Open Ballot: will you take KDE 4.4 for a spin?

Posted at 11:25pm on Tuesday February 16th 2010

KDE 4.4 is here, bringing with it improved support for social networking and online collaboration, plus thousands of bug fixes. The question is, do you intend to try it out? Post a comment below with your thoughts!

Usually our answers come down to a simple yes or no, but here you're welcome to prevaricate as much as you want - are you going to upgrade to 4.4 simply because your distro will sooner or later? Are you still using 3.5 and are going to stay there until you die? Are you a Gnome user tempted by all the new features, but unsure about switching desktop? Does the sheer number of bugs fixed scare you a little, or is it all progress in the right direction?

As per usual, we'll read out the best comments in our podcast, but please do make sure you leave a name other than Anonymous Penguin!

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Your comments

"No Nobody Important (not

Ryan Wdzieczny (not verified) - March 2, 2010 @ 8:43pm

"No
Nobody Important (not verified) - February 17, 2010 @ 1:48am

I run a very tight ship on my computer. Minimal, simple, clean. Everything I need and nothing I don't.

KDE 3 was the absolute anti-thesis to my computing philosophy. It had more knobs and widgets and kahoozles than I could count. I tried KDE 4 and was struck by the same objections in a lesser fashion. It's so busy and complicated to do the simplest of tasks. Too many options. So much that I don't need.

I can become accustomed to a desktop over a period of time, but Gnome has been very, very good to me and my productivity. KDE has always been the absolute opposite of what I strive for. It's not that it's wrong or that it's a bad desktop, it's just not what I want."

Amen, expect I use Xfce

People who won't try it are missing out

TGM (not verified) - March 3, 2010 @ 11:02am

I've always preferred KDE to Gnome, though for me KDE3 was quite tacky and felt like I was using an DE from the previous century. When KDE4 come up I was distraught but pushed through using it. Each incremental release has had a massive impact on the desktop and ease of use.

I do prefer a full featured system and KDE4.4 fills that nicely for me.

Heck yes I'll be using KDE 4.4

Tad Mannes (not verified) - March 5, 2010 @ 10:24pm

Heck yes I'll be using the latest KDE. I gave up on Gnome years ago because they were headed in the same direction as MS Windows in my view. They got away from trying to support demanding power users like me. I want and use many features, that just aren't available in Gnome. The eye kandy is nice too, but that isn't why I chose KDE; it was the features. Get under it's covers and there is a dearth of hidden treasure to plunder. Contrary to other comments above, I find these features to increase my productivity. I can script all kinds of things, given all the command line options, DBUS access, etc. If I were using Gnome, I'd always have to resort to clicking for every little thing I want to do. That isn't productive to me. KDE rocks in my view.

Using OpenSUSE 11.2 and gave

VolkerBause (not verified) - April 4, 2010 @ 4:10pm

Using OpenSUSE 11.2 and gave KDE 4.4.2 a spin.

Overall performance has improved without any mayor stability ssues. OpenSUSE still has this in factory so minor issues are to be expected.

Negative things I found was that KGET icon in Konqueror is not showing up and that Amarok does not allow me to manually input / edit a filepath (Basically telling it where to go). I prefer being able to copy the filepath.

Other issues I personally have is that I could not find any way to turn of transparency or change level thereof on desktop panels. It is an absolute must. The problem becomes apparent when you tell KDE to hide panels. Windows then cover the complete desktop instead of only the visible area between the panels. When you move to the screen edge, the hidden panel becomes visible but the transparency can make it very difficult to properly read the pane (The underlying Windows merging into the panel due to transparency). This problem has been around since version 4. Turning of 3D Desktop Effects does solve the issue but I cant see why the KDE team cannot simple implement a transparency option if the panel settings allowing KDE users to change transparency to their desired level.

Also missing is my most favorite feature of Gwenview which was the action which allowed you to jump from one sub-folder to the next. This was last available in KDE3.

The System monitor is still very limited considering what Microsoft has to offer in Windows 7. That said, Linux is not Windows but their is no reason why features can not be similar or better.

Each new version of KDE does bring mayor improvements. By far, I consider the 4.3.5 version to be the most significant in terms of making KDE 4 usable. KDE 4.4 has improved on performance (People were complaining about KDE performance which means KDE 4.4 is in the right direction)

Personally I don't like Gnome but which desktop you use is a matter of choice and what you feel comfortable with. I like to customize things and this is the main goal of KDE. KDE 4.4 is still missing lots of actions as implemented in KDE3. I for once can fully appreciate the time programmers and software developers invest into KDE.

I am a dedicated KDE user and am willing to help where I can. I hope my comments are seen as creative criticism. Every system has its own share of criticism. The question I ask myself is if software has any value and personally I think KDE has proven itself, no matter what the present shortcomings.

Yes, but

Anonymous Penguin (not verified) - May 30, 2010 @ 8:27pm

Yes. But I'm slightly trepidation about the new core technologies (ie, Akonadi, NEPOMUK, Strigi) and how they'll impose themselves on various types of users. It could be a fit for very *specific* users, but the antithesis to others. I'm 4.3 right now, and it's beginning to feel like Windows, and not in the good ways. I like KDE. It's very configurable. The desktop can be very clean and basic, to very ornate and tooled. It's the user's choice. It is very much appreciated that options are exposed rather than hidden. There is a fork of KDE 3.5. There are also other options than GNOME, and I think the changes in KDE and GNOME will bring great opportunities for other desktops.

kde 4.4.4

Ryanaut (not verified) - June 19, 2010 @ 10:14pm

Most stable version yet (444) Can't wait till theres a RC for KDE 4.5 looks awesome at this point Kubuntu is my distro of choice for KDE simply because its so close to upstream you always have the latest and greatest from KDE with a simple apt-get

Still unuasable.

Jimmyb (not verified) - June 27, 2010 @ 5:21pm

It's now version 4.4.4 and it's still an unusable mess. Gone from 3.5 are most of the system administration friendly apps. Kpackage being the one I most use. The menu system is just plain terrible. It used to be easy to assign a hot key to an item in the menu to bring up an app where is that now? Why are there 3 file managers? Konqueror was the best of the best and now it is relegated to almost hidden status.
Why did they remove the save window size check box in the capabilities of file management profile save. There is so much more WRONG with KDE 4 that I just don't feel like taking the time to list them all. Foisting this steaming pile on users is something that gives open source a black eye.

Yes.

Anonymous Penguin (not verified) - July 15, 2010 @ 6:59pm

I love the look of the new KDE. Best Desktop Environment I've ever used. I for one love all the power and configuration options provided. I know a lot of people think it's too much (scroll up to see them all) but you only have to learn it once. And from then on you can customize your desktop much more extensively and to your liking. I love KDE so far.