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KDE 3.5 Released

WhiteFoxBR writes ""The KDE Project is happy to announce a new major release of the award-winning K Desktop Environment. Many features have been added or refined, making KDE the most complete, stable and integrated free desktop environment available." Here a Visual Guide to new features, including build-in ad-block for Konqueror and support for MSN and Yahoo! webcams in Kopete. "

43 of 385 comments (clear)

  1. Kool! by suso · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Way to go KDE folks and supporters. Even though I'm a Gnome user (actually, I'm a closet FVWM user), KDE never ceases to impress me and I do try it for periods of time. The last 8 years I've been using Open Source Software and Linux have been amazing. The amount of progress that all of us have made. There is still more to go, but its not hard to see that the gap is really closing in now. All the hard work and patience has paid off. Everyone give yourself a pat on the back.

    1. Re:Kool! by digidave · · Score: 4, Interesting

      "Mac OSX and Windows may be proprietary DRM infected piles of shit... but they are damned sight more stable, integrated and complete than KDE... so is GNOME for that matter."

      For one thing, they said it was the most stable, integrated and complete *free* desktop, so Windows and OS X don't count. However, I use KDE by choice at work even though I was encouraged to use Windows, could have used OS X and did try Gnome. I think KDE is more integrated than Windows or Gnome and is on par with OS X. Its features are second to none (Windows and OS X don't even compete with the features I use a lot, such as working with remote servers).

      I think it's important to remember that everybody uses their computer in different ways. KDE is great for me and a lot of other people and it pisses us off when a condescending jerk like you tries to blow it off as crap just because you heard it was bloated (but can't provide proof) and think it may be buggy (but can't list any more bugs in KDE than any other DE) and say it's poorly organized (even though it's all customizable).

      --
      The global economy is a great thing until you feel it locally.
    2. Re:Kool! by naelurec · · Score: 5, Informative

      What does using a third party (rdesktop, vnc, etc) or built-in (ssh, telnet) app to work on remote servers have to do with an environment manager?

      Hmm.. he is talking about ioslaves .. its very cool -- you should check it out.. it allows KDE apps to utilize network resources (via smb, nfs, ssh, ftp and a LOT more..) as if they are local files (ie via save/open dialogs, drag and drop, etc..). Once you start using it, you REALLY miss it when working on other platforms.

  2. What's that sound? by Bananatree3 · · Score: 3, Funny

    That sound you heard was the developer's Gears grinding away for this release.

    1. Re:What's that sound? by KiloByte · · Score: 3, Funny

      What's that sound?

      "award-winning" "the most complete, stable and integrated"

      To me, it sounds like a marketroid has somehow snuck in.

      --
      The creatures outside looked from Alt-Right to Antifa; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
  3. Lopete link by Cougem · · Score: 5, Informative

    The link to Kopete actually links to Konqy. You want this.

  4. Webcam - yes! by Zoidmann · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The missing ability to use a webcam easily under KDE, is actually an argument for some people I know to stick with Windows. So this is great news - now I might convince them into actually trying this "Linux-thing", so I can stop supporting their infected Windows XP Home machines (yes, then I would have to support them with Linux, but with a little help from CrossOver they can keep using most of the software they are dependant upon).

    I haven't got a webcam myself at the moment, so I have no idea how it works in Kopete. If you have tested it, and can recommend a webcam that is working nicely under Linux, I would like to hear about it. Are there webcams out for Linux that actually support face-tracking?

  5. Great work by geo_2677 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The features seem to be pretty impressive. Now, not only do we have a two good browsers for Linux desktop, the healthy competition between FF and Konqueror will only make them richer. The ACL GUI feature is certainly a good enhancement.
    Way to go KDE!!

  6. KDE.org mirror by Bananatree3 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Sicne it seems like Kde.org has taken somewhat of a hit, here is a mirror for it: http://kde.mirror.fr/

    1. Re:KDE.org mirror by myspys · · Score: 4, Informative

      too bad that mirror isn't up-to-date

      here's a link via mirrordot for the visual guide: http://mirrordot.org/stories/e5a9203473858cda85ab8 111baf58ccb/index.html

  7. Re:Let's just have one Linux desktop by Gulthek · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You speak as though Linux developers want to make it easy. Some do. Some don't. Some don't care. You can't really talk as though Linux is a cohesive business, for it is neither.

  8. Already slashdotted! by bogaboga · · Score: 3, Interesting
    The site is already slashdotted. I will have to slow down a bit, till all the rush has calmed down. Meanwhile, let the rest of the Slashdot community begin the flames here on slashdot.

    Anyone here using KOffice in a "real world" environment? The last time I attempted using it, I found it had tonnes of bugs!

    1. Re:Already slashdotted! by robgamble · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I used the KMail / contact / calendar app for 2 months straight and found it to be very stable and reliable. It was also a TON faster than Evolution.

      --
      No sig for you!
  9. What I didn't see by Hoplite3 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I'm a big KDE fan, and KDE has really improved since 3.4 when the new series just gelled. 3.5 promises to be more awesome. I especially look forward to konqueror improvements, as it's my browser of choice. I really appreciate its speed, especially on lower-end systems. Plus, it uses the KDE file picker that I find easier to use than the gnome one with firefox.

    What I didn't see was much change in KDE's horrible default settings. The desktop is very configurable. Why does it have to look like some terrible pudgy windows clone? And what's with two toolbars on every app? Why not save some screen real estate for the body of the application? That toolbar for konqueror could easily be paired down to one row of icons with the location bar along side. I'm sick of a print icon on every application. I print things rarely enough off the web. That should be left to a menu, or just alt-p.

    Still, if you're willing to configure KDE a little bit, it's awesome. The good news is that much of the configuration is easy, right-click kind of stuff.

    --
    Use the Firehose to mod down Second Life stories!
    1. Re:What I didn't see by aesiamun · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yes because KDE was designed with you and only you in mind. No one else prints...NEVER! How can the KDE people be so thoughtless as to include something as useless as a printer button.

      I hate KDE! Damn them for making useful stuff. :(

    2. Re:What I didn't see by 10Ghz · · Score: 4, Informative
      What I didn't see was much change in KDE's horrible default settings.


      KDE4 is what you need. Not only are there some serious usability-improvements, polishing, cleaning and other improvements in the pipeline (yes, seriously. Lots of KDE-devels seem to be fed up with the clutter), there seems to be some really low-level changes thought of as well.

      Good things come to those who wait, and KDE4 will deliver lots of goodies. KDE3.5 is "just" an extension of KDE3.
      --
      Lesbian Nazi Hookers Abducted by UFOs and Forced Into Weight Loss Programs - -all next week on Town Talk.
  10. Cool! by Omicron32 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Congratulations KDE team!

    Now, knowing Gentoo this will be in the tree in the next 5 minutes. Woo, emerge is gonna be hot tonight, and tomorrow, and the day after, and probably some time after that too.... ;)

    (Disclaimer: I use Gentoo, it doesn't actually take that long with kdeenablefinal flag on!)

  11. Visual Guide Mirror by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative
  12. Re:Let's just have one Linux desktop by Ngwenya · · Score: 5, Informative

    The problem is that Qt is proprietary and this upsets some people. Also, we should have some sort of Open Source widget toolkit that we can fall back to when trolltech goes by the wayside, though they will probably just release Qt as Open Source

    Qt was released under the GPL a long while ago. You can license it for non-GPL applications, but then you have to pay TrollTech money. The "Qt is not free" myth is covered in the KDE Myths section: here

    --Ng
  13. Kould you kindly kan the naming konvention? by digitaldc · · Score: 4, Funny

    Kareless konnotation kauses konsiderable konsternation.

    --
    He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
  14. Google Maps and Blogger by p0z3r · · Score: 5, Informative

    Two things.. if you want google maps to work, you have to add a user agent for maps.google.com/local.google.com to Konqueror as Safari.
    If you want blogger.com to not post blank blog entries, add a user agent for www.blogger.com to Konqueror as Firefox.

    Now email google to fix both of them so we don't have to do these silly workarounds.

    1. Re:Google Maps and Blogger by digidave · · Score: 4, Interesting

      "Now email google to fix both of them so we don't have to do these silly workarounds."

      I did email Google about that issue (I emailed Google Local because that's where I was at the time. Same problem there). I simply asked that they add Konqueror's user agent to the supported browsers after stating that the browser did work when I switched the user agent. This is their response.

      --------------
      local-help@google.com to me
      Nov 17

      Thank you for your note. It appears that you're having trouble using
      Google Local because you're using a browser that is not fully supported.
      In order to obtain full functionality of Google Local, please use one of
      the supported browsers listed in our Help Center at
      http://local.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answ er=16532&topic=1499

      We appreciate your taking the time to send us your feedback regarding the
      use of Konqueror with Google Local. We'll keep your comments in mind as we
      continue to make improvements to this service.

      Regards,
      The Google Team
      ---------------------

      Utterly frustrating. Sounds like a bot may have wrote that :(

      --
      The global economy is a great thing until you feel it locally.
  15. Re:Let's just have one Linux desktop by baafie · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Wow, that's a lot of FUD in one post. I'm impressed.

    Even now we have only 2 widget toolkits - Qt and gtk.

    Not true; there are several alternatives.

    The problem is that Qt is proprietary and this upsets some people.

    Not true: QT3-X11 is available under the GNU GPL; QT4 is available under the GNU GPL even for windows. In addition to that, QT is available under proprietary licenses; this has no effect on the GPL release whatsoever.

    Also, we should have some sort of Open Source widget toolkit that we can fall back to when trolltech goes by the wayside, though they will probably just release Qt as Open Source then and we will see some merge between the two.
    QT already is open source.

    You should really do some research before you start spreading FUD. People like you give people like us a bad name.

  16. You don't like it. DON'T INSTALL IT. Simple, non ? by Chaffar · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Obviously, if you don't like it, don't install it... that's the beauty of Open source... CHOICE... Something 'Doze users wouldn't know about.

    "Call me a troll"

    Consider it done...

  17. Notable changes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative
    • Konqueror is the second major web browser to pass the Acid2 CSS test, ahead of Firefox and Internet Explorer
    • Konqueror can also free webpages from adverts with its new ad-block feature
    • SuperKaramba is included in KDE, providing well-integrated and easy-to-install widgets for the user's desktop
    • Kopete has support for MSN and Yahoo! webcams
    • The edutainment module has three new applications (KGeography, Kanagram and blinKen), and has seen huge improvements in Kalzium
  18. only one widgetset? why? by diegocgteleline.es · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Let's have one desktop/widgetset/toolkit be the standard for X on Linux

    You don't need a "single widgetset/toolkit" to make a great "user experience".

    Windows actually has several widget implementations. Access has its own widget set (don't remember the link, sorry), IE has its own widget set, office has its own widget set (noticed how the scrolling bar in office is like windows 98 instead of looking like in the XP theme? The same happens for messenger BTW)

    They don't have a "single" widget implementation - they just have several widget implementations which LOOK THE SAME. In the same way, you don't need gtk OR qt - you want a way to make them look the same (the usability guidelines like menus etc are another matter). Implement the same theme for both desktops and make kde swwitch to a different look when you change the gnome theme and viceversa and you're done.

  19. Filterset? by Vo0k · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I wonder if the adblocker from Konqueror is compatibile with firefox Adblock.

    (...As you've certainly noticed...) Adblock by itself is worthless. Its empty filter base makes it inactive and only weeks of careful building it would make the extension normally useful. Only combined with a good killfile like Filterset.G it really kicks ass, at once. Same applies to any other adblocker - what filters are available for Konqueror?

    --
    Anagram("United States of America") == "Dine out, taste a Mac, fries"
    1. Re:Filterset? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      I wonder if the adblocker from Konqueror is compatibile with firefox Adblock.

      Yes, it is.

    2. Re:Filterset? by the+plant+doctor · · Score: 4, Informative

      Export Firefox Adblock filters. Import in Konqueror.

  20. "Stable?" "Stable" is for Isotopes by RobotRunAmok · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Really. I love Linux, have been a user since the early 90's, but some of the language conventions just vex me. "Stable" for instance. Yeah, yeah, I know what is meant by it in this context, but it never fails to make me contemplate what an "unstable" desktop would be like, and the vision has nothing to do with BSODs. "Stable" is for relationships and isotopes, and is valid only in the context that most examples in kind are given to falling apart. It's part of the "I was happy to hear you are no longer beating your wife!" phrase family that achieves a "positive" slant only by dragging the listener through scary negative spaces. Linux deserves better than this.

    It also deserves better than having its major graphics package called "The Gimp," but that's a discussion for a different day...

  21. gentoo by PePeBoTiKa · · Score: 4, Funny

    Arrggg, I've just finished the compile of KDE 3.4.3 on my gentoo system about an hour ago! And it's not a joke :-(

  22. If 3.5 is a major release... by Call+Me+Black+Cloud · · Score: 4, Funny


    ...what will 4.0 be? A stupendous release? An amazing release? A "Moses came down with KDE 4.0 on some tablets" release?

    I'm not knocking them, but I thought there was an accepted custom to releases. If the number to the left of the decimal point changes it's a major release and if it doesn't it's a minor release. Kids today and their releases...I can't keep up.

    1. Re:If 3.5 is a major release... by TheDauthi · · Score: 3, Funny

      To put it shortly, yes, we are planning on sending Moses down with 4.0. Jesus Christ was unavailable, and while Cthulhu volunteered, we remember windows ME well enough to know that driving our users mad is a bad thing.

    2. Re:If 3.5 is a major release... by hummassa · · Score: 3, Informative

      Then KDE4 is another version, ie, a rewrite.
      Got it?
      KDE 3.3 -> KDE 3.3.1 minor release, bug fixes, small enhancements
      KDE 3.4.3 -> KDE 3.5 major release, re-engineering things, big enhancements
      KDE 3.5.4 -> KDE 4.0 new version, re-written, ported apps to new Qt version

      --
      It's better to be the foot on the boot than the face on the pavement. ~~ tkx Kadin2048
  23. Re:Let's just have one Linux desktop by mw13068 · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Competition and choice is great.

    Yes, it is.

    It's also a barrier to entry for commercial software.

    Are we creating Free Software for the users? or the developers of commercial software? Personally, I'd rather have freedom, and a wide array of options than a wide array of commercial (and most probably non-free) software. I don't care if commercial software developers have a hard time fitting in. Some will make the effort, and some won't. Either way, I won't use their products if they restrict my freedom to do as I like with it.

    And given that it's unrealistic to have all software be free, let's make it easier for linux adoption to take place.

    All software doesn't need to be free. But conversely, all software shouldn't be non-free either. Each user should be able to choose from a wide variety of options to best suit their own needs. And in my opinion, Free Software cares more about the user than non-free software. What good would wide "linux" adoption be if all the "linux" users were saddled by hundreds of non-free software package licenses? I care about the adoption of software freedom, not your interpretation of "linux".

    All the whining about how choice is good and it makes better products distracts from a more important factor. All the competing options make incompatability and confusion unavoidable.

    It sounds as though you're a software developer who hasn't got a real handle on the Free Software/Open-source development model, and therefore you're finding it hard to become rich and famous... Or perhaps you submitted a patch and have had it rejected, or something. Anyway, your OP seems like ax grinding.

    Join in the fun, or use a commercial (non-free) OS. But don't try to reduce the choice that other's enjoy.

  24. Now we just need... by squoozer · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ...one of the major distributions to get behind KDE and push it a bit. Debian is about the closest I can think of (yes, I know I'm going to get flamed for that) and that is desktop neutral. There's kubuntu but that could hardn't be called major (although I think it will do pretty well).

    It's a real shame because IMVVHO I think KDE is the better Desktop system. I know under the hood Gnome is supposed to be better but quite frankly as long as it works I don't really care. I want different things from my desktop than from my API. I want my desktop to be inviting and fun to use I want the APIs I use to be like my bank manager (boring and predictable). Gnome seems to have the API right but the desktop wrong and KDE has the desktop but not the API. I might be totally wrong here because I have never used the API of either (roll on (a fast) swing) but that's the impression I get from the advocates for each side.

    The other main argument against KDE is that it is too much of a Windows clone. Perhaps I'm the only one that thinks this but I think that's a good thing. I can switch quickly between windows and KDE without too much thought. Like it or not, M$ have spent millions designing an easy to use desktop system. Perhaps it's not perfect but I can't help feeling that the Gnome people are being different simply because they don't want look like windows.

    --
    I used to have a better sig but it broke.
    1. Re:Now we just need... by Klivian · · Score: 5, Informative

      I know under the hood Gnome is supposed to be better

      That's rather the strangest thing I have heard all day, KDE is generally thought to be cleaner and better than Gnome under the hood. With the better underlying technology and architecture.

      Gnome seems to have the API right but the desktop wrong and KDE has the desktop but not the API.

      Seems like you have got that one backwards, the API are the one thing people usually praise with KDE. The complaints are about the "cluttered" desktop, indication that they think Gnomes is better.

      but quite frankly as long as it works I don't really care.

      Agreed, and there's the point where KDE wins out in the end. It got the applications and features making it possible to get the things you want done.

      The other main argument against KDE is that it is too much of a Windows clone.

      Anyone who have actually used KDE know it's not true, as KDE is much more. Funny thing is, set KDE up with a non-blue color scheme and those complaints dissapear.

    2. Re:Now we just need... by darkwhite · · Score: 3, Interesting

      To each their own. To me, Gnome apps look flashy (icons in standard OK/Cancel/Apply buttons? No thanks, I just need Enter/Esc to work), disjointed (try comparing the amount of shared functionality in Gnome apps and KDE apps sometime - you can expect each KDE app to implement standard toolbar/shortcut configuration dialogs and tons of other standard actions in predictable ways), uncoordinated (the default CrystalSVG KDE iconset is more coherent than anything I've seen in Gnome, and with only minor tweaking the whole environment looks very subdued and serious) and by no means faster than anything I use in KDE. The two points I agree with you on are bad toolbars (not so much cluttered as the customization tool is broken) and bugs in icon text/selection rectangle drawing.

      KDE is far more integrated than any other set of apps I've seen, and this integration is useful in many non-obvious ways. To me, in KDE things look more refined.

      --

      [an error occurred while processing this directive]
  25. Re:how to upgrade? by Jonny_eh · · Score: 4, Informative

    Go into YaST (Menu->Systen->YaST).

    Open Software->'Installation Source'. You want to add a yast repository that contains the KDE 3. rpms. Lucky for us SuSErs, almost every suse mirror has them!

    You can find mirrors from google if you search 'suse mirrors', and choose the 2nd result.

    The directory that you need to choose depends on the mirror, but it is usually along the lines of pub/suse/i386/supplementary/KDE/update_for_10.0.

    Make sure you choose FTP, or HTTP depending on the server. Enable refresh on the server (this makes yast check to see if the repository is updated each time it's accessed).

    Then click finish to close the 'installation source' window. Now in YaST, open 'software management'. What you want to do is display all your installed packages, so you want to filter based on the 'package groups', then choose 'zzz all packages', located at the bottom of the left side. This will show you every package that you have installed, and is available to install. Now click 'Package->All in this List->Update if Newer Version is Available'. Now all the installed packages that can be updated have been selected!

    Click 'Accept', and try an solve any conflicts that arise, usually solve each conflict one at a time and click 'OK - Try Again' each time, sometimes solving one conflict removes others.

    It'll then tell you of any extra packages that will be needed, and away you go!

  26. Re:Good point! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Because the Acid2 test is totally and completely worthless in pretty much every conceivable way? I can't even begin to imagine how it's managed to obtain so much currency - seriously, passing the Acid2 test doesn't make a browser better in any way shape or form, except that it now passes the Acid2 test!

  27. Fitts Law and the Dual Layer Task Bar by Peteresch · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Fitts's Law: The time to acquire a target is a function of the distance to and size of the target.

    Placing task bar items along the edge of the screen provides the benefit of "infinite height". With the stacked display of items on the KDE task bar the top row of items do not benefit from this.

    Why have many Linux Desktop Environments chosen to implement the dual layer task bar?

    Now I understand that by providing more rows the width of the items can be greater than if they were all forced onto a single row. While the size of the target benefits from the greater width does it outweigh the benefits of the infiite height?

  28. Repeat after me: That is not autorun. by Daedala · · Score: 4, Informative

    That is not autorun. K? Got it? Try again.

    The problem with Windows autorun is that it automatically ran untrusted code from the CD you just put in. This appears to let you automatically do something using the trusted code on your own computer. That's what OS X does, and it's fine.

    There is a BIG difference between opening the CD ripping app on your computer, and opening some random app on the CD itself. If the CD ripping app on your computer is a Trojan, it's on your computer and you're already rooted. This is no more dangerous than a script you write yourself to call applications on your own computer.

    If KDE allows the CD maker to point to a random file on the CD and say "Run me!" then they deserve all the scorn one can pour upon them. But if the computer just says, "Hmm, I see a bunch of audio files! I will open my trusted audio application!" then it's a timesaver and not a major risk. (Ok, there might be some exploitable overflows in the code that does this, but that can happen anywhere.)

    --
    What I say does not represent the views of my employers, my friends, my cats, or myself.
  29. Re:If KDE is so advanced, why gnome? by IntergalacticWalrus · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Sigh... The problem with your reasoning is that you see "Linux" as one big project and a single community. That's not true at all. Hell, Linux is not even an operating system, it's just a fucking kernel, and all those projects you mention aren't part of Linux at all, it's just the most popular platform to run them on.

    Projects like KDE and Gnome have different communities, and different developers and sponsors with different goals and ideas. You can't just "pick one". That doesn't make any sense.