Re: I really hope KDE4 will rock

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Re: I really hope KDE4 will rock
by Chase Venters on Wednesday 02/Aug/2006, @09:57

I'm not worried about KDE being doomed at all. Anyone I've ever known that uses GNOME on the actual desktop (ie, not just using it to run Red Hat Network Configuration Program or somesuch) ends up running KDE programs on top of it. And moreover, while commercial distributions do tend to favor GNOME, usage trends and users suggest that KDE is actually everyone's favorite free software desktop. My experience would tend to agree :)

Related Links

·   Articles on KDE Official News
·   Also by Chase Venters
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Re: I really hope KDE4 will rock
by Vlad Blanton on Thursday 03/Aug/2006, @17:48

I agree that Gnome has improved a lot. So much that I switch between Kubuntu and Ubuntu throughout the week (when I was a die-hard KDE user before).

The fact is, Gnome has been devoting much more time toward usability & HIG development than KDE. As a whole, when I start ubuntu, I am amazed with the way things seem to fit together. When I run Kubuntu, I'm amazed with detail and feature-set given to each technology underlying the desktop and every app that runs on it.

KDE is a better desktop than Gnome technically and functionally, but Gnome has surpassed KDE in overall usability by having a decent HIG that developers and distro's use and focusing on simplicity in application layout and functionality.

quick disclaimer: I think gnome went a little to far with simplicity with many of there applications. It has made a large part of there desktop unusable for anyone other than the [idea of the] "average user" that they design for. Cheerios not Fruityloops.. a paraphrase of something a metacity developer once said

I also realise that if I install kde & gnome in Gentoo that a some of that "amazement of the way things seem to fit together" in gnome is gone because it of the large amount of work ubuntu put into unifying the look & feel.

If we had a solid & usable HIG that developers and distro's followed for KDE 3 things would be MUCH better, and moving away from relying on 3rd party icons/widget styles (Crystal/Plastik/Lipstik) will also help unify the look-n-feel. Crystal icons look very nice, but are also occasionally confusing (a 13 year old girl recently asked me what the glass of water in the bottom right was... the trash). Plasik/Lipstik is very nice compared to Keramik **pukes**, but it still has it's fair share of annoyances and ugliness.

I am amazed with the way KDE has progressed and grown. I am stunned with the ideas and plans for KDE4 (Plasma, Solid, Oxygen, Phonon, and I want to give a HUGE thank you to everyone who is contributing to the development of the absolute best desktop environment to date. There is a place in my heart for all of you. I'd also like to thank Celeste Paul and anyone else working along side/with her for making sure that future KDE versions (4+) are focused on usability, HIG, and all those other 3 letter acronym's that stand for a better desktop experience for all of us end users!

There is a bright and optimistic future for KDE, the open source desktop, free software, open and innovative techology, and everything else KDE stands for/contributes to!

Vladislav Blanton

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