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contrasutra Quote Post


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KDE 3.2 Beta2 (3.1.94)

My hardware:
2Ghz Pentium 4
256MB RDRAM
128MB GeForce4MX440
32MB PCI TNT2 (for second monitor)
SoundBlaster Audigy
Integrated Intel NIC


KDE 3.2 is large. It is by far the most complex beast I have ever reviewed, keeping in mind that I've reviewed whole linux distributions. I couldn't mention everything in less than 10 pages, so instead I'll be highlighting things that have changed between 3.1 and 3.2.

First, you should know that I was not a fan of KDE 3.1, and I haven't used it since it first came out. So some things I'm going to mention probably aren't new in 3.2, so bare with me.

The two most noticeable things when you first run KDE3.2 is the speed and the instability. Since this is an early beta, the instability was expected, and I won't talk about it any further. Just keep in mind that you shouldn't be using this as your main desktop unless you have a high tolerance for pain and data loss.

One annoying bug which I hope gets fixed is that the taskbar hiding button doesn't seem to work. I can click to my hearts content, but nothing happens.

But KDE3.2 is very fast and responsive. Windows resize and move well, menus snap open, and in general, the environment doesn't feel like the 300lb beast that it is. This was a necessary improvement, as KDE3.1 was extremely sluggish on my machine. In fact, a major compliment should be given, KDE3.2's UI feels more responsive than XFCE4s, and XFCE4 was extremely fast.

Plastik - Im not sure what the default look is on KDE3.2, as it had saved some of my 3.1 settings, which included a different Window Decoration. But I changed the theme to Plastik, and I sincerely hope this is the default. The old theme, Kerimak was disgusting. No one in their right mind would find it beautiful. But Plastik is wonderful. It's smooth, clean, and I would have no problem using it for months on end (like I do bluecurve).

Icons - The icons in KDE3.1 were rather jaggy. This made the whole desktop look thrown together. In 3.2, KDE has switched to SVG for its graphics, and it shows. All the icons (except for a couple, like the notes icon) are smooth and beautiful. The icons are still Crystal, so you should be able to recognize all the functions, they are just now of higher quality and scale better.

Fonts- While we are talking about looks, fonts have to be brought up. Most of the desktop's fonts are on par with the rest of the linux world. Except that a few lesser-used apps still have non-anti aliased fonts. I have no idea why, but they do.

Also, KPDF doesn't seem to have the ability to anti-alias PDFs. KGhostscript does, but it it had trouble opening ALL of my PDFs. These PDFs have no trouble opening in every other viewer.

Memory Usage - Well, KDE certainly hasn't gotten any lighter. The default setup was using 99% of my RAM at all times. Although I must say, I didn't feel any slowdown, thanks to the responsive UI. KDE does seem to like to keep everything in the background though. By default, it starts the ClipBoard manager, the wallet, some sort of disk daemon, and other strange things you probably don't need. Also, most apps do not close when you press the close button or exit, they just go into the background. You have to pay attention to that. I really wish they would have more concern for people's memory.

Error Screens - The error screens in KDE are pretty horrible. Basically, all they do is show the error that you would receive from the command line utility had you been using just that. This is horrible for a beginner, and is a major problem that is stated in every Human Interface Guideline.

The Wallet - This is very nice. It basically password protects ALL of your passwords for every application. So if you don't want people logging onto your AIM account, or opening up the Control Center, but don't want to remember 20 passwords, The Wallet is useful. The only problem is that if someone gets that one password, you're screwed.

The Wallet also allows you to edit all your passwords from one place. So if you need to quickly change all your passwords, it helps to aid in that. The Wallet is a welcome addition to the integration that seems to be prevalent in KDE3.2

Konqueror- This is one of the things that makes me refer to KDE as a "beast". It seems to do everything. Its a File Manager, network browser, web browser and it connects to every other part of the desktop. Unfortunately, navigating Konqueror is a pain. Most of the interface is buttons. Left, right, top, bottom. You're surrounded by options and cluttered menus. Needless to say, it's extremely hard to find the option you are looking for. They really do need to redesign Konqueror to have less buttons by default. No person will use half of these options. But actual browsing of files is extremely snappy, and you couldn't do it any faster in the CLI.

And the worst part is that while Konqueror has flawless SMB browsing, it seems to be hidden under all these menus. It should be much more prominent, as lots of people share files with Windows machines. SMB is also already set up for you. I was able to browse my shares without any configuration.

But there are lots of nice things about Konqueror though. The actual file manager can now have tabs. This is great. I truly hope other file managers implement this. All the preview icons are also very descriptive. A person should be able to figure out what a file does by its icon. This was also helped by the SVG icons, which are throughout Konqueror. This is contrasted by GNOME, who only switched about 1/3 of their icons to SVG.

Another great part of the File Manager portion is that its right-click menus are very helpful. "Open Terminal Here" and other niceties remind you why you are using a GUI File Manager in the first place.

The web browser portion of Konqueror is rather lackluster. It doesn't really have any features to separate itself from Mozilla, Epiphany, or any other GUI browser. Tabs don't work as well. And most importantly, MANY pages do not render properly. Pages that Mozilla has no problem rendering have issues. In fact, I have not come across a page that doesn't render properly in Mozilla for about a year. In Konqueror, this was happening all the time. This is essential to fix.

In fact, gooeylinux.org looks horrible in Konqueror. The page is completely standards compliant.

One nice thing about Konqueror is that it can mask its browser identity. This feature seems to work on some pages, but not others. It definitely does help though.

Probably the best thing about the Web Browser portion is the integrated spell checker. I was shocked to see that as I was typing a message into a message board, it was correcting my spelling. Every web browser should have this.

One thing that must be mentioned is that Konqueror is SLOW. Moving through web pages is extremely sluggish. While it will run fine sometimes, other times moving your mouse around links will cause almost a complete stall.

Desktop - The desktop in KDE has some issues. Now, KDE shares the same desktop (~/Desktop) as GNOME, so on the surface it appears to be a good thing. The problem is that they do not recognize each others shortcut files. So when I went into KDE, all I had was a bunch of broken files on my desktop.

This is especially annoying with the "Start Here" button that is on every GNOME desktop. This does not work in KDE. Since KDE knows that GNOME has this, they should hide it by default, or make it open up the KDE Control Center. Having it just be a broken file is not very professional.

Virtual Desktops - There is one new feature that I absolutely love, that is also in XFCE4. That is Desktop Wheel Scrolling. Scrolling your wheel over the desktop lets you switch Virtual Desktops. This is essential to any Environment, and I'm glad KDE ported it.

PIM

KDE3.2 boasts an integrated PIM, similar to Ximian Evolution. While KDE had all the apps it needed, they were not integrated at all. This time around, they've been pushed together in an app called "Kontact". This integration seems to have been done perfectly. If you open up Kontact, you would have no idea that these are separate apps. Everything shares well. But you are still able to open all the apps separately. There is still a menu option for Kmail, Knotes, etc. This is something I wish Evolution would do. I have no need for an extensive calender program, so why should I open it?

Kmail - Another "normal" app. Apart from integration with the rest of the desktop, it doesn't have any unique features to set it apart. It works, but doesn't include Bayesian Mail Filtering like Mozilla Mail/Thunderbird. This is a great feature that should be integrated.

Address Book/Calender - To fit the rest of Kontact, these lack any original features. Usable, but nothing new to see.


Kfind - This may seem like an odd thing to bring up, but it's still missing a feature I really want. Kfind is a GUI frontend to "find". That means that it searches the whole harddrive in real time. This takes a VERY long time. I wish it would have an option to use "locate" instead. This uses the file database, and is instant. Something like this is really needed.

Kcron - A GUI cron program is welcome, and it seems to have every feature you would need, but it had serious issues reading my cron file. All the cron jobs I had set the "old fashioned" way were incomplete. It seemed to be missing chunks of text.

KGPG - This is awesome. Its a fully integrated GPG frontend. Along with browsing/managing your keys, you can encrypt/sign text easily. The best thing though is that it stays open in the background, and can encrypt any data you want. You can even encrypt your clipboard and deleted files!! KDE is great for the paranoid person like me.

They even give you a desktop option to "shred" data by encryption/deletion.

Kopete - This is the instant messenger client. The word for it is buggy. I would frequently get random disconnects. This is unacceptable in an IM client. Also, pressing enter will not send an instant message, but start a new line. There is a reason no other IM client does it this way. It's annoying, and less intuitive.

Also, by default, there are no sounds for sending/receiving a message. Every other IM client does this. This is so you know if you receive a message while doing something else that covers up the IM window.

KATE - I love it. Im definitely switching to it as my main programming editor. It has everything you could want, and all the default settings are perfect.

Media

NoAtun/Kaboodle - These lack features. The interface is very clean, but that's because it can barely do anything. It wouldn't play most of my video files, that other players have no trouble with. This is unacceptable, as there is mplayer, and lots of KDE front ends already around. They should simply take one, stabilize it, and use that. Or if they desired, use a XINE frontend. Both would be much better.

Juk - This is an iTunes/Rhythmbox clone, and its worse than both. The interface is similar to iTunes, but just different enough to confuse you, and make you search for common options. This app is also lacking features. One annoying thing is that it wouldn't recognize the id3 tags on HALF of my 600 songs. No other player on any OS has trouble with these. An app like Juk is useful for its music sorting/searching capabilities, but if it cant recognize id3 tags properly, it's useless.


Sounds - The sounds in KDE are by far the most annoying thing in the desktop. First, the sounds are generally unhelpful, and you could not guess what the sound means. Also, by default, there is a sound for basically every click you make. After about 30 minutes, you are driven crazy by the constant orchestra that's playing in the background. This is especially disheartening, as there are sounds that SHOULD be there missing, like in Kopete.

Also, the sound latency seems to be unusually high. The sounds play about 1.5 seconds after the event happens. This gets very confusing.

Xinerama - KDE3.2 boasts much better Xinerama support. "Its About Time" is all I can say. The desktop finally works well with two monitors. It also features very customizable Xinerama settings. While the settings are sometimes hard to understand, they do work well. And just to start a flame war, GNOME's Xinerama support is far behind KDE's at this point. Both are still behind XFCE4 though.

Windows Button Keybinding - Although a little thing, it's pretty neat that KDE binds its K menu to your otherwise useless "Windows" button.

KDE Control Center

Yukk. This is the worst part of KDE. While KDE has an option for probably everything you could want, it's buried under the most disorganized program you have ever used. You can not find anything in here. Nothing is where you expect it to be, and to make it worse, options are artificially split up. Why do I need to go to 4 places just to change my theme?

There are some nice things in it though. You can perform lots of System Administration in it, and there is a GUI Cursor Selector. That is useful, and it makes GooeyLinux's tutorial obsolete.

What KDE really needs is a "Start Here" like GNOME. It has all the common settings well organized and easy to find. This way, most people will only need to use that. Then the KDE Control Center can still be there for people who like to endlessly tweak.

General

If you can't tell already, I find everything in KDE to be bloated and un intuitive. A default KDE Desktop would cause a stroke for a windows user. Hell, I know what Im doing, and I spent long periods of time searching for very common options.

Applications are extremely inconsistent. KDE truly needs to adopt a HIG, and FORCE developers to follow it. Don't include an application if it doesn't follow the HIG. Gnome did this in 2.4, and it only helped.

Why do I need 3 different preference menus for each application? You never know where to find the option that you want. Plus, options aren't always in the same spot between applications. Consistency is important for new AND advanced users, and KDE lacks it.

Also, applications should not have every single option present on the main interface. Common options should be up front, and lesser used/advanced options should be in a separate dialog.

Not to mention that KDE's "Start Menu" is rather useless. Applications are grouped strangely, and you have to scrub the whole menu to find what you want.

This is especially a problem because KDE by default comes with lots of useless apps. Someone tell me how many people need a GUI Regular Expression Editor or a TNEF file viewer?


For new users or Windows converts, I would clearly recommend GNOME. It's consistent, uncluttered, and doesn't throw everything at you. While GNOME does have less features and applications, it has everything MOST PEOPLE would need, all very well organized.

Conclusion

I am not switching to KDE3.2 as my main desktop. I don't need most of what it offers (no one needs it all), and no apps particularly stand out, except for KATE.
If you like an Environment that gives you everything, but GNOME is too slow, KDE3.2 should convert you.
Dec 28 2003, 10:16 PM PM Email Poster Users Website AOL MSN Top

contrasutra Quote Post


[tux@gooeylinux] $

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Screenshots of things I've talked about are available at:

/bensjunk/kde

Warning. They're uncompressed PNGs.
Dec 28 2003, 11:36 PM PM Email Poster Users Website AOL MSN Top

Pe7er Quote Post


[adv_mem@gooey] $

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This IS proffessional :) Thanks for your hard work.
Dec 29 2003, 12:21 PM PM Email Poster Users Website ICQ MSN Top

dewy Quote Post


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sounds good :)
What distribution did you use this on and how long did it tak eo compile?
Jan 1 2004, 05:25 AM PM Email Poster Users Website AOL Top

contrasutra Quote Post


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ArchLinux.(http://www.archlinux.org) I didn't compile, there is a repository for it.

There is also a pacman repository for gnome 2.5. :D
Jan 1 2004, 05:32 AM PM Email Poster Users Website AOL MSN Top

dewy Quote Post


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ok, sorry for the n00b question but what does 'repository' mean?
Jan 1 2004, 05:35 AM PM Email Poster Users Website AOL Top

contrasutra Quote Post


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a repository is an FTP site that has a bunch of pre-compiled packages available for downloads via your package manager of choice.
Jan 1 2004, 05:52 AM PM Email Poster Users Website AOL MSN Top

dewy Quote Post


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oh ok thanks for that :-) like the precompiled XFCE rpms...?
Jan 1 2004, 05:53 AM PM Email Poster Users Website AOL Top

contrasutra Quote Post


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Well, not really.

A repository has to be able to directly interact with the package manager.

You should be able to do:

CODE
apt-get install app
or
CODE
yum install app


to be able to download and install the program.
Jan 1 2004, 06:06 AM PM Email Poster Users Website AOL MSN Top

dewy Quote Post


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ok, can you when u get around to it post a tutourial on installing XFCE 4.2 on slackware or archlinux (which do u prefer which is better for a n00b wan'ting to learn hardcore linux) which ever fits that criteria can you please do a tut for :D
Jan 1 2004, 06:12 AM PM Email Poster Users Website AOL Top

esXXI Quote Post


Little Pixel

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Lots of useful information and very thorough! Thanks! KDE won't be converting me from GNOME.. Yet.. ^_^
Jan 1 2004, 09:55 AM PM Email Poster Users Website AOL Yahoo MSN Top

maqish Quote Post


Little Pixel

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QUOTE
ok, can you when u get around to it post a tutourial on installing XFCE 4.2 on slackware or archlinux


Installing xfce on slackware is quite easy.

first install swaret you can find it on freshmeat

updat the swaret config file /etc/swaret.conf in such matter that you use the nearest mirror.

use swaret to install xfce4 but i'm not sure if v4.2 is already available on slackware ftp servers..

greetins Marc
Jan 1 2004, 08:29 PM PM Email Poster Top

contrasutra Quote Post


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XFCE4.2 isnt out yet. I dont even think 4.1 has been branched. I believe 4.0.2 is the latest version.

Also, SWARET is now in the /extra directory of the slackware FTP. I remember using swaret when I used slackware, very nice.

Jan 1 2004, 08:31 PM PM Email Poster Users Website AOL MSN Top

kakabaratruskia Quote Post


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QUOTE (contrasutra @ Jan 1 2004, 05:32 AM)
ArchLinux.(http://www.archlinux.org) I didn't compile, there is a repository for it.

There is also a pacman repository for gnome 2.5. :D

Where are those repos?, I would like to use them, but I haven't been able to find them. There not in unstable.
Jan 1 2004, 10:16 PM PM Email Poster Top

contrasutra Quote Post


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For GNOME2.5, add this to the top of your /etc/pacman.conf:
CODE
[gnome25]
Server = ftp://schoolbak.dyndns.org/gnome25/pkg


KDE3.2 (also at the top):
CODE
[kde32b2]
Server = ftp://schoolbak.dyndns.org/kde32b2/pkg



Jan 1 2004, 10:30 PM PM Email Poster Users Website AOL MSN Top

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