KDE 4.2 update released

Heise

 

KDE 4.2.2 released

 

Been running this on a new suse install for a few days now. There's still a fair amount of random crashes but it is going in the right direction. It runs surprisingly light and snappy on my old P4 machine. I reckon come 4.3 we will be seeing stability like 3.5, then kde 4 will really take off and win some hearts back.

 

I'll wait a bit
...although the Chakra implementation of their 'mods' is a very nice development I think..I really do like what they are doing.

 

I got bored very quickly with opensuse so I thought i'd give Arch another go as it's got the new 4.2.2. All I can say is WOW, this is why I love KDE so much! Very quick and dare I say stable. A word not usually associated with Arch. This is so nice i'll be scared to update now, in fear of breakage.

 

I've survived the xorg update, phew!
I must say kdemod 4.2.2 is lush in Arch. Not perfect but really getting there.

 

Keep me updated Beavenburt.

BTW, instructions for Debian can be found here, though i haven't tried it.
http://pkg-kde.alioth.debian.org/kde4.html

 

Will do, Pedro.
I'm waiting for 4.2 or higher to go into testing then i'll be back with Debian in a flash. I don't really want a full sid or squeeze / sid. Patience is a virtue.

 

I will install it this weekend on my sidux system...

Will be a migration from 3.5x, so I hope everything works fine...

 

Good luck rdsu, hope it goes well. I really want to see KDE 4 do well now. KDE have taken huge critisism and probably lost a lot of users over the 4 release. Now however, I see no less functionality in 4 than in 3. It runs relatively light even with composite activated. I really like the in-built effects (kwin) very nice. Stability is still an issue unfortunately but, that's inproving all the time. And, once you get used to plasma and the new way of doing things in 4 you'll see the logic behind it. Honestly, when the stability is there I really think this is going to kick ass.

 

Everything needs time to be mature and stable, so we just have to wait a bit...

I will install it now because only now debian sid repo have it, so...

 

Good luck. May the force be with you.

 

I was initially one of those KDE 4 haters, but that's only because I used it right when 4.0 was released and it was indeed lacking functionality. That has changed with 4.2, so I encourage any defectors to come back and try it now. The plasmoids are awesome.

And I have never had a single crash issue with 4.2. It has been rock solid (except sometimes KDE 3 apps will crash, but that's to be expected).

 

4.2.3 now released

 

Yes, I agree - since 4.2 KDE is really great.

BTW: For using 4.2.3 in Kubuntu you have to add this repository.

 

KDE 4.3 Beta 1 Released, Many Improvements

Phoronix

KDE 4.3 Beta 1 Release Announcement

 

I'm trying to get Arch to work in a Vbox session. Used the ftp install and selected all of the base packages but it only boots to a text session. Is this normal or did I do something wrong? If it is normal, how do you start KDE?

 

Yes, that is normal. You've only got a base to work from at the moment. You need to build your system on top of that base ie xorg, kde etc. However, that's only after you've configured pacman. It sounds daunting but there really isn't that much to it. There really is too much to try and explain in a thread here. I suggest reading the beginners guide and the user forums, here:

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Beginners_Guide

and here:

http://bbs.archlinux.org/

Of course you can ask here at Wilders as well. That should hopefully get you through it. I managed an Arch install after only a couple of months in the Linux world. Seriously, if I can do it, anybody can do it. Good luck.

 

Suddenly, i was faced with kde4 applications with apt-get. In the midst of Squeeze occasional craze, i stumbled upon KDE4.

I'm running Dolphin inside GNOME, and what can i say. I feel GNOME was left for dead.. ! The details, man.. it is NOT just eye candy.

 

Feel the KDE4 love baby. And, to please you further Pedro, I've now ran KDE 4 with Ubuntu, Opensuse, Fedora, Arch, Mandriva and Debian. And guess who's the Daddy?
You're right, it's not about eye candy.

 

Feel the love is right
I'm beginning to like Konqueror even! I'm thinking of switching to KDE4, but i feel caution is perhaps in order.
Are you running it in Squeeze or?

 

Was running 4.2.3 on a mixed Squeeze/Sid. However, I really don't like running Sid. I don't like that feeling that breakage is just round the corner! So i'm temporarily on Suse until 4 point whatever officially goes into testing. There's a noticable speed difference between 4 on Suse and Debian I can tell you. But that may well be because I always install Debian from the business card image and build it up with kde4-minimal system. Whereas I used the Suse based KDE 4.2.3 livecd which starts by default more services and daemons than a minimal Debian.
It's getting better with every release. As i've said previously 4.3 will be an ass kicker. I'm just waiting for kde 4 packages to go into the official Testing repos and i'll never look back. I'm bored of playing now!!!


Edit: It would appear that I missed the boat and 4 is now in Squeeze. Though it is 4.2.2. However, in Suse i'm on 4.2.3. Do I really take a step back? Bloody Linux, sometimes things move TOO fast! LOL

 

Hmm.

It'd be appreciated if the experienced posters could explain in a bit more detail for the benefit of newbies like me the advantages of KDE.

 

I'm not experienced, I just prefer KDE to any other DE or WM. As Pedro stated, it's all about details and for me control. There's nothing in KDE that you cannot tweak and change to exactly your own specification, to the finest detail. It's just so powerful. I've also found that it intergrates with the operating system far more than other DEs. I'm sure other more experienced KDE users can elaborate further but for me it's just the best because it's so versitile.

 

(i'm not that experienced with KDE either)
Exactly. "Historically", if you want to put it that way, GNOME was always about good defaults, little options built in the GUI, to make the experience less confusing. KDE, while not trying to make bad defaults, did however bring loads of options built in the GUI. This can be different distro to distro as this is free software, but this is the main difference.

But another one, while blatant in KDE4, has always been there in 3.5 too.
These guys try to solve problems using their own head imho, even if they arrive at similar solutions as other people.

They came up with these details in 4. Example: in Dolphin (a new file manager for ver.4), you have the directory path as in GNOME's Nautilus, allowing you to click on the parent folder or further up, wherever you want to go back to. In Gnome, you can also change the view so you can type it (text based). But, with Dolphin, the same view (button based) allows you to start typing for another dir. You also have access to a drop down menu (from a small icon next to all this) to go to "Places" (Trash, Root, Home, Network, etc.).
In GNOME you can see these Places with the sidebar, also in Dolphin if you want it too, but you can add another panel like Information to view details on the file/directory AND a preview (in case you prefer no previews in the main window for performance). You can pick this up and put it on the right (where it was by default), or leave it hanging loose..
This panel in GNOME only tells you about the current directory, and no files you click on. It's useless.

I remember on Kubuntu, copying text from the browser and pasting on the Desktop - ping! - Kate is called and creates a text file with your text on the desktop.

There's not much room here to explore all the little details. Start reading here:
http://www.kde.org/announcements/4.0/
http://www.kde.org/announcements/4.1/
http://www.kde.org/announcements/4.2/

There was a great KDE 4 blog post, but i don't know how to get there again. If i find it, i'll link you to it.