Slashdot Mirror


KDE Announces Partner Network

jrepin writes "In the wake of the announcement of the first ever KDE powered tablet, quite a few interesting things are happening in the background. One of them is the formation of a professional Partner Network for devices such as the Vivaldi tablet. The Make Play Live Partner Program is designed to build and support a collaborative business and economic network. Members work together to provide comprehensive professional service and product offerings around Plasma Active and devices such as Vivaldi. Professional support options make it easier to convince potential parties, such as users, clients, customers and partners, bringing KDE software to a larger group of users. Nine organizations have already joined."

41 comments

  1. Partner Integration by PartOfElite · · Score: 1

    KDE should make it easy for the companies to change the Firefox search boxes and start pages so they could make extra revenue. Then bundle some advertising system inside the OS and we're looking at a better deal for the companies.

    1. Re:Partner Integration by fourchannel · · Score: 1

      First off, firefox is not part of KDE. Firefox is Mozilla's product. Secondly, I don't want advertisements at all anywhere in my operating system. They can stay the hell out.

      I like linux because it sticks largely to a set of design principles. It is good because it's design is good. Things that suck are phased out, things are improved.

      I'm sorry, but advertisements are an ulterior motive at best, and a surrender to mediocrity more likely.

      Plus I don't give a damn about what companies want. Companies provide services and products. If I am interested, I will go look into what they have to offer, but largely I am uninterested in most of them. And I'm sorry, I don't want companies trying to invade my operating system. If I don't want your product, don't try to force it down my throat.

      I know KDE is not an operating system, but I think if the case is that KDE is being motivated by companies, then KDE has become dead to me.

      --
      ---FourChannel---
  2. ZaReason please join by mehemiah · · Score: 2

    I want the ZaTab to run PlasmaActive not android!

  3. Vapor Tablet by scorp1us · · Score: 3, Interesting

    January 29 The Spark Tablet was announced (later renamed to Vivaldi). Two months it was supposed to be on the market. Now, it's 2 months after that and it still isn't shipping...

    I want the tablet, but hell if I know when I'll be able to buy one.

    --
    Slashdot's rate-of-post filter: Preventing you from posting too many great ideas at once.
    1. Re:Vapor Tablet by Dcnjoe60 · · Score: 2

      January 29 The Spark Tablet was announced (later renamed to Vivaldi). Two months it was supposed to be on the market. Now, it's 2 months after that and it still isn't shipping...

      I want the tablet, but hell if I know when I'll be able to buy one.

      The initial run was sold out, so if you didn't reserve one, you will have to wait for the 2nd run. The good news is that the extra delay allowed them to upgrade the specs on the tablet. If you are really desperate, you can purchase the Zethinks C71 which is the original Vivaldi spec'd tablet and install the plasma active image on it. The Vivaldi cost slightly more, but makes a contribution to KDE, so if you go the Zethinks route, you could also make a contribution to keep all things equal.

    2. Re:Vapor Tablet by msobkow · · Score: 1

      Why am I not surprised it's vapourware?

      Even the article's link is to a preorder info page that tells you nothing useful about this theoretical device.

      Somebody spank the editors!

      --
      I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
    3. Re:Vapor Tablet by jeffmeden · · Score: 1

      The first run is *spoken for*... That does NOT mean they are shipped and in the wild. Unless of course you have some evidence to the contrary, so please share.

    4. Re:Vapor Tablet by jeffmeden · · Score: 1

      Why am I not surprised it's vapourware?

      Even the article's link is to a preorder info page that tells you nothing useful about this theoretical device.

      Somebody spank the editors!

      What sort of information do you need? It runs a fork of Android (known as "Linux") with this KDE stuff as the GUI. It's basically a clone of the million different kind of Android tablets that have come out in the past 2 years.

      (not sure who is going to modsmack me worse, the Apple lovers or the GNU lovers...)

    5. Re:Vapor Tablet by msobkow · · Score: 0

      Oh, just irrelevant little details like the CPU being used, it's speed, the amount of memory, the amount of flash storage, the type of connectivity, the resolution of the screen, the type of screen...

      Get the picture?

      It has nothing to do with Android, iOS, or a vendor preference.

      It has everything to do with a parent article with a blatant spam link! For a non-shipping, non-existent product, no less.

      --
      I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
    6. Re:Vapor Tablet by msobkow · · Score: 0

      Hah! Someone changed the website since this morning -- they now have a specifications tab on the page.

      That should have been there before the link was posted, not after!

      --
      I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
    7. Re:Vapor Tablet by Patch86 · · Score: 1

      Follow the second link. I'll copy/paste it for you:
      http://makeplaylive.com/

      The software and hardware tabs tell you everything you need to know.

    8. Re:Vapor Tablet by Patch86 · · Score: 3, Informative

      I've replied to one of your other posts already, but I'll dig you out the info for your convenience:

              7 inch multi-touch capacitive screen (800x480)
              1 GHz ARM Cortex A9 processor with Mali 400 GPU
              1GB DDR2 RAM
              8 GB Nand Flash Disk
              Wireless Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g (3G via USB External)
              1.3 MP built-in front facing camera
              HDMI 1080P Output
              2 USB ports
              MicroSD slot
              3.5 mm audio jack
              Hardware volume and power buttons
              4 dimensional Gsensor
              Battery: 3000mAH @ 7.4v
              Weight: 355 grams

    9. Re:Vapor Tablet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The specification page has been there for months.

    10. Re:Vapor Tablet by Dcnjoe60 · · Score: 1

      The first run is *spoken for*... That does NOT mean they are shipped and in the wild. Unless of course you have some evidence to the contrary, so please share.

      True, although the hardware is readily available and you can install the OS yourself from the kde active website. So, for all practical purposes, it is available sans the name Vivaldi on the tablet.

    11. Re:Vapor Tablet by KugelKurt · · Score: 1

      January 29 The Spark Tablet was announced (later renamed to Vivaldi). Two months it was supposed to be on the market. Now, it's 2 months after that and it still isn't shipping...

      I want the tablet, but hell if I know when I'll be able to buy one.

      Nobody really needs the Vivaldi tablet. It is just off-the-shelf hardware with Linux and Plasma Active installed. Plasma Active is *not* vaporware. Two major versions were already released with the third major release planed to coincide with KDE Platform 4.9 to no longer rely on Platform 4.8 + patches. KP 4.9 is set for release in August: http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/KDE-SC-4-9-coming-in-August-1445350.html
      You can get eg. an Acer Iconia W500 and install a regular Linux distribution with Plasma Active on it right now. Packages exist for openSUSE and AFAIK Kubuntu. Probably also other distributions but I am not aware of them.

  4. No Nokia by G3ckoG33k · · Score: 0

    That Elop shill.

  5. Dear Ubuntu by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    Please adopt KDE as the Ubuntu UI. Thanks. Please don't listen to the troll-lets and haters. KDE has a future because KDE doesn't despise its users and their wishes.

    1. Re:Dear Ubuntu by KugelKurt · · Score: 1

      Please adopt KDE as the Ubuntu UI. Thanks. Please don't listen to the troll-lets and haters. KDE has a future because KDE doesn't despise its users and their wishes.

      God, please no. Canonical did enough damage in the time Kubuntu was officially "supported" -- meaning sabotaged to get an inferior experience to openSUSE, Pardus, etc.
      Kubuntu had its best release with the two developers assigned to other tasks and a handful of community members doing the work. Now with Blue Systems leading Kubuntu there might be a positive change in quality but let's see until 12.10.

  6. What is KDE? by cpu6502 · · Score: 0

    The Wikipedia article is a confusing mess that makes no sense. Is it a company? A distribution like Ubuntu? An OS like GNUlinux? A desktop like LXDE?

    --
    My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
    1. Re:What is KDE? by stoolpigeon · · Score: 4, Informative

      The first sentence seems pretty clear to me - it's a free software community. The section on organization says, "The financial and legal matters of KDE are handled by KDE e.V., which is a German non-profit organization, and help organizing the conferences and meetings of the community members." which also seems pretty clear.

      And there's more. There is a lot to the article but it doesn't seem too confusing to me.

      I'm a big KDE fan. I think they provide the best graphical desktop for linux, one of the better music players on any platform and I am a big fan of QT - specifically via PyQT and now PySide. I'm all for anything that keeps it all going.

      --
      It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
    2. Re:What is KDE? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wrong place. KDE is Desktop Environment - same software category as LXDE, Gnome, etc
      For information goto http://www.kde.org

    3. Re:What is KDE? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Wrong place. KDE is Desktop Environment - same software category as LXDE, Gnome, etc
      For information goto http://www.kde.org

      KDE is a free software community, KDE Plasma Desktop is the desktop environment. It even says this on http://www.kde.org

    4. Re:What is KDE? by MonsterTrimble · · Score: 1

      one of the better music players on any platform

      Amarok or Clementine?

      --
      I call it 'The Aristocrats'
    5. Re:What is KDE? by KugelKurt · · Score: 1

      Amarok or Clementine?

      Clementine is not a KDE product. It was forked from KDE code (Amarok 1.4) but Clementine is independent.
      Amarok is a KDE music player, Juk is another, and Bangarang is a multi-purpose media player that also plays and manages music.

    6. Re:What is KDE? by stoolpigeon · · Score: 1

      Amarok is what I was referencing - guess I should have specified.

      --
      It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
  7. Mail client? by Dani+Filth · · Score: 1

    Hopefully it won't have kmail2...

    1. Re:Mail client? by Tough+Love · · Score: 2

      Is Kmail1 still being developed? I loved classic Kmail but I've been limping along for months with the badly broken Akonadi based Kmail I got whacked with in a surprise Kubuntu release, long before it was ready. I somehow coaxed it into a minimally tolerable state. It doesn't mean I'm happy.

      On the bright side, at least it forced me to learn about Postgres to get rid of the absolutely horrid MySQL backend. All it needs now is a 100 less bugs and 100 times better performance.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    2. Re:Mail client? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Vivaldi tablet will ship Kontact Touch, an touch-optimized front-end with the same capabilities as Kontact (so it has all the fancy encryption, groupware, email server support, scales well, etc.), but with a completely different UI.

      Right after the introduction of Kmail2, it was quite buggy for some users, but I believe those issues have been fixed. Kmail2, on my machines runs stable and fast. YMMV (if it does, probably a good idea to check its latest release, the KDE team is very responsive to bugreports and working hard on improving quality issues that might still be present).

    3. Re:Mail client? by KugelKurt · · Score: 1

      Hopefully it won't have kmail2...

      No, it won't. KMail2 was actually never released. Only an alpha version shipped along K Desktop Environment 1.1 ever saw the light of day: http://kde.org/announcements/changelogs/changelog1_0to1_1.php

      After that the KDE community continued to develop KMail 1.x until they eventually shipped KMail 4.6 -- the current release is KMail 4.8.

    4. Re:Mail client? by KugelKurt · · Score: 1

      Is Kmail1 still being developed? I loved classic Kmail but I've been limping along for months with the badly broken Akonadi based Kmail I got whacked with in a surprise Kubuntu release, long before it was ready.

      No, KMail 1 is dead.
      The code is obviously still in SVN. As for Kubuntu: You became a victim of Canonical's KDE sabotage. I suggest you switch to openSUSE, enable the KDE Release 4.8 repository and retry KMail 4.8.

  8. Ecosystem by unixisc · · Score: 1

    KDE should set up a software ecosystem that refines all the software that comes default w/ KDE, including the Calligra Suite, the various K packages and so on. And do some major refining of certain apps, such as Kexi. That will enable them to attract mindshare, if what they have turns out to be really good, particularly for Plasma desktop.

    1. Re:Ecosystem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That is pure genius! Why did nobody think of this before?

      You should email all those companies in the partner list and suggest it!

  9. Heavy by Corson · · Score: 1

    Both KDE and Gnome are hardware-intensive desktops. There is a reason why Canonical switched to Unity. A KDE powered tablet? With KDE on a diet, maybe.

    1. Re:Heavy by KugelKurt · · Score: 1

      Both KDE and Gnome are hardware-intensive desktops. There is a reason why Canonical switched to Unity. A KDE powered tablet? With KDE on a diet, maybe.

      As others already explained, KDE is not a desktop or even the name of software: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KDE
      As for your diet remark: http://www.kde.org/announcements/4.6/platform.php (from 1.5 years ago)

    2. Re:Heavy by Corson · · Score: 1

      "KDE is an international free software community" -- Yes, well, when I install Linux it asks me whether I want a Gnome or a KDE desktop. Never thought I was choosing between two "international free software communities" ;) The second link you provided is great news. I always liked the KDE smooth look and feel, I always hated its sluggishness when compared to Gnome. Again, that seems to be in the past now. Thanks.

    3. Re:Heavy by KugelKurt · · Score: 1

      "KDE is an international free software community" -- Yes, well, when I install Linux it asks me whether I want a Gnome or a KDE desktop. Never thought I was choosing between two "international free software communities" ;)

      WTF? Obviously Plasma Desktop is a KDE desktop because it is a desktop by KDE.
      If your distribution calls the desktop simply "KDE" then your distribution is simply wrong: http://kde.org/community/whatiskde/
      http://kde.org/workspaces/plasmadesktop/

    4. Re:Heavy by unixisc · · Score: 1

      Why not try out Razor-qt in that case?

    5. Re:Heavy by unixisc · · Score: 1

      Plasma Active desktop is the KDE desktop specific to tablets. If one wants KDE on a laptop or netbook, there are different KDE desktop implementations for those.

  10. ZUNE? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Will it run on my Zune?