KDE 3.0 Release Plan Updated
loopkin noted that the dot is running a bit about the KDE 3 Release. Here's
the release schedule,
and as you can see, the upcoming weeks will be interesting. I guess
I should figure out why my truetype fonts all broke on a recent
update to debian unstable so that
I can actually enjoy the new releases :)
I care. There's a lot of things going on behind the scenes for Gnome 2. Gnome 2 is a major redesign. If you noticed, the sheer number of compound document/corba/etc architectures that appeared and died in the 1.0->1.2->1.4 cycle could only result in chaos.
Gnome 2 is a big, big clean-up and for the first time Gnome will provide a stable, mature and reliable development architecture. KDE has had this since KDE 2, and just like KDE took off in terms of application and accessory development since the KDE 2 release, Gnome app development will take off once Gnome 2 is out.
Let me explain: The major part of an environment like Gnome or KDE is not what is visible to the user, but the framework. Things like DCOP or KIO in KDE, orbit and bonobo in Gnome. If you want a pretty desktop with nifty features, all you have to do is write some applications which is minor work compared to designing and implementing an application interoperation framework. What was done for Gnome 1.4->2.0 was a complete framework rehaul. What was done in KDE 2.0->3.0 was mostly application development.
I do agree that Gnome 2 is late. They should have ditched 1.4 and gone for 2.0 immediately after the 1.2 release, as the user-visible changes were minor. IMO.
BTW, Gtk 2 offers more than just AA. It's also a completely new text rendering engine (Pango) that kicks the ass of everything else out there.