KDE 3.4.1 Released

KDE 3.4.1 has been released. This is the first translation and bugfix release to the 3.4 series, it includes all security updates to date, numerous minor fixes and improved translations including a new Greek translation pack. See the 3.4.1 Release Announcement for full details and the Changelog for a full list of updates. If you want to test out KDE 3.4.1 we have a new version of the Klax Live CD. Packages are currently available for Conectiva Linux and Kubuntu, see the 3.4.1 Info Page for how to download. Packages for SuSE are currently being uploaded and will be available soon. If you want to compile the sources yourself try using Konstruct which has been updated for this new release.

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Comments

by James Richard Tyrer (not verified)

Re: Konqueror: This is actually a configuration issue. This is all configured by the file: "$KDEDIR/share/apps/konqueror/konqueror.rc" so you don't have to be able to code to make a Konqueror like you want and submit it as a suggestion. One small problem which I have is that there isn't (at least I haven't found it) complete documentation for the syntax of this XML file.

Perhaps the a choice of which browser configuration to use should be added to the first time startup wizard.

I don't see the Control Center the way that you do, but I do think that it needs improvement. To me, the Control Center is clear example of when design is more improtant than coding. If it needs to be completely redone, it should be designed first, then coded. Some of this has been discussed on: 'kde-usability' but perhaps there should be a list just for the Control Center. I don't find one on the list:

https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/

The Panel (Kicker) has its own list, why not the Control Center?

One user has done a lot of work on this:

http://www.csis.gvsu.edu/~abreschm/designs/the-control-panel/

and in this 'Coders Rule' culture, he doesn't get the credit he deserves. His work clearly shows why coders are not the best people to design user interfaces. Even engineers know that some help from artists is a help.

There are basic issues with the Control Center that don't require any specific development skills to work on. The first question is whether it should be tree based, multiple dimensioned, or index based.

If you don't like the current tree, please submit your proposed tree.

by Anonymous (not verified)

> http://www.csis.gvsu.edu/~abreschm/designs/the-control-panel/

I didn't look at the proposals for the reorganization of single modules but the control center navigation looks a bit messy to me. http://ktown.kde.org/~binner/kcontrol5/ looks more clean.

by Elad (not verified)

It seems that applications using an IDEA1-like interface behave differently now (at least for me). Sub-windows are now sticky by default and an "unsticking" operation is not preserved. Is this a style change or a bug (or am I missing something)?

Thanks,
Elad

by leo spalteholz (not verified)

Sorry, offtopic, but does anyone know if any KDE devs are planning on mentoring in this?

Check it out:
http://code.google.com/summerofcode.html

Faq for mentoring organizations:
http://code.google.com/mentfaq.html

Could be some free manpower for KDE.

by Ted (not verified)

There are some KDE related bounties on the Ubuntu bounty page http://udu.wiki.ubuntu.com/BreezyBounties .

by Anonymous (not verified)

> does anyone know if any KDE devs are planning on mentoring in this?

They are so don't start coding for GNOME yet. ;-)

by Janne (not verified)

Why is it that Gnome-folks seem to take part in those kinds of events, but KDE-folks do not? KDE could benefit from those kinds of things.

by Anonymous (not verified)

Be patient. GNOME didn't even understand the rules so far: they seem to think that several people can work on one task and the "bounty will go to the person (or team) who submits a maintainer-accepted patch which results in the single largest reduction in login time" or "bounty will go to the person who submits the best accepted patch to Evolution". If you would be a student in need to survive the summer would you work for a "maybe you will get it" stipend competition not during application- but whole implementation phase?

by Max (not verified)

Gnome? It's Google who has set those rules.

by Anonymous (not verified)

> GNOME didn't even understand the rules so far

To quote from a GNOME blog: "We had to put these together at the last minute (Well, twenty minutes) in an incredibly creative rush, without the usual consultation."

KDE instead takes one or two days to put up a well thought-out list.

by superstoned (not verified)

typical :D

by Guss (not verified)

I have some post 3.4.1 bugs to post

by bugger (not verified)

bugs.kde.org is now available only over HTTPS due to some webcrawler problems.

by Guss (not verified)

Yes, I see it now - its is not down. I could access it through https previously, but the bug reporting wizard - when invoked from the "report bug" menu entry of an application - crashes after you log in.

When I invoke the wizard manually to enter the application details, less information is available but at least it works. thanks.

by Jeroen (not verified)

I try to understand why they have waited so long for this bugfix release, without solving the major bugs. Like:

* KMail/Kontact: When setting bogofilter as your spamkiller with the option to generate filters for it and adding those those filters to the toolbar, Kontact crashes when you open the kmail-part. When having kmail as your default component or your last component, KOntact can start anymore and crashes right away.
* Kmail: Toolbar-icons for the spamfilter (see above) are not visible on the toolbar, allthough they are there when you go to toolbar-settings-dialog.
* Kmail: When setting a shortcut to the manual spam-filter (I want to use alt+s) (see above), the shortcut is not saved and can only used in the current session.
* Konqueror (filemanager): When deleting files (to trash or not to trash) Konqueror crashes once in a while. These crashes where introduced in 3.4.0, but are still present in 3.4.1. Very irritating.

All those bugs are not mine alone, users in ircchannel #kde also had the bogofilter-bugs and the unstable filemanager-bugs.

So please fix those bugs ASAP!?

Jeroen

by Brad Hards (not verified)

Have you filed bug reports for each problem?

by Jeroen (not verified)

https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=97230
https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=90529

The first bug should net never be closed. KDE is using the wrong method to get rid of bugs. I advise to sent all submitters a mail, with the question to see if their bug is still valid in the current KDE release. A cc to other users commenting on the bug, is also a good idea.

I can't find the Konq-bug, so if it happens again, I will copy and paste the backtrace and submit a new bug.

Cheers,

Jeroen

by Nicolas Goutte (not verified)

Personally I would very much like to ask users if some bug is solved in the next version. However every time I have done it, there was... no answer!

So don't get surprised that developers don't do it anymore.

As for the kind of bug you see, I am sorry, but that seem to be one of the hardest kinds of bugs: bugs that users see and developers not.

Have a nice day!

by leo spalteholz (not verified)

The konqueror crash on deleting files was very painful and very poor for the image of KDE. It must be a timing issue or Debian specific, because it crashed on my hardware both in my long term debian install, and a fresh install of kubuntu.

I'll try it again once I can get linux running on my new laptop.

by Macavity (not verified)

This must truly be an elusive bug.. i have never ever experienced it, even thoug i have installs of Slackware, Gentoo, LFS/BLFS, Arch Linux and Vector Linux. It might be a good idea to mention if you have SATA disks? Or some odd chipset (nForce?).

Can you reproduce it by deleting files on a floppy?

~Macavity

by James Richard Tyrer (not verified)

Is there a bug for the Konqueror problem?

If you could supply a test case that will cause the crash, this would be a large help.

I agree that there is room for improvement with how we handle bugs. Specifically, when a bug is a regression, it should be marked as such in BugZilla and indexed as such (Like JJ).

Clearly, the usual bug clearance criteria (which I disagree with in general) can not be used for a regression in the current release Branch. Fixing such a bug in Trunk is not what is needed. A Branch regression should always be fixed in the Branch and it should be cleared before the next branch release.

by Richard Van Den Boom (not verified)

I don't know but I definitely experienced it. It usually occurs to me when I display a directory with a large number of files, in "Display in trees" mode (that's a litteral translation from french, I mean the view where you can expand the contents of a dir, not the icones view), select a good part of them then delete them. It does not occur every time though. However, if I repeat this several times in the same window and dir, konqueror is killed with Sig11. 3 times is usually enough.
I was expecting it to be a known issue, since it often occured to me but I realize that it may be because of what I do with my system. So if there's no bug opened in bugzilla, I'll do it.

Best regards,

by Kåre (not verified)

What happened to mouse wheel scrolling in Konqueror?? In KDE 3.4.0 The scrolling is fine, but in 3.4.1 Konqueror continues to scroll for a short time after you have released the scroll wheel on webpages.
If this is a feature PLEASE tell me how to turn it OFF. It is not as bad as in IE but it is still annoying.

by Anonymous (not verified)

Did you compile the sources or do you use binary packages (which)?

I'm using Suse 9.2 3.4.1-UNSUPPORTED RPMs.

by Anonymous (not verified)

SUSE applies (smooth) scrolling patches to their RPMs so please complain to them.

Do you know which files are patched for this?

I'm getting annoyed by stuff like this. I'm compiling parts of kdebase to get the kde printer manager back and to be able to change the time and date, trough the clock applet, with KDE's own time tool instead of SUSE's crappy one.

by Anonymous (not verified)

> Do you know which files are patched for this?

http://tinyurl.com/76h4m

After some googling i found a way to turn it off.

kwriteconfig --key SmoothScrolling --type bool false

(http://lists.zerezo.com/kde/msg00319.html)

Kåre

by Melchior FRANZ (not verified)

That's slightly OT, but I came across a funny page yesterday: someone "ported" (or rather cloned) my ... err KDE's kclock.kss screensaver (you find it under Miscellaneous/Clock) to Mac OS. Got some nice reviews. :-)

http://clocksaver.sourceforge.net/
http://www.macupdate.com/reviews.php?id=17884

by Adrian Dusa (not verified)

Hi,

Sorry to bother, could you please help me on this: how do one starts kclock
screensaver in command mode (ie in shell), so that it fills the whole screen?
I tried with the --geometry argument, with no avail.

Thank you in advance,
Adrian