --oldpackage with RPM to install both libghttp (as noted on their RH 7 install instructions) and also bonobo.
    • After installing, it started with some "first time" configuration stuff, then promptly crashed. Trying to restart it resulted in an error about having to reboot or re-installing. Rebooting worked.
    • Unfortunately, it insists on setting the desktop background color. Yay, just what we need, an Nth way to do this. Somehow, after launching Nautilus, trying to set the background with GNOME, Enlightenmnet, or even xsetroot fails. You have to go into one of the menus with pixmaps on it, select the "solid color" button to the left, and drag and drop it to your background.
    • While it definitely looks better than PR2, it is unfortunately so far a lot more unstable for me. (Red Hat 7, PIII 400Mhz, latest Ximian everything). It crashed on first time after install; now it is refusing to startup.
    Your mileage will vary, but while I am excited with a new release, and it does look a lot better---maybe even faster than PR2---I am surprised at the stability problems I've seen so far. (3:1 ratio of crashes to successful runs? Rebooting to fix problems? I feel like I'm in Windows...) I didn't use PR2 super extensively, but it definitely didn't have these problems. Especially when I've heard GNOME 1.4 is due in February, and Nautilus is supposed to be the included file manager. I would hate to see GNOME's excellent stability (yes, in 2000, GNOME became very stable) tainted...

    And yes, I do plan to contribute by filing lots of bug reports...
    ----------

    --
    In a real emergency, we would have all fled in terror, and you would not have been notified.
  6. Re:off target (i.e. the curse of Linux) by cluge · · Score: 4
    The curse of Linux...

    They scream, it's for geeks, no one can use it! It's for servers ACK!!

    The coders code, the weak fall, and the mighty tremble.....an award winning GUI or 2 are born.

    But you can't do that, GUI's are for desktops and Linux is a great server!!

    the coders code, khttpd and better smp comes out, nicer memory handling, USB support. Databases that are so fast commercial apps are forced to go open source.

    MS is so upset it says "Linux is going to die by the end of the year". Critics claim that "without better market penetration (i.e. Linux on the desktop) that the open source OS is going no where"

    The truth is Linux can do a lot of things very well. Where you put your time coding is your choise. You choose to do something you like, or enjoy. There is no one "target" that works for the entire Linux market. It's simple too big. As far the detractors, keep bitching the coders are listening

    .......and the coders code......

    --
    "Science is about ego as much as it is about discovery and truth " - I said it, so sue me.
  7. Re:Debian by bfree · · Score: 3

    kde.tdyc.com

    In fact 2.1b2 has been there for over 4 days

    From the freshly started kde-debian FAQ:

    6.-Q: How do I install it...I can't find a package called "kde"?
    A: 27 Jan 2001
    Go to http://kde.tdyc.com/ find a mirror close to you...throw that apt line in...apt-get install task-kde
    if you want 2.1 beta packages you need to add a "beta" to the end of the apt line.

    --

    Never underestimate the dark side of the Source

  8. Re:Nautilus -- nice, but a couple of gripes :) by Nailer · · Score: 3

    I think you are confused about your second point. Nautilus is a file manager. Evolution is a mail client.

    No, he's not confused. The specific library theya re talking about is bonobo - to install the latest versions of evolution or nautilus, you inevitably need a newer version on bonobo, which breaks one or the other. I can't speak for this preview release, but to install evolution, I had to install a newer version of bonobo which broke nautilus.

  9. Nautilus is Explorer is Constellation by macpeep · · Score: 4

    Remember the Netscape Constellation project back in umm.. 1997 I think.. It was rumored to become a part of Netscape Communicator 4.0 and it was to integrate the OS shell, your browser, your push channels (heh) and your calendar. Netscape was going to build it with HTML, Java and JavaScript - a "platform" they called "Netscape ONE" as in Open Network Environment.

    Then NS4 came but there was no Constellation. Instead, and I think it didn't even come right away, there was Netcaster, a crappy app put together in a hurry, made from signed JavaScript, Java applets and HTML, that received Marimba and HTML channels. Microsoft quickly followed with IE4 that had true desktop and OS integration to the browser, and a solid push implementation (not that it mattered, since push was dead at birth).

    Desktop integration has never really been a big thing, though it lives on in Windows OS's. What HAS been successful is Windows OS's sharing the Explorer app (think "file manager") with the web browser. Directories can be customized using HTML files in just about any way you want.

    Some 3 years later, Nautilus arrives on Linux. What I would like to know is what it does differently (better?) than IE/Explorer or Constellation. Does it also copy/inherit from other similar systems that I fail to remember and mention? I know it embeds Mozilla, which means it can probably also easily embed another browser Konqueror.. but then again, the same is true for the Microsoft shell, as IE is just an ActiveX component.. So.. what's new? What's good? What's better?

  10. slashdotted already?!? by J05H · · Score: 3

    It's only been up on /. for TEN MINUTES and the demos on the site are already hosed? sheesh. Don't you peeps ever sleep? 8)

    Nautilus is going to be really sweet when I get around to installing 'Nux on my Be machine.

    --
    gigantino.tv - Heavy but weighs nothing.
  11. Nautilus PR3 is MUCH better than PR1/2 by e_n_d_o · · Score: 4

    This is obviously my personal experience, but Nautilus PR 1 and 2 had some serious performance and stability issues. I've had PR3 crash a few times, and it still takes too damn long to open new windows, but its definitely worth trying. There is no comparison between this release and the previous two, IMHO.

    Also, if you have a 500MHz computer, be sure to turn OFF "smoother but slower graphics"
    ---

  12. The .deskop file standard by daemonc · · Score: 3

    I am still concerned about Nautilus's lack of support for the .desktop file standard. *.desktop files are the standard for program launchers in both GNOME and KDE. Nautilus uses it's own file format for launchers on the desktop.

    .desktop files specify an icon, a program to launch or url to open, and the text label and tooltip for more information. The translations for the text labels are contained in the .desktop file for localization. You can specify if a program needs to run in a terminal, or what programs to use to open, edit, or view a file. The same format is used for urls.

    Nautilus's system is inconsistent and incoherent. Dragging a program from the GNOME menu makes a symlink to the excutable program. The icon is specified in .nautilus-metafile.xml. It also gets a "no write" emblem. The name that appears under the icon is the actual file name of the symlink (bad for localization). There is no way to specify that a program needs to run in a terminal. An entirely different format is used for urls, and this time the icon is specified in the file, not in .nautilus-metafile.xml.

    I am not just complaining. I test Nautilus on a daily basis and file bug reports. I think this is a design problem that has been overlooked and is of greater importance than some people at Eazel believe. I sincerely want Nautilus to be the best file manager / desktop environmant possible.

    --
    All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.
  13. What is it with these people? by nagora · · Score: 3
    If the Nautilus demo was supposed to make we want to download it, it is sadly misguided. One look was enough to make me think "Oh, a chance to go back to Windows' way of doing things. Maybe later; after the lobotomy".

    All I want is a good, fast file manager. One that doesn't have huge ugly icons in a huge ugly toolbar and NO BLOODY SIDEBARS .

    Why is it that all File Management work on Linux is geared to making everything as unpleasant to use as Windows? I can see an argument for making things easy for converts from Windows but surely not every single project has to start with someone saying "Okay, let's see how Microsoft does it."

    What really gets me is the waste of talent; these guys mostly seem to be pretty good programmers. Although they could do with trying to run their code on a sub 1GHz machine with 64Mb of RAM every once in a while.

    TWW

    --
    "Encyclopedia" is to "Wikipedia" what "Library" is to "Some people at a bus stop"
  14. Nautilus -- nice, but a couple of gripes :) by 1010011010 · · Score: 4
    I've been using PR3 today.
    I like Nautilus. It feels good to use, and it's pretty to look at. But there's a few things that bother me.
    1. Mozilla-in-Nautilus doesn't let me download .tgz files, or anything else there is no Gnome MIME type defined for. Also, no context menus to let me choose "copy link" or "save target."
    2. "Medusa". They included gnome-findfast, apparently. I could get over that, except that my RH6.2 desktop already has an slocate database. Woo, now I have two.
    3. Reading large directories (like the RPMS dir on the RH CD-ROM) is SLOW. And this is on my 600MHz, 256MB Athlon system. It needs incremental display badly.
    4. Cannot set background with "solid color." It has to be a pixmap! So the Gnome control center setting I made for solid dark blue gets overridden by Nautilus.
    5. Seems to be unaware of the "menu panel" at the top of the screen; it insists on arranging my little "home" icon under the bar. Also, there's no "tidy icons," only "arrange."


    Nautilus does some pretty spiffy anti-aliased text using libart; it should be even spiffer when GDK is set up to use the Render extension (slated for GTK 1.2.9, I think).

    It would also be nice if Nautilus was using Gecko stripped of XUL and made to use GTK, rather than all of Mozilla embedded.

    And it would be nice if Helix^W Ximian and Eazel would get together on their libs. Nautilus killed Evolution.

    That said, it's looking good, actually installs, runs reasonably fast, and hasn't crashed!


    - - - - -
    --
    Napster-to-go says "Fill and refill your compatible MP3 player", which is a lie. It's not MP3. It's WMA with DRM.
  15. Re:Anti-Aliased fonts ? by bero-rh · · Score: 3

    Alternatively, get the Red Hat Linux 7.1 beta - we have all the patches for AA support in KDE/Qt in place. ;)

    --
    This message is provided under the terms outlined at http://www.bero.org/terms.html
  16. Re:Why does anyone use Gnome? by e_n_d_o · · Score: 3

    Why would anyone use Gnome? Granted, they done alot of work, and it looks pretty good, but KDE is better for so many reasons. They were the first ones to create a full desktop enviroment. It looks far better than any version of Gnome does, too. Also, they have done so much for the community, creating projects like KOffice, KDevelop, kPPP, and KWM; Gnome just can't compete!

    Why would anyone use KDE? Granted, they done alot of work, and it looks pretty good, but Gnome is better for so many reasons. They were the first ones to create a full free desktop enviroment. It looks far better than any version of KDE does, too. Also, they have done so much for the community, creating projects like Gimp, Gnumeric, GnuCash, and Sawfish; KDE just can't compete!

    Er, actually, they're both bitchin, and the flamewar is over. I think you (and all the other morons who actually debate this issue) lost. This is why the Ninjas vs. Pancakes debate was created on Slashdot, that way the trolls would have a worthwhile subject to debate that could easily be automatically modded down to -2 via regex.
    ---