KDE Plasma 5.4 Released

jrepin writes: KDE have announced the release of Plasma 5.4 desktop. This release of Plasma brings many nice touches for our users such as new fullscreen application launcher, much improved high DPI support, KRunner auto-completion and many new beautiful Breeze icons. It also lays the ground for the future with a tech preview of Wayland session available. We're shipping a few new components such as an Audio Volume Plasma Widget, monitor calibration tool and the User Manager tool comes out beta.

Comments

pfffff

[Anonymous Coward]

Full screen application launcher? What a waste.

Re:pfffff

[jrepin]

For you it might be waste for someone else it might be gold.

Re: pfffff

[ShieldW0lf]

The world reacted to Windows 8 in a unified voice, and they said "We fucking HATE full screen application launchers!"

And KDE built one.

What's next, a "Virtual Trip to the Dentist" application?

New fullscreen application launcher!

[dotancohen]

Just the Windows feature that everybody has been lauding! Can we get forced data siphoning next, pretty please?

Re:New fullscreen application launcher!

[jrepin]

In Plasma that is just one of the new options available and you can easily switch back to Kickoff launcher (which is still default) or a plain simple menu like launcher. Or you can completely remove the launcer and just use keyboard based KRunner.

Re:New fullscreen application launcher!

[dotancohen]

In my opinion, fullscreen application launchers on a multitasking OS are not the ideal solution to presenting the user with a list of applications to run because the idea of fullscreen implies that it is itself another application. Id est, it blocks the currently running application. The 'start menu' type launchers that we are familiar with do not _apparently_ block the running application (even though they often block keyboard input). Thus, the user feels that the menu is part of the environment and not anoth application that has replaced the application that he is running. I accept the premise on my Android phone because on that device I expect to only run a single application at a time. No matter what memory-management does behind the scenes (and I am familiar with onPause() onStart() onRestart() and onResume()) it appears to the user that he is running a single app at a time. Empirically, pick up the average user's phone and look at the running applications. On Android (and iOs, and Windows Phone) people typically return to the Home screen and start another application without ever closing the original applications: that is indicative of the mindset that only one application is ever "in use" at a time.

Re:New fullscreen application launcher!

[Sun]

I think the main problem with full screen applications as done by Windows 8 is the lack of user choice. Some applications are full screen. Other applications are windowed. You want to mix them? Sorry, no. You want to run a Metro (or whatever they ended up calling it) application in a window? Sorry, not an option. You want to run a "legacy" application full screen? Tough.

Choosing to run a specific application in full screen may be something positive, if so warranted by circumstances.

Shachar

Does it remember size and location of windows?

[QuietLagoon]

So far, all of the previous versions of KDE that I have used do not remember the size and location of windows when I change those attributes by moving and resizing the window.

.
I've looked but have not been able to find a global parameter (i.e. affecting all windows) that says, in effect, ~remember window size and location when the window is closed~.

Has such a parameter finally been added to KDE?

Re:Does it remember size and location of windows?

[QuietLagoon]

I think so? I feel pretty confident about it

I'll do my usual of installing the new version to see if the KDE developers have finally come to their senses. To be honest, I don't hold high hopes, as I have seen comments from the developers in the past indicating they were opposed to implementing this simple concept because it made it difficult for them when implementing the [comparatively] little-used feature of going to sleep on one device and waking up on another device. I have trouble imagining the need for that capability, and I have even more trouble seeing why that would be justification to not implement the "remember windows size/position on closure" feature.

.
So I really hope the KDE developers have come to their senses on this.

Re:Does it remember size and location of windows?

[Anonymous Coward]

So far, all of the previous versions of KDE that I have used do not remember the size and location of windows when I change those attributes by moving and resizing the window.

Let me guess, you must run a multi-display setup, right? Technically, remembering window size and position has been a standard thing for every Qt or KDE application for as long as KDE4 has existed, but there's a multi-monitor bug with some part of KDE that can completely break it.

Specifically, if your desktop uses multiple displays of different resolutions (e.g. 1920x1080 and 1680x1050 displays), the config file setting that's used to restore last window size and position ends up being considered invalid and ignored, making those applications do strange things instead. You can even check the config file and see where it will have multiple size/position settings saved because it keeps fucking up and storing new ones.

This has been a pain in my ass for years now, for practically the entire life of KDE4. Hopefully 5 fixes it, but I'm not expecting it.

The workaround, if you're using kwin, is to use kwin's window-specific settings to override any misbehaving application's behavior. Not all do it, but for the ones that do, use the corner icon (accessible by alt+F3 as well) in the window decoration and choose "Special window settings" under the "more actions" submenu. There's a tab for "size and position" that has the settings you want. Check the boxes next to "Position" and "Size" and change the dropdowns to "Remember". For most apps, this is all you need. If an application still misbehaves you can also check "Ignore requested geometry" and set it to "Force" and the "yes" radio button to make kwin ignore the app's desires completely.

You can also access all these window- and app-specific overrides in System Settings, under the "Window Behavior" section. It's slightly annoying to have to do this, but at least it's an option thanks to kwin. Kwin's great for this; I've been using it to work around all sorts of bugs and odd behavior in other applications, as well as setting things like transparency or changing window types, for years.

Re:Too soon

[jrepin]

Yup, it works much better than 3.5 and 4.x. but that's just me. You have your own requirements and you will have to try it and see for yourself.

Re:Too soon

[i_ate_god]

I personally find KDE5 to be superior in most ways.

Plasma 5 breaks a lot of stuff

[Nexus7]

I vastly prefer KDE to everything else, however don't go wiping your PCs and installing KDE/Plasma 5 because of the eye-candy. A bunch of stuff is still not ready, relative to KDE 4. Example, few workspace widgets, for example, no Quick Launch, only 1 weather widget. Widgets not resizeable. The wi-fi/network connection app something thinks it is connecting, when is already is connected. Sign-in screen doesn't know to use your pic/avatar. No way to use Emerald themes (Smaragd was usable in KDE 4). And so on.

Very usable, but a big drop in functionality as things are worked on. Yeah, I know it is a more elegant framework, etc. etc.

Re:Plasma 5 breaks a lot of stuff

[fufufang]

The worst thing in KDE 5 is that they are dropping the support for traditional tray icons.

http://blog.martin-graesslin.c...