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KDE 4.7 RC Is Here: GRUB2 Integration, KWin Mobile

dkd903 writes "KDE 4.7 is almost here and brings along with it a number of features and performance improvements such as a better Dolphin with a faster file search, ability of KWin to run on Mobile devices, Grub2 integration in KDM and offline search support in the KDE virtual globe, Marble." Here's KDE's own announcement of the release candidate; the final release is planned for July 27. Reader jrepin quotes the KDE announcement: "With API, dependency and feature freezes in place, the KDE team's focus is now on fixing last-minute showstopper bugs and finishing translation and documentation that comes along with the releases."

33 of 175 comments (clear)

  1. Re:YES! NEW KDE! by Beelzebud · · Score: 2

    How about you do what you want to do, and let others do what they want to do, troll?

  2. Re:Will Qt become owned by or part of KDE? by Talavis · · Score: 2

    Qt is orphaned? Since when? Have any kind of link for it as I must have missed that?

  3. Re:Will Qt become owned by or part of KDE? by Beelzebud · · Score: 4, Insightful

    QT hasn't been orphaned.

  4. Who knows? by overshoot · · Score: 3, Funny

    Maybe they even fixed some of the bugs. I can hope, anyway.

    --
    Lacking <sarcasm> tags, /. substitutes moderation as "Troll."
    1. Re:Who knows? by RoLi · · Score: 2

      ...or implemented what they promised for 4.0?

      A very long time ago, when I was still young and naive, I was looking forward to KDE4 because
      a) it promised to be faster than KDE3
      b) it promised to implement single-sign-on for kwallet

      Then it was released and it came with hundreds of completely worthless features (like being able to rotate windows, translucency that only blurs everything needlessly, etc.) and of course lots of bugs but it was not faster and 4.0 also did not provide single-sign-on, the only feature that I was interested in.

      I tried KDE4 a couple of times (IIRC the last time it was 4.3 or 4.4) and still no single-sign-on. And I've read they refuse it because "you should have different passwords for the user account and kwallet" which does not make any sense and seems quite strange - why did they promise this feature in the first place? And why can Gnome do it? (at least that's what I've read)

      Anyway, I keep using KDE3 (from http://www.trinitydesktop.org/), KDE4 is offering NOTHING that I'm interested in, it's the "Vista" of the Linux world: Optimized for some mysterious "average user" - basically the KDE-team wants to optimize KDE to beginners (plus alzheimer-patients and retards). Maybe somebody should tell the KDE-team that the 80's are over and by now almost everybody who needs KDE has worked with computers for many years, probably DECADES. There are practically no beginners left (except children) and those few that remain are not nearly numerous enough to be called the "average user".

  5. Re:GRUB integration? by Beelzebud · · Score: 4, Interesting

    You can boot in to a different distro without actually restarting the machine, with KDM.

  6. Re:GRUB integration? by ilguido · · Score: 2

    Because KDM is not a window manager.

  7. Re:Um, shouldn't the API freeze take place at 4.0 by Verunks · · Score: 2

    if you add new functions the library stays binary compatible, so if you try to run a program compiled for 4.0 and you have 4.7 it will run without problems

  8. Re:Devices/network shares listed in fstab by karoshiboy · · Score: 4, Informative
  9. Re:Will Qt become owned by or part of KDE? by Davorama · · Score: 4, Interesting

    There are too many folks that use Qt to make large sums of money for it to go away.
    It will find a good foster home and be well taken care of if it is ever actually orphaned.

    --

    Davo -- Free speech, free software, AND free beer.

  10. Re:YES! NEW KDE! by Ruede · · Score: 2

    he is not trolling, kde is getting bloated more and more. f.e. kmail. worked flawless before kde-sc 4.6 with 4.6 it is unusable due the semantic desktop bullshit that made things much slower... even on an SSD drive... well that happens when you add another layer (db) between the files and the userinterface.... fuck kde i am close to switching to something else... virtuose-t is doing something right now. eating lots of cpu%. what does it do? i dont know, what is it for? i dont know. what features or advantages do i have from this process? i dont know. sounds pretty much like windows...

  11. Mobile devices by some_guy_88 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    They keep talking about mobile devices. Is this just theoretical or are people actually running kde on real phones/tablets?

    1. Re:Mobile devices by some_guy_88 · · Score: 2

      I'd rather have a good desktop environment than yet another project parasitized by the mobile trends

      Yeah I get that, but IMO a single framework that I can learn (Qt/kde) that allows me to build desktop and mobile apps is quite compelling. And qt is a good framework. It's some of the best competition out there for .NET so I want to see it succeed.

      Also, recently, kde4 has become a good desktop environment. It has come a long way and is completely usable in it's current form.. assuming of course that you ignore the utter bullshit which is nepomuk and striggi.. :)

    2. Re:Mobile devices by Windwraith · · Score: 2

      It is my DE of choice indeed, although I use few of the included apps. While I love the system management and the window manager/plasma are tremendously good for me, the apps are extremely lackluster. Moving away to design tablet-y interfaces while those apps are still an eyesore is beyond me.

      Also the latest updates (considering the amount of time between each) have been quite...lackluster, not fixing certain "little and rare but crippling" bugs and not improving upon things that started somewhere between 4.0 and 4.5 . Brainstorm also seems to lose importance as version numbers rise.

      Also, I don't care about Marble, and I don't think improvements to it should be "release notes". (that's another thing, try to find changelogs that aren't either extremely simple or extremely detailed...). Kate also has significant improvements this update, but no one but Kate developers mention them at all. Kate is much more of a real tool than Marble. Who is writing the release notes?

      So yeah, less effort on Nepomuk/Strigi (that everyone but the main devs seem to hate, at least I haven't read or heard anything positive not coming from a KDE dev) and interfaces for toys and more visible, non-refactoring work so people can stop saying KDE sucks every time.
      I might not agree but the fact that public opinion didn't change in the slightest must mean something.

    3. Re:Mobile devices by KugelKurt · · Score: 4, Informative

      Moving away to design tablet-y interfaces while those apps are still an eyesore is beyond me.

      Not the same people work on all apps and interfaces.
      The mobile work is mostly done by people paid by Nokia, open-slx, and basysKom.

      I don't care about Marble, and I don't think improvements to it should be "release notes".

      Pre-release notes are not as detailed as the final notes.
      KDE releases three software bundles every 6 months: Plasma Workspaces, Applications, and Frameworks.
      In the final release, each bundle gets its own release announcement. Marble in one of the most active KDE Applications and when the devs work hard, they deserve to be mentioned in the (pre-)release notes, be it Marble, Kate, or even some game.

      Kate also has significant improvements this update, but no one but Kate developers mention them at all.

      Nobody is hindering any Kate dev to extend the release notes draft on KDE's Etherpad instance. It's open to edit for anyone. I look at the draft for the final release announcements at this moment. Heck, even the comments sidebar say that another application than Marble should get spotlight in the upcoming announcement. So far nobody stepped forward with an improved application that was not featured in the KDE Apps 4.6 announcement (even Kate was featured last time http://www.kde.org/announcements/4.6/applications.php )
      Looking at http://kate-editor.org/ I see no posts mentioning new features for 4.7. There is a quite extensive one for 4.6 but not for 4.7. There are some articles about current GSoC progress but those won't show up before 4.8.

      Who is writing the release notes?

      The ones who volunteer to do it, like with any other community project.
      Feel free to extend release notes drafts yourself.

      So yeah, less effort on Nepomuk/Strigi

      KDE is a community project mostly made up of volunteers. You cannot force a volunteer to work on something he doesn't want to. Though you can hire one of the firms that do business around KDE to improve the things you prefer.

      that everyone but the main devs seem to hate, at least I haven't read or heard anything positive not coming from a KDE dev

      I'm not a KDE developer and I like Nepomuk.
      GNOME/Tracker developers also like Nepomuk which is the reason they've adopted it long ago.

      more visible, non-refactoring work so people can stop saying KDE sucks every time.

      Haters will hate and are the vocal group. I happen to like KDE.

  12. Re:GRUB integration? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    First of all, it's not a window manager, it's a desktop environment.

    Secondly, it's so you can do this and walk away instead of sitting around while your computer thinks about how to be alive.

  13. "Better" Dolphin? by UbuntuniX · · Score: 3, Interesting

    What was wrong with Konqueror? It may not be the best web browser, but it's the best file manager I've ever used. Dolphin, however, is a load of crap, in my opinion.

    1. Re:"Better" Dolphin? by Windwraith · · Score: 2

      For me the ultimate file manager in KDE is Krusader. Give it a go if you like two-pane approaches.

  14. Re:GRUB integration? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    I suppose if you want to sit around while it shuts down, POSTs, and loads grub so you can catch it during that five-second window, you can go ahead. I would prefer to click a button and then walk away.

  15. Re:KDE vs Gnome by Beelzebud · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Which version of Gnome are you using? Right now, KDE4 is much more stable, and customizable than Gnome3. However if you're looking at Gnome2, I'd say it still beats out KDE4 in the "just works" department.

    If I were choosing between the 3, it would look like this: Gnome 2 > KDE4 > Gnome 3

    That being said, I'm using neither. When Gnome 3 replaced Gnome 2 in the Arch Linux repository, I switched to XFCE4, and haven't looked back since.

  16. Re:YES! NEW KDE! by icebraining · · Score: 3, Informative

    well that happens when you add another layer (db) between the files and the userinterface

    Uh, adding a database often speeds up data access.
    Of course, whether MySQL was a wise choice is debatable. Tracker, for example, uses SQLite.

    The main problem seems to be Strigi, which is the file indexer, because it scans your whole drive adding metadata to the database. If you disable that it'll probably help immensely.

  17. Re:KDE vs Gnome by Jahava · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This may devolve into a vi/emacs debate, but I'll ask anyways. I'm running Ubuntu, and and quite happy with Gnome (having quickly borfed Unity). What could KDE offer that might convince me to try it out?

    Well, we can argue better this and more refined that until we're blue in the face. Bottom line is that KDE offers a wholly-different perspective on what a Linux desktop user interface can do. Minimally, it's worth taking a look at, if only to broaden your horizons and solidify your preferences.

    Personally, I find KDE to be a much more polished, integrated, and comprehensive suite than GNOME. It's snappy, sexy, and highly-configurable. In terms of appearance, KDE definitely has more of a stylistic Mac OSX-like approach and graphic set, though that's also highly-configurable. In fact, KDE's UI is so versatile that I could use KDE to recreate a default GNOME desktop without much effort. The applications tend to favor configurability over simplicity (which seems to be the opposite of much of GNOME's design choices). I can fine-tune most KDE applications to my personal, picky standards. Due to KDE4's kwin window manager rewrite, compositing (3D) effects are built into KDE's core, and are much more seamless than GNOME2's (although GNOME3 has followed suit).

    Now, KDE has quite an advanced suite of applications that they bring to the table. However, keep in mind that almost every KDE application will run just fine under GNOME, and vice-versa. You can try almost any KDE application within GNOME should you find one you like (for example, I definitely prefer KDE's Konsole terminal over GNOME's gnome-terminal. The opposite is also true - any GNOME application will work just fine under KDE. You don't have to choose one over the other, though each is designed around and better-integrated with its native environment. Another winner is KDE's Amarok, which has long-held my personal favor as the best available audio player anywhere.

    That said, I highly recommend giving it a shot. If you're using Ubuntu, you can try it with no risk by just installing the kubuntu-desktop and kde-full packages and choosing KDE as your window manager at login. It's worth a few days' trial to find out what you truly like.

  18. Re:GRUB integration? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    You can boot in to a different distro without actually restarting the machine, with KDM.

    Close, you still need to restart but you can specify the distro you want to boot into from the restart dialog.

  19. Rapidly Rising Minor Version Numbers... by UltraZelda64 · · Score: 2

    KDE 4.2 ... 4.3 ... 4.4 ... 4.5 ...4.6 ... and we're already approaching 4.7. Does this mean a major update, KDE 5, is coming sooner than might be expected? If so, I hope it's just a logical update instead of a massive overhaul like KDE4 was... it was absolutely horrible at first, but now it's just getting good. I'd hate to see the KDE3 -> KDE4 cycle all over again. Hopefully they slow down and just start incrementing the next number to the right, or they go up to and past 4.10 (though in the project's history it doesn't seem like it's gone that far before in version numbering). Oh well, could be worse--it could be like Chrome and now Firefox.

    1. Re:Rapidly Rising Minor Version Numbers... by Atriqus · · Score: 2

      KDE 4.2 ... 4.3 ... 4.4 ... 4.5 ...4.6 ... and we're already approaching 4.7. Does this mean a major update, KDE 5, is coming sooner than might be expected?

      I don't think one implies the other. KDE reaching 4.7 has more to do with the fact that they consistently release about every 6 months, and 4.0 was released about three and a half years ago. I wouldn't read any more into the numbers than that.

      --
      Hey, look! It's Bono's brother.
    2. Re:Rapidly Rising Minor Version Numbers... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      Yes, although KDE 4.8 is still planned, there is talk about a KDE 5 now. However, it's not going to be a big rewrite like last time (mostly thanks to Qt 5 not being a big rewrite, like last time), but will instead just be a cleanup of current APIs and removing some old cruft from from the early days of KDE 4.0. Most of the currently used and working code will be left alone, with perhaps a bugfix here and there.

      All in all, it sounds like it'll be a much smoother transition than KDE3 to KDE4 was.

  20. Re:KDE vs Gnome by KugelKurt · · Score: 2

    No, just have limited time for trying out new stuff when what I have is working quite well.

    If you have enough time to waste for Slashdot, you have enough time to try a live CD (either native or in VirtualBox).

  21. Re:All they need now is by KugelKurt · · Score: 2

    Less text, less icons. If you need to have icons, make them BIG. Reduce the visible options.

    Why should the KDE community mimic GNOME? GNOME exists already. There is no point in acting like GNOME with GNOME still very active.
    Plasma Desktop and KDE Apps are targeted towards a different audience.

  22. Re:KDE vs Gnome by Wheely · · Score: 2

    This!

    Did exactly the same. Was a KDE user since before 1.0. I think it was KDE Beta 2 where I started. KDE 4.0 changed things for me. Why put up with all the worst aspects of a OSX like UI without the easy hardware configuration. May as well run OSX. SO now all my machines are Macs. I dont think OSX is as good as KDE 3.5 on Linux but its UI is only about as crappy as KDE4.X but I get to plug bits of hardware in without thinking too much about it. A real shame.

  23. Re:YES! NEW KDE! by Lord+Kano · · Score: 3, Informative

    The OP may have been confrontational, but he wasn't trolling.

    I switched to Trinity KDE because I hated KDE4.x so much. I just can't stand it. I actually kept using an old distro because I was unwilling to "upgrade" to KDE4.x, when I discovered the Trinity KDE project, it was such a relief. I was able to go to a much new distro but keep a user experience that didn't feel like I was using a big cell phone.

    LK

    --
    "Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
  24. Did they get rid of by Outtascope · · Score: 2

    the akonadi/nepomuk dependency? If not, wgaff? I won't touch desktop linux again until this semantic desktop bullshit runs its course and the kde devs/designers pull their heads out their asses. I've grudgingly switched my office (5 workstations) back to MS after 8 or so years on Debian/Ubuntu. Heaven forbid Microsoft ever figures out how to create a real shell, I'll never even have to think about it again. I mean seriously, fixed width, STILL have to hit that shitty little menu to copy and paste? Powsershell is better, but the bar was pretty frickin' low to start with. That said, I'm still finding Win 7 much more productive than the last two or three releases of KDE on Ubuntu. For the same reasons that I switched to Linux in the first place. I don't have to fight with it to do what I want (well, at least not as much as I have found myself doing with Linux the last couple of years). And Gnome still sucks. I LIKE QT. A lot. I like most things about KDE. But 25 Akondi processes running for PIM that I don't even use (Thunderbird+Lightning does everything my staff needs) makes me has angry as I would get buying a big-box HP desktop and spending 2 weeks trying to get rid of all the bloatware. Seems I only post here to bitch about what has happened to KDE/Ubuntu... I guess it's kinda like watching your sister get into porn. You can say you like it all you want, I loathe it.

  25. Re:Have they fixed the missing 3.5 features then? by SomeKDEUser · · Score: 3, Informative

    for konqueror, I am not sure what you want. I don't remember a NeXT-like column view ever being available. If you mean the splitting of the interface recursively, it is still there.

    new tab for konsole? just double-click on a free area of the tab bar.

    Reintegrate file browsing into konqueror? Uh? type any local URL in the location bar, and you are browsing your files.

    As for the desktop and panel right-click... Are you sure you are not confusing gnome and KDE. 'cause I can add any service menu to the right click. In fact the desktop and panel of KDE4 are way more configurable than the ones from KDE3.

    But clearly, you must be an amazingly anal person to consider that the whole desktop is incomplete because you basically would like a button instead of a double-click. Seriously. Get some perspective.

  26. Re:YES! NEW KDE! by siride · · Score: 3

    I just haven't had this experience. My guess is that your graphics card is not well supported by the drives and KWin is thus running slowly and with lag. That'll make the whole experience suck. Indeed, that *was* my experience with KDE up until about 4.4 and especially 4.5 when numerous improvements were made to KWin. But many users are still left out in the cold.

    As for the non-graphical stuff, I find it to be considerably snappier than Windows on the same machine. Apps start nearly instantly, and that's without the SuperFetch/ReadyBoost garbage that Windows loves (I very much enjoy having my computer nearly useless for 10 minutes after boot up because Windows needs to do heavy I/O on my HD for all of its caches -- and the apps don't even really start up super quick anyway!).

    The one thing I've hated is the semantic desktop garbage. So I got rid of it and now it doesn't bug me anymore. You might want to consider turning that off. It can hog the CPU and HD and that would make things slow.