An ongoing tradition on my blog is to review the latest major release of KDE, and then a week or two later post a wish list of features (and/or changes) I hope make it into the next release. However, I figured I would do it a bit differently this time, instead releasing my wish list in two parts. First, I’m going to go over five improvements that I wished for that actually did become reality. Then in part two, I will post my list of hopeful KDE improvements for 4.5.
Note: If you want to check out my wish list for KDE 4.3, click here. If you’d like to see my wish list for KDE 4.4, click here.
The KDE 4 series has been a very good experience for me. Sure, I have complaints (who doesn’t) but for the most part, the latest generation of KDE contains quite possibly the best open source innovation I have ever seen. The shear size and scope of KDE absolutely amazes me, and most of the new ideas are just fantastic. For example, I don’t know how I lived without Folder Views all this time! So with that said, let’s look at the features I wished for that actually did make it into KDE.
1.) Sorting Applications by Name in Kickoff
This has been a long standing complaint of mine for quite some time. When KDE 4.x debuted, applications in the applications list in Kickoff were not sorted by name, but instead category. This made it really hard to find the simplest thing. Thankfully, this was finally fixed in KDE 4.3, in which an option was included to sort applications by name. Now, finding your favorite app in your Kickoff menu is not a hindrance at all.
2.) KDE Needs More Speed
When KDE4 debuted, it seemed to be much slower than all other Linux Desktops. Myself and many users pushed for the desktop to be sped up. That wish was finally granted in KDE 4.3, and the speed was improved again in KDE SC 4.4. Thanks to the hard work of the KDE developers, my desktop feels faster than ever.
3.) Desktop Effects Should Automatically Suspend When 3D Applications Are Running
For the most part, this is fixed. With KDE SC 4.4, I have noticed that 3D applications are no longer hampered by desktop effects being turned on, when they are running full-screen. In previous KDE releases, the frame-rates in my full-screen games would be halved with desktop effects were enabled. Unfortunately, the same problem still happens when you run 3D applications in windowed mode, but I’ll take what I can get.
4.) Easier Theme Installation
Another issue I had with KDE (even with the KDE3.x series) is that themes are so easy to install in GNOME, but a pain in KDE. While installing new themes is still easiest to do in GNOME (download, drag, and drop) KDE SC 4.4 has made strides in this area, finally. It can only get better from here.
5.) Separate Wallpapers For Each Virtual Desktop
By setting up KDE to have a different activity for each virtual desktop, you can have a different wallpaper for each. I was very happy to see this feature return.
So, there you have it. Those are features/changes I wished for during previous KDE releases that have all materialized into reality. With such progress, it’s clear that KDE is moving at the speed of light, and I predict KDE SC 4.5 will be the height of the KDE4 series. What am I hoping for in that release? Stay tuned next week to find out, and be ready to share your ideas so we can help make KDE the best it can be.
Jeremy is a Certified IT Technician that blogs at ITNewsToday.com in his spare time. He has over ten years of industry experience, and studies the IT industry every single day. Jeremy has become an open source enthusiast over time and is studying for his Linux+ certification. He lives in Waterford MI with his wife Krystal and son Alan.
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How are these “Five Improvements for KDE 4.5″ when they’ve already happened?
I would like to see a reorganization of the System Settings, and hope to post about that soon, but other than that i am lovin my KDE4 series
Debian Sid is great (granted, no 4.4.1 yet, but ‘when its ready’ as Debian should be).
I’m using the latest builds from the 4.5 tree on opensuse.
Handling themes has been improved for 4.5
(tried it once but not much packaged for it yet and I like to mix theme elements)
Separate Wallpapers/workspace per desktop is working (using it now)
More speed is coming thanks to QT and KDE improvements but 4.5 seems faster than 4.4 and 4.4 was faster than 4.3 and I found 4.2 unstable.
Lancelot is more heavily integrated with KDE (love or hate it imo it’s the best feature of KDE)
3D effects… Don’t know of anything that disables them in favor of 3d apps, but turning them on/off isn’t as scary as it used to be.
There are more stable effects and most add nice polish to the desktop but I don’t know about the disabling effects. Have you tried the composite (3d effects) on/off button plasmoid?
(I put it next to the start menu to help control battery on my laptop)
Look forward to 4.5 it is promising to be even better yet
Um, so, let’s see, the “innovations” in this “best open source innovation” are:
1. Alphabetized entries in the start menu, which Gnome has had for ages, along with KDE 3*.
2. It’s a bit faster than it used to be a couple of years ago.
3. Some 3-D conflicts have been resolved. Sort of.
4. Themes are a bit easier to install, although not as easy as in Gnome (or Xfce, btw).
5. Separate wallpapers for each virtual desktop. OK, now, I’ll admit that this one really appeals to me. Almost as much as it did in KDE 3.*, which had the very same feature.
I’m not sure I agree that (“I’ll take what I can get”) = (“innovation”)
Any other great examples?
I was mainly referring to problems that I found with the KDE4 series that have been resolved now. What other desktops have had for the long term was not the focus in that article.
Try in Gnome:
Showing the contents of multiple folders (including remote folders) on the desktop;
Dragging and dropping folder views (and any other widget, for that matter) between the panel and the desktop;
Getting transparent system tray icon backgrounds from third party applications (*cough* pidgin *cough cough*);
Autohiding system tray icons depending on application’s activity;
Switching off desktop effects automatically depending on battery status;
Dragging a web-page, an image and a video to the desktop (and I mean the actual web-page, image and video, not some dinky little icon that doesn’t mean anything);
Receiving updates from your favourite websites and blogs as soon as you log in;
and then come back and remind me just how innovative Gnome is.
Did I forget to mention that DBus was inspired by DCop, a KDE technology, and that Gnome is now using DBus extensively? Or that the Gnome 3 system tray is going to receive the auto-hiding capability and remove those irritating graphical glitches thanks to the specification that KDE has put forward in 4.x (which also happens to use DBus)? That Gnome still uses tacky fake transparency in the panels, even with a composited desktop?
You’re flaming KDE for not being innovative, when the KDE guys are taking a different approach to several things that didn’t promise short-term completion, some of which are only now showing the benefit. Now Gnome’s idea of innovation is giving you the ability add/remove virtual desktops when all you actually want is to launch an application, because, you know, that’s OBVIOUSLY what I want.
Who’s flaming KDE?
Plasma, Krunner, Kwin – window manager which supports compositions, Nepomuk, translucency without 3D compositions enabled, animations without hardware acceleration, excellent integration of applications. Gnome tries to implement SOME of this, but in KDE, it’s already implemented and rock solid.
I think he was referring to other things such as phonon, solid, akonadi etc. If you look up to those you’ll certainly agree, KDE is absolutely innovative
“Unfortunately, the same problem still happens when you run 3D applications in windowed mode…”
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