As I was playing around with OpenSuse 11 Beta 2 KDE 4, I discovered some ways not to use KDE 4’s desktop.

“TrashCan.Org”

“Look what I found in the trash”

“Look what I am putting back in the trash”

“Tux got mail”

“Firefox merchandise gone wrong”

“Tux got stuck in a terminal” or “Tux hate GUI, love terminal”

“Big Files”

“Throwing away your files”

And finally, a great way to use the new KDE 4 desktop:

Hope you enjoyed the pictures. Don’t take them too seriously. They are just for fun.

With all the enthusiasm around the Eee PC, we have already seen some customized distros for the Eee PC, but Linpus has something even more interesting to offer, according to Linux Devices. Linpus has just introduced a new Linux distro called Linpus Linux Lite, which is designed specifically for Eee-like devices. So what makes it so special? Two things. First, it incorporates an interesting balance between full Linux distro and Eee-like interface. Second, it is aimed at companies wanting to join the UMPC market.

With the Eee’s default interface, you are limited to basic tasks with very little ability to customize. On the other hand, that limited interface is very good for the small screen and a full distro may be too complex for many tasks. Imagine you want to use your UMPC on the road in the basic interface and than come back to your desk and connect it to an external monitor and use a full Linux desktop. Right now you would have to reboot into a different OS, but with the Linpus Linux Lite distro, all you have to do is press a button and you can switch from an Eee-like interface into a full KDE 3.5 desktop. (See this picture.)

Perhaps the most interesting part of this distro is just that it is a pre-baked UMPC Linux. This potentially makes launching a new UMPC a lot easier. No matter how customizable Linux is, not having to make your own distro to use on your hardware is a big deal. With a pre-baked UMPC Linux like this, the Eee could be getting some competition soon.

Often when a new distribution of piece of software comes out in the Linux community, the feature list looks something like this:

• Updated package blablabla to 1.4.00.10
• Fixed bug in <name of other package>
• Added support for random hardware x through qjidjf 2.3.00.1

Ok, its not quite that bad, but it could be a lot better. If Linux is going to attract general users, it needs to start advertising the “cool” features, not the under-the-hood tweaks.

KDE 4 did this really well. The release announcement, while also talking about some developer-oriented features, is mostly about the over-the-hood changes, the changes the users care about.

Although it seems like a small thing, advertising features that users care about is an important step to spreading open-source software and Linux.

Yesterday I said that after I played with KDE 4 I would write an article about it. Now that I have downloaded and installed both the OpenSUSE CD with KDE 4 and the Kubuntu CD with KDE 4, I have decided that I cannot write anything that resembles a review of it. That is not because there is some horrible problem with KDE 4, though.

A Linux distro is made of many parts and the desktop enviroment is only one of them. Without the other parts, KDE is nothing but code. Right now, KDE 4 has been put onto a couple distros in a few hours with a remaster. That is useful for playing with some of the features, but I don’t feel like I can judge KDE 4, a project that took so much developer effort, when very little time has been spent making sure it is well integrated with the other software that makes up a distro. I am not criticising anyone or anything, I just don’t want to review KDE 4 until a major distro has released a stable, supported version of their distro with KDE 4.

KDE 4 is finally here! The KDE team announced the release of the final version of KDE 4. KDE 4 incorporates many major changes over KDE 3.5 and has received so much attention in the Linux community that it is almost hard to believe it is really here. After numerous delays, though, KDE 4 really is here.

While I am writing this, another computer is working away installing the OpenSUSE KDE 4 Live CD, so I can try it out. While I was waiting for the install to finish, I noticed that the CNet blog Underexposed covered the launch of KDE 4. It is great that KDE is getting some attention from the mainstream tech media, but the title of the post amused me. This is the title:

“KDE 4 gives Linux some Mac, Windows flavor”

I am sure that is intended to be a compliment, but I suspect not everyone would view it that way. Don’t take that as a criticism of the post itself, I just think it underscores the different perspectives of the technology world.

I was really glad to see that KDE got mainstream tech coverage. The work the developers put in certainly merits the attention it is getting. Although Linux gets nowhere near the amount of coverage that Windows and Mac do, that is slowly changing through huge announcements like this one, companies making deals to distribute Linux on their computers, and other news worthy events.

Although I have not used KDE 4 yet myself, I do plan to do some coverage of the new features/art/etc. soon. Instead of a review, though, I am going to do a comparison of KDE 4 and GNOME to see which one *I* want to run on my desktop in the future. That will be published later tonight or (more likely) on Saturday.

It appears that Canonical and the Kubuntu team have decided that, due to the delayed release of KDE 4, the upcoming release of Kubuntu, 8.04, will not be a long term support (LTS) release, as it would usually be. Periodically, Ubuntu, Kubuntu, and other Ubuntu variants maintained by Canonical release a LTS release, which means that the release will be supported for 3 years on the desktop and 5 years on the server. Because KDE 4 will be released shortly before Kubuntu 8.04 is released, Kubuntu and Canonical are not comfortable giving the LTS tag to a release that incorporates KDE 4 this soon after its release. On the other hand, considering the amount of excitement around KDE 4, it seems like a mistake to not include KDE 4. The current solution, according to this announcement on the KDE mailing list, is to release two versions of Kubuntu 8.04, one with KDE 3.5 and the other with KDE 4. Apparently, neither will have the LTS release, though. Although this break from the standard schedule may cause some problems, considering the situation, I think the Kubuntu development team made the right choice.

The KDE team has announced the release of KDE 4 RC 2, codenamed “Coenig.” According to the announcement, RC 2 is now feature complete and all that remains to be done are a few bug fixes, finishing up the artwork, and some user experience stuff. I have not yet tried it my self, although I plan to soon, so I cannot give any opinion. The current expected release date for the final KDE 4 is January 11th.

Trouble has been breaking out at the north pole ever since Mr. S. Clause was alerted that KDE 4 will not be released in time for Christmas. Although no official statement has been made, the speculation is that there may not be enough time to order replacement toys for all those geeks.

In a further worrisome development, the coal industry announced a price increase in response to unusual demand from a north pole buyer whom they declined to indentify.

Despite these grim circumstances, there is still hope. Mr. S. Clause plans to give all of his elves one-week courses in computer skill and programming. He hopes that if all his elves assist the KDE team, they can still pull off the release of KDE 4 before Christmas and save the day!

The Real News
The KDE team has decided to delay the release of the much anticipated KDE 4.0 until January 11th, according to KDE Dot News. This is not the first time KDE 4 has been delayed and it seems like the KDE team is, understandably, having trouble meeting the level of the excitement surrounding KDE 4. Still, I believe that the KDE team made the right call. Would you rather have a half-baked version a month earlier or a really incredible desktop a month later, or even a year later?