In this week's KDE Commit-Digest: Work on WebKit integration, the ability to access Plasma data engines in Plasmoids rendered through WebKit, and a HDDtemp daemon data engine are added to Plasma, plus work on Plasmoid packaging and KRunner. Items can now be dragged from the Kickoff menu to the desktop or the panel. More work on syncing Akregator with online reader services. A GUI for declinations in Parley. Support for DGML tags in Marble. Genuine progress in the KTankBattle game. General improvements and the removal of the Helix engine in Amarok 2. A visual redesign of the KGet "Web Interface", with added translation capabilities. Continued work on KPresenter slide transitions, and KCron. Work on importing and exporting shortcut configurations in KControl. The "three stars per character" password mode returns to KDE 4 (from the KDE 3 series). Various speed optimisations across KDE applications. Ligature moves to "unmaintained" status. KDE 4.0.2 is tagged for release. Read the rest of the Digest here.
Comments
sad, indeed. I preferred Ligature over okular's new interface. It was more "standard", more Adobe like...
As I recall, the KViewShell developers were rather thoroughly dissed by KDE. This is a very unfortunate situation.
KViewShell was a shell viewer that should have had KGhostView, KPDF, & KView added to it. Instead, the wheel was reinvented and the Mouse swallowed up the Elephant.
The KDE project gains very little from this lack of planning and coordination. Doing things over is not the best or most efficient method -- constant improvement is a much better option.
I am very sad to see KViewShell being abandoned.
Many users still have problems using plasma in multiple ways, i.e. featurewise (layout, number and quality of plasmoids...) and stabilitywise (just take the visual artefacts appearing since 4.0.2). I found the idea interesting to take a load from the shoulders of our plasma developers who will probably not be able to provide a satisfying solution before 4.1 while receiving even more bashing from us users. The solution was discussed in one of the last dot discussions. It is to enable KDE3 kicker to use in connection with KDE4.
There is a How-To available:
http://www.kde-apps.org/content/show.php/HOW-TO:+Kicker+on+KDE4?content=...
This How-To shows users how to enable Kicker for regular use in KDE4 instead of the default plasma panel. Not to understand it wrong: Users still use KDE4 - Kwin, Plasma and the session manager. It is just the panel that will be replaced.
I hope, the How-To will help users who are not satisfied with KDE4 and who have been disappointed with KDE's very misleading version numbering (namely: who expected more of a x.0.0 release) and it will hope KDE developers since they can calm down users by refering them to using kicker until 4.1.
For me (openSuse 10.3) it works excellent together. Praise the design concept of KDE2/3!
Best regards
Sebastian
It's been said numerous times, if you want your features and stability, 3.5.9 is shiny, new and feature rich, srock solid table and mature.
KDE 4.0.2 is stable (more or less), but not rock solid and most certainly not mature. It needs a lot of programs to be ported, but the K Desktop Environment is there.
Please, save you educational advice! Read my post again! I do completely agree with you.
All developers are moaning about the "whining" of disappointed users. Of deconstructive optinions. The only thing I did was to investigate a way to satisfy those users who can not wait for 4.1, but for whom the plasma panel is too buggy or disfunctional. It is just a How-to which helps them to combine all the fine things of both: KDE4 with desktop plasmoids, KWin and oxygen and - on the other side - KDE3 with kicker.
I probably should have sent this as a separate dot story in order to let these discussions end. This was just a proposal and how-to as a work around!
i believe the knee-jerk comes from your choice of terminology... Words like "vs." and your inversion of the compliment sandwich (which *should* have been compliment, critique, compliment, not the way around you have it) will to the casual reader make it seem as though the post is just more petrol on an already raging fire.
In fact, i might suggest rephrasing the thing a lot, make it seem like a big compliment to Plasma, and then release it into the blogosphere in the spirit i'm sure you actually want it to be perceived: As a compliment to the Plasma devs, and a help to the early adopters :)
Thanks, but no, I won't post it on the dot. Either way, the developers are currently not willing to agree with mistakes while users will continue to show their disappointment. As long as both sides are not interested in understanding the other (or in finding a solution for the other) it would be better to silently wait until 4.1 and to hope that people will then be satisfied. Bye
A slapt in the face for plasma-devs and lovers....
I simply loved it, heheheheheheheh!!!
Yes, plasma will be great, we know it, but even before 4.0 was near I (and more people also) was saying that it would be ready for 4.1 and most problally 4.2.
The answer I got from Aaron Seigo was; "and on what basis do you tell this?".
Well, looks like reality-check basis is a good one.
Nothing like time giving you the reason, ahahahahah!!
Nothing like being insulting to people who do that on a volounteer basis. Sad.
Volunteer? Aaron Seigo is paid by TrollTech to work on KDE. He isn't a volunteer.
A) He's not the only person who works on Plasma. Far from it.
B) What difference does it really make?
Also, I'm pretty sure aseigo isn't paid to work until 3AM and during weekends which he seems to do almost always.
Anyway, I did not want to insult.
It was much more like a revenge after being told to shut up ;)
Aaron is kind of a bit arrogant about Plasma, and I hope that when he sees that people prefer to use Kicker on top of KDE4, or run KDE4 apps inside KDE3 that Plasma is wrong in some ways, mostly very-very incomplete.
If he and other KDE developers could be a bit more humble, most of KDE4 discussion would not exists, because it would not be released (at least as 4.0) before being more feature-complete and having other apps time to port (yes, I mean kde4-dev or kde 3.9).
See where we are: no decent menu, no decent panel, no decent desktop, no k3b, no amarok, no kaffeine, buggy dolphin... man those are basically all the things I use in KDE!
> people prefer to use Kicker on top of KDE4, or run KDE4 apps inside KDE3
> that Plasma is wrong in some ways, mostly very-very incomplete.
You're saying people that want to use KDE3 are complaining because they use KDE4. There was no plasma in KDE3, it's new, it's different, if you like what KDE3 had then use it, fresh version has 3.5.9 stamped on it's butt even.
Did you expect 2 years of porting to make KDE4 using Qt4 to be exactly like KDE3 with a new library underneath?
Perhaps the old icons on the desktop, a start menu on the left, a systray on the right, and text representation of of the running apps isn't the long term future for the bottom of computer screens and desktops? Maybe something new will at the same time be something... different! What a shock!
> Did you expect 2 years of porting to make KDE4 using Qt4 to be exactly like KDE3 with a new library underneath?
That was the original goal for KDE 4. That's what porting is.
And I don't see anybody complaining that KDE 4 isn't *identical* to KDE 3. I see people complaining that KDE 4 is *less functional* than KDE 3 in many ways.
What a shock! People have features they use taken away from them and they seek out ways of getting them back. How unreasonable!
> A) He's not the only person who works on Plasma. Far from it.
He's the one that was being talked about.
> B) What difference does it really make?
People repeatedly point out that KDE is volunteer work to make out that it is above criticism. Clearly they think it makes a difference, otherwise they wouldn't point it out.
> People repeatedly point out that KDE is volunteer work to make out that
> it is above criticism. Clearly they think it makes a difference, otherwise
> they wouldn't point it out.
I have no numbers to back it up but I would say that most of the work on KDE is still unpaid, if it makes any difference.
In any case, just because *some* KDE developers get paid by a third party to work on it, it does not mean that it becomes open season to say anything you like about what they do. They're not above criticism, but I believe they should be above some of the nasty comments made on this board.
Look, either you think getting paid to work on it is relevant or you don't. You clearly don't. Luca Beltrame clearly does. I was responding to him.
I'm not saying that it's relevant, I'm pointing out to somebody that *does* think it is relevant that they are wrong about Aaron, the subject of this sub-thread, being a volunteer.
If you want to convince somebody that being paid / being a volunteer is not relevant, then convince Luca, he is the one that was trying to make a point out of it.
After reading most of the replies briefly, I think that a brainstorm for KDE as exists for Ubuntu is a great idea to keep devs and users in touch with each other for ideas and preferences.
It's a very clear and plain way to convey ideas and votes, to me at least.
I think that many users complaints about 4.0.x releases could have been better addressed that way, in the sense that users could have better expressed their desires and do so more conveniently. Brainstorming is easier than submitting bugs, after all :)
++
That would be nice. :)
Would a brainstorm list be a lot of work to maintain and edit though?
I want KDE developers to spend more time coding, than having to deal with "busywork" The bug reports already take more time than coding itself. (necessary evil.!)
First, I guess Ubuntu can be persuaded to help creating it, maybe by contributing code (Probably Kubuntu people will be more enthusiastic about it though).
Second, maybe we can start a new KDE category for the meanwhile.
Thirdly, maintenance need not be done by devs, and can be done by others with much less tech knowledge but with willingness to participate in KDE.
Another idea occurred to me: posts on KDE Brainstorm can be linked to bugs and feature requests. This can be done by QA or others, again no need for hardcore devs for most.
+1
But developers should let aside their "do it yourself if you want X or Y feature/bug" just for a while. This does not mean they should accept everything, but just try to hear a bit of the users complains and suggestions.
As users should respect hte "vision" of developers (when there is one, or they tell us about it). :)
Agreed.
It's kind of existing already, KDE Bugzilla allows voting for bugs and feature requests, eg Most wanted features
Is it just me or does the top of Amarok look like the footer of QuickTime Player? Move the volume slider to the left and make the height to width ratio lower and it looks like they just moved it up to the header from the footer that is in QuickTime.
Not that I'm complaining because it looks better than the 1.4 UI but definitely a nod to Apple's team.
If so, it is very much a coincidence, i guarantee it - we discussed it on the dev channel last night (someone made the same comment on the blog), and well... None of us have used QuickTime Player since a number of years now ;) Thanks, too, but nope - it's not a copy, just a coincidence :)
There is no such thing as a coincidence, only willful unwareness or unawareness of all variables in play.
Unless you've lived in a cocoon for 4 years and never visited a web site that has screen shots of the QuickTime player and video in question embedded, then I might believe you've not seen it. Even then I'd be ignoring the reality that their is no such thing as coincidences--Coincidances, perhaps.
Where did people get this absurd idea that there are no coincidences? Prove it to me. No seriously, prove it to me.
When did the world turn away from rational thought? Has everyone gone mad?
/rant
Here's something for the naysayers who say no improvements were made to KDE in the last few months.
Look at this and drool:
http://polishlinux.org/kde/kde-41-visual-changelog-rev-783000/
btw.: this was on digg.com. Yes, we made dig!!! :D :D :D
Now please go and vote for Kubuntu (link is above in another thread..)
____
P.s.: Did anybody notice that the coolest screenshots lately come from Poland?
Wonder why this is..
Can't wait to see tons of really cool HOW-TO's and Effects videos when KDE 4.1 Comes out. I'm expecting a Keynote presentation that puts "Jobs-notes"/Mac-notes to shame.. :)
*crosses fingers*
Is it polishlinux as in people from poland or polishlinux as in refined linux?
The former, although the other meaning kind of applies too... check out their about page:
http://polishlinux.org/about/
Quite a nice website overall IMO.
Well fix what you think are wrong yourself!
Seriously there is nothing that stops you. Go ahead and do something by yourself. Thats the beauty of open source, you can actually do whatever you want to improve the situation that you are not satisfied with.
There is actually only one thing that gets you nowhere and that is expect that other people should do whatever you think is important and by the time you want it to be done. Sometimes there are people that might do what you want but consider that as a bonus.