Less text, less icons. If you need to have icons, make them BIG. Reduce the visible options. Don't put a border on something just because you can.
I don't think I would want to use *your* ideal version of KDE4. Less text... fewer icons... larger icons? Nope, I'll pass. I don't want ridiculously oversized icons like so many environments are going for these days (ie. for netbooks) wasting space that could be better used with added functionality. Less text is a disaster because text can say much more at a quick glance than a little icon usually can (unless you're completely illiterate), and combined with less icons... well, you're heading down a path of destroying all functionality (see: GNOME).
That is not so say that KDE is perfect, because it's not. But if you want those things, go use GNOME 3 or Unity--or hell, even KDE4's Plasma Netbook (they're all fine for some uses, including those weak computers with little screens like netbooks). Meanwhile I'll stay with Xfce, a plain old KDE4 Plasma Desktop, GNOME 2, LXDE, or whatever else is functional and doesn't waste space on "BIG" (as you put it) icons while providing fewer accessible functions.
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.
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Less text, less icons. If you need to have icons, make them BIG. Reduce the visible options. Don't put a border on something just because you can.
I don't think I would want to use *your* ideal version of KDE4. Less text... fewer icons... larger icons? Nope, I'll pass. I don't want ridiculously oversized icons like so many environments are going for these days (ie. for netbooks) wasting space that could be better used with added functionality. Less text is a disaster because text can say much more at a quick glance than a little icon usually can (unless you're completely illiterate), and combined with less icons... well, you're heading down a path of destroying all functionality (see: GNOME).
That is not so say that KDE is perfect, because it's not. But if you want those things, go use GNOME 3 or Unity--or hell, even KDE4's Plasma Netbook (they're all fine for some uses, including those weak computers with little screens like netbooks). Meanwhile I'll stay with Xfce, a plain old KDE4 Plasma Desktop, GNOME 2, LXDE, or whatever else is functional and doesn't waste space on "BIG" (as you put it) icons while providing fewer accessible functions.
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.