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KDE 3.2.0 Released
Quique writes "KDE 3.2 has just been released. The official announcement is available at the KDE site and the source tarballs are being replicated to the mirrors. There are already binary packages for a few distributions. Besides the usual bugfixes and new features, this release has been highly optimized and runs way faster than previous versions. This is a good opportunity for Windows users to migrate to a free desktop."
KDE 3.2 is a real step forward. Well worth installing. If they only could provide easy access (apt/yum) to binary packages for RH9 or Fedora C1...
Cheers
KdenLive/PIAVE - non-linear video editing
This is a good opportunity for Windows users to migrate to a free desktop.
:
Not everybody is a geek, neither do they want to turn their goods consumption into a political fight.
OK, so they are using Windows, most probably because it came preinstalled and optimized on their new Dell/Gateway or HP computer.
When they want something it exist on their platform, so how should they perceive the need for switching to a Free desktop ?
BTW, if it's just about the desktop, will it run over Windows kernel ?
I guess this comment was not that useful.
Neither is mine, maybe but hey, let's increase its value
Will these optimizations be ported to Qtopia, so that my Zaurus finally becomes sufficiently fast ?
Trolling using another account since 2005.
Great Job !!
so be kind, and delay it from the 'hords of slashdot' ... atleast for a few hours...
I don't claim I know more than I know, and if you know you know more than I know, then by all means, let me know.
So, your desktop-usage consists mostly of starting, restarting, restasting and restarting you GUI over and over again? You can't wait for few seconds for the GUI to start?
To each on his own I guess...
Lesbian Nazi Hookers Abducted by UFOs and Forced Into Weight Loss Programs - -all next week on Town Talk.
How often do you have to start it? Shouldn't you be more concerned about performance once it's running? And what's another 15 seconds on top of a linux boot anyway?
:)
Not to diss your choice of XFCE4, though - that's my choice, albeit on 1997-era hardware
L
If it still takes some 15 secs to startup even on high-end machines, it'll not be faster enough for me.
XFCE for me...
Being that KDE (GNOME, etc) have different aims than that of XFCE, I think its totally resonable that KDE and friends take a bit longer to load.
Sunny Dubey
I see a lot of foolish comments about not being able to do anything useful with a KDE desktop. the only thing you cannot do just as well with kde3.2 compared to winXP is play games. thats it people, nothing more no arguements accepted. so in the corperate areana windows can put it's head between it's knees and kiss it's ass goodbye
If you mod me down, I will become more powerful than you can imagine....
It's included for free with the Windows kernel.
Correction, [windows desktop] is included at no extra cost with the Windows kernel. It's not free, you have to pay for it if you plan on acquiring it legitimately.
Your 'bastardisation' of the word free shows that the world of advertising has been a complete success. "Buy one get one free!" No, you get two for the price of one, but one is not free. You still have to pay. Anything which requires an exchange of something is not free.
So, technically, you're using a bastardised definition of the word "free".
Also, it's worth noting that Free Software is a term (note the capitalisation) used in relation to, well, Free Software. So the usage of the word Free in the context of Free Software like KDE makes perfect sense and is not a bastardisation of the word "free", but more alike the usage of a word describing a product. Like Windows: I have lots of windows but I never use Windows.
Free Gamer - Free games list and commentary
How about a shout-out to everyone who contributed to the development of KDE! Thanks for your fine work guys, keep it up!
Yes, but some people have a clue and though they may use windows, the virus did not affect them (anymore than to get unwanted, virus-laden messages).
How old is the distro that you tried? I'm using a USB mouse just fine, and I'm running SuSE 7.3! (Read: ancient version no longer even supported) Back when I installed it the first thing it did was detect the mouse automatically. Plus my very new HID complient gamepad worked, all in a 1 1/2+ year old distro.
KDE STILL refuses to work with my optical mouse. No endless editing of config files has fixed this.
Methinks your distro sucks the dogs' balls.
I am not going to write a chipset driver to get this OS to work.
No need to. USB has been part of the kernel for years.
Switching to a P/S 2 mouse fixes the problem, but I am not willing to swap mice just to run Linux.
Fair enough, get a recent distro. If my distro that shipped with the 2.4.10 kernel can use it, then your distro either sucks or is horribly outdated.
Maybe in 5 years Linux and KDE will be good enough to supplant my XP install.
KDE doesn't touch the hardware, nor is it really part of the OS. It's just another program, one of a very VERY large number of programs thrown together to create the great clusterfuck that is a thousand different distrobutions. If you try Linux on one distro and it sucks, then it may just be that your distro sucks. Try another distro. Hell, go grab a copy of Gnoppix or SuSE live eval or something, I'm willing to bet that your mouse will work perfectly from the get-go.
And who's the schmuck that modded the parent as troll? Due to GNU/Linux's design (kernel from here, compiler from there, toss that desktop on it, etc), such issues are not only going to happen but are bound to be semi-common. That's not a troll, that's a guy who tried it, couldn't use a basic part of his system, got confused by how "not like Windows" it is, and said "screw it". People with such experiences not only exist, but are very common. Either way, welcome to Slashdot, where anything remotely negative about our favorite little son of a Fin is automatically a troll.
KDE does not distribute binaries. Complain to your Windows distributor.
The world will end in 5 minutes. Please log out.
Wouldn't Windows users have to migrate to Linux first? Unless I missed something, KDE is not a desktop environment that replaces the Windows GUI on Windows boxen.
Considering that the vast majority of computer users are going to barf at the thought of reinstalling their OS & that most are doing very well just to apply a "recovery disk" to restore their system to its original, store-bought state, I don't think that a pretty new desktop for Linux will do much to encourage the average Windows user to migrate to Linux.
"Obviously, I'm not an IBM computer any more than I'm an ashtray" (Bob Dylan)
Then what's the deal with all those viruses?
Lesbian Nazi Hookers Abducted by UFOs and Forced Into Weight Loss Programs - -all next week on Town Talk.
The announcement is up on the KDE site and /. picks up on that, yet the packages haven't propagated to the mirrors yet. If you want to blame anybody, blame the KDE team for making a premature announcement.
Oi, you don't need to attack each point to get the jist, so I'll boil it down:
For Grandma and Grandpa Windows simply WORKS. They can one-click install everything they want, they don't need to go hunt through forums or command lines, and can get burned copies of all the software they need. Linux may be infinitely more stable, but if you can't get it to do what you want all the stability in the world doesn't matter. It may as well be a rock, literally.
Unless you can meet XP's user friendliness it will NEVER be ready for the desktop.
Corporations: your universal scapegoat for all society's ills.
Your points are entirely realistic. If there is no reason to switch an existing computer from Windows (if the switch will inconvenience the user more than Windows already does), then it shouldn't be done.
;-)
For many here, the effort is the reward itself. This is not an argument that will win many converts from Windows. For others, who have the ability and attitude to accept change very quickly and not be locked into a set way of doing things, making the change may very well be worth it, as they may find (at least I do) that I get things done faster using Linux. No, not the tweaking part (that can consume days at a time!), but the everyday tasks that I use my computer for. But this is STILL a very small cross section of the total desktop users out there.
The fact remains, however, that Linux, KDE, etc. provide a very good desktop experience once installed properly, and it is free. These may not be good enough reasons for virtually anyone to convert over an existing machine, but it sure sounds like a recipe that will lead to pre-installations on new computers. THIS is where all this effort will eventually bear fruit. Corporate environments (where security, customizability, and lack of vendor lock-in are becoming big pluses) are where Free software will certainly continue getting more wins. Plus, a fully functional PC that can be sold without the Windows tax can start to look attractive to home users, too.
Think new PCs, not existing ones. Still, this won't be common anytime soon (I'd say at least a couple more years) before your average computer user will seriously be comfortable buying a new machine with something other than Windows on it. But it will come in due time.
In the meantime, don't let the trolls bother you. For your needs (and frankly most people's needs), Windows is still the correct OS for your computer. Thankfully, this will not be the case for much longer
Look at the tomato! Isn't it sad? He can't dance! Poor tomato!
As far as most Windows are concerned they have XP either by:
1. Having it pre-installed for a reduced rate lumped into the initial purcahse
2. Getting a pirating copoy.
As far as at-home users are concerned, price is not an issue. I have never seen a legit copy of Windows, but MANY burned ones. The validity of this argument isn't compromised just because it's 'legal' or 'illegal'. In the users mind, KDE is competing against free already. My my wallet isn't currently in being in jeopardy of losing $180. The price argument can only be used for businesses, not for at-home desktop users.
Corporations: your universal scapegoat for all society's ills.
>> I don't have the patience to bother with Linux, so I don't use it, simple as that. People who think everyone can and should switch today are idiots and don't deserve a +5 moderation.
5-6 years ago when kde 1.0 was out, a friend of mine told me it was good enough to replace most of the stuff you do on windows. Of course he was far from right, but because that person pushed so hard, I gave it a try.. today I am not using linux on my desktop, but because of me my company has switched all it's server platforms to linux from windows and I use linux on my workstation for java dev at work.
Maybe because of my work on linux 2-3 other engineers I work with know a bit more about unix and see it as an option other than windows.
Who knows, you never know where someones zelotry will get. But, because my home computer is more an entertainment device than a development workstation, i too use windows at home. I like to play games, and I just can't play the games I want on Linux (or mac for that matter). If it wasn't for the games, the other tools I use have equivilant and acceptable alternatives on Linux.
Right....sure thing. I pity the poor fools who modded this "insightful."
1)It is true that a "typical user" is not ready to install, configure, and administrate a Linux computer. However, they aren't ready to install, configure, and administrate a Windows computer either. Now...given a properly installed/configured Windows system as it arrives from Dell, most users will be fine. And given a properly installed/configured Linux system as it arrives from one of the Linux hardware vendors, or from your local geek (assuming he/she's good) most users will be similarly fine.
I know this because I have set up several "typical users" on Linux systems, and they are fine.
2)Also, Mr. Insight, did you pause to consider the audience for the statement that now might be a good time to try a free desktop? You know, the slashdot audience?! This was not a statement directed at "typical users."
Given a choice between free speech and free beer, most people will take the beer.
Remember KDE is a huge project and not everyone has the resources to compile such a beast.
Its sort of like telling them to do 'make world' and laugh as their machine goes up in a puff of smoke..
---- Booth was a patriot ----
The typical user has several years of experience with Windows.
So, when Windows was released, the typical user had years of experience with DOS. Clearly, no one should ever have switched to Windows. By the way, when you take out this argument, you don't have anything left...studies show that people who haven't used either system find Linux just as easy to use as Windows. Especially if you are a non-English speaker.
It is clearly true that there is more pre-existing Windows knowledge than Linux knowledge. That's why this would be a "switch." But saying, "there's no reason to switch, because we would have to switch" just doesn't make any sense. Come up with a real reason, or just quiet down.
Most hardware will be autodetected and supported by Windows (typical users don't have cutting-edge technology)
Most hardware will be autodetected and supported by Linux (typical users don't have cutting-edge technology)
A huge amount of discussion (maybe the majority) is about the effects of issues on people not reading /.
Perhaps. However, the head of this discussion says simply "This is a good opportunity for Windows users to migrate to a free desktop." And the great^x grandparent just says "when isn't?"...both comments are very obviously directed at this crowd...the crowd reading the comments. If it said "now would be a good time to run around installing Linux on as many neophyte-owned computers as you can get your hands on while they're not looking" your comments would be warranted. But otherwise, we expect you to look at the audience that is reading the suggestion. And they are not typical users.
Given a choice between free speech and free beer, most people will take the beer.
Installing Windows is extremely easy, and no major administration or configuration is necessary for a typical user.
grab a mandrake install CD or 2, a brand new pc, and insert disc. turn computer on. choose all the defaults. reboot. use computer. you'll need to know your ISP's ADSL number and DNS, and be able to enter an administrator (root) password at the appropriate time.
it's just the same, and as easy, as installing windows.
You know why I won't switch to linux on my desktop? Games.
:-)
Excellent reason not to use Linux. Others are a need to run MS Office, applications that won't WINE properly, no hardware support for some hardware, and (as we already both know) using Linux can be a pain in the ass sometimes.
The beauty, though, is that all of your concerns will eventually be met satisfactorily by Linux in due time. I don't believe that any Free solution will ever be truly better than a proprietary solution for a typical end user (after all, catering to the unwashed masses is a time-consuming, very un-fun task: it'll be hard to get volunteers to polish Free software for noobs the way Microsoft et al can), but it will be good enough. Drivers will be released by most manufacturers! Native ports to Linux will be published by most big software houses. Linux will be properly preinstalled and configured on most boxen you choose to purchase that way. And, yes, most game titles will be released on both Linux and Windows.
It'll take time, as I said, at least a couple of years (probably more like five) before everything is "good enough" for most people. But it doesn't matter how long it takes: there is no company to go bankrupt as they wait for popularity. Nobody can make Linux go away as it steadily improves itself. (Well, I suppose software patents might, at least in the USA. I may be cynical, but even I have faith that they won't allow the only viable competition to a convicted monopoly be just legislated out of existance by asinine patent claims that are sure to come. But then I've always wanted to be more cynical
Look at the tomato! Isn't it sad? He can't dance! Poor tomato!