Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

KDE Plasma 5.4 Released

Posted by timothy on from the don't-you-wish-they-called-it-kraken-desktop-environment? dept.

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.

7 of 43 comments (clear)

  1. pfffff by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Full screen application launcher? What a waste.

  2. New fullscreen application launcher! by dotancohen · · Score: 4, Funny

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

    --
    It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
    1. Re:New fullscreen application launcher! by jrepin · · Score: 4, Informative

      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.

      --
      Live long and propser!
    2. Re:New fullscreen application launcher! by dotancohen · · Score: 4, Insightful

      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.

      --
      It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
    3. Re:New fullscreen application launcher! by Sun · · Score: 4, Insightful

      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

  3. Does it remember size and location of windows? by QuietLagoon · · Score: 3, Informative
    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?

  4. Plasma 5 breaks a lot of stuff by Nexus7 · · Score: 5, Informative

    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.