KDE4.2 is definitively usable as apposed to other revisions. I really love it.
The impact is really nice and the graphical effects are useful, pretty and not consuming so much resources. Everything is really smooth and well integrated from this point of view: you really can't compare KDE4.2 to KDE3.5.9 in combination with compiz.
I'm using it even if many things are missing and I'm obliged to keep small portions of KDE 3.5 in my installation.
I hope that the following features and programs will be available in the near future:
knetworkmanager
kprinter/something to manage printers
kdebluetooth
a tool to migrate from kde3 to kde4
k3b
krename
kregexp
kaudiocreator/soundkonverter (IMHO the first was simple and efficient in creating mp3/flac/ogg)
kile
kerry
some missing icons
ecc..

I have put elements in this list following a decreasing order by importance. Everybody has its own personal list of missing things, but the first three elements indeed are so important for every modern PC that I was really disappointed to not find them in KDE4.2. Really KDE4.2 can't miss a tool to configure and manage WiFi with all those laptops out there! Anyhow, anything else is very very pleasant and this time I'm not going to look back.

There is already a tool to manage printers: system-config-printer-kde (in kdeadmin IIRC).

einar wrote:There is already a tool to manage printers: system-config-printer-kde (in kdeadmin IIRC).

Thank you for the advice.

mutlu wrote:I agree that the cashew is not the prettiest thing in the universe. But as you say, you can install the plasmoid in about 5 seconds and get rid of it. Big deal.

However, when the plasmoid in question ceases to work after an upgrade (4.2.1), and it does not function after recompiling and reinstalling, then one begins to wonder why there is still no option to hide the obtrusive cashew, an extreme example of unnecessary redundancy since nearly all of the options can be had by right-clicking the desktop. The plasmoid, as great as it is, is simply a stopgap solution to the problem a lot of us users have with the cashew.

There is also a current beta test for A KControl port being run in the Other KDE Software forum here.

bcooksley wrote:There is also a current beta test for A KControl port being run in the Other KDE Software forum here.

compiled the latest svn, and I did not find any option that related to controling the appearance of the cashew.

There wasn't supposed to be. KControl4 is part of playground, and provides a classic KDE 3 view of modules, and is designed to replace system settings.

bcooksley wrote:There wasn't supposed to be. KControl4 is part of playground, and provides a classic KDE 3 view of modules, and is designed to replace system settings.

Oh, I thought your earlier message referred to a workaround to the problem of the persistent cashew.

bcooksley wrote:There wasn't supposed to be. KControl4 is part of playground, and provides a classic KDE 3 view of modules, and is designed to replace system settings.

I think that people must just get accustomed to the new systemsettings and not complain for everything. KDE3 was great but I don't miss it and moreover I'm looking to what KDE4 is becoming: it's really promising. The actual configuration system is easy and very polished, even if it needs more features (i.e.: something to manage printers). A lot of efforts have been put in redesigning everything to have a balanced mix of simplicity and customizable options. It means that few old KDE users must change a little their behaviors, while a lot of potential new users will find an appealing interface focused on productivity.
About the "infamous" cashew. I feel it like it is a statement on what it's visually new in KDE. KDE4 interface is based on Plasma (correct me if I'm wrong) and that little logo remembers to us this fact. It identifies this product. Is it so offensive to the eye? I can't believe it.

NerOscuro wrote:I think that people must just get accustomed to the new systemsettings and not complain for everything.

Hmm, for my part, I critiqued one item in this thread. 1 item!=everything

NerOscuro wrote:KDE3 was great but I don't miss it and moreover I'm looking to what KDE4 is becoming: it's really promising...It means that few old KDE users must change a little their behaviors, while a lot of potential new users will find an appealing interface focused on productivity.

In my case I never used KDE3.x, so I cannot measure KDE 4 against it. Besides, I believe users can adapt to new DEs, but I cannot subscribe to charging them to change by fiat, as your poor choice of words suggest. As for KDE4's interface, I love it along with many of its native apps, and the devs deserve a large amount of praise for the things they got right, of which there are many, save for one glaring item...

NerOscuro wrote:About the "infamous" cashew. I feel it like it is a statement on what it's visually new in KDE. KDE4 interface is based on Plasma (correct me if I'm wrong) and that little logo remembers to us this fact. It identifies this product. Is it so offensive to the eye? I can't believe it.

My laptop serves as my sole computer and, with a 1280x800 res, I need all the screen real estate I can get. It is a distracting presence that never seems to avoid the corner of my eye while reading journal pdfs or doing any other thing. As for the cashew representing KDE4, I thought the K icon on kicker serves that purpose quite well, simple and elegant. Words that I cannot use to describe the cashew. Furthermore, I do not think that something that causes some degree of consternation is a good idea for a logo in the first place. Ipso facto, the cashew is an example of unnecessary redundancy. However, it is still not without some purpose. I can see it as a valuable option for touchscreen enabled pads or laptops. So, it would be nice that it is kept as an option (disable, autohide) rather than the distracting presence it currently is on many of our desktops.

There, I think we did a fair job spinning our wheels...

ssri wrote:Hmm, for my part, I critiqued one item in this thread. 1 item!=everything

It was not a critic to you but to a really general behavior. Take a breath, please.

ssri wrote:My laptop serves as my sole computer and, with a 1280x800 res, I need all the screen real estate I can get. It is a distracting presence that never seems to avoid the corner of my eye while reading journal pdfs or doing any other thing. As for the cashew representing KDE4, I thought the K icon on kicker serves that purpose quite well, simple and elegant. Words that I cannot use to describe the cashew. Furthermore, I do not think that something that causes some degree of consternation is a good idea for a logo in the first place. Ipso facto, the cashew is an example of unnecessary redundancy. However, it is still not without some purpose. I can see it as a valuable option for touchscreen enabled pads or laptops. So, it would be nice that it is kept as an option (disable, autohide) rather than the distracting presence it currently is on many of our desktops.

I have same resolution on my laptop, and the cashew is covered by every window opened on the desktop.Thus, the cashew is not catching my eyes continuously and considering it distracting while there are other applets, almost bigger than the cashew, running in background is a non-sense. Cashew is made to manage Activities and at the moment its features are not mimicked by any other application in KDE. But we are talking about personal opinions, aren't we? Cause you like Latin: De gustibus disputandum non est. Pretending to tell what is beautiful/redundant/unnecessary it's just a personal opinion that must be not passed like it is a general rule or an objective truth.

NerOscuro wrote:Cashew is made to manage Activities and at the moment its features are not mimicked by any other application in KDE.

For the desktop cashew, right click on desktop, no?

ssri wrote:For the desktop cashew, right click on desktop, no?

No, I'm actually meaning to manage Activities. If I right click on desktop I have the following invoices (I'm back translating from Italian so maybe they are not precise):
Run command
Add widget
Add panel
Configure desktop
------
Lock session
Exit

Clicking on the Cashew I have Zoom out which allows me to add a complete new desktop with its own settings: that is an Activity. Try it.

Here there is a link on how to use it.

NerOscuro wrote:
Clicking on the Cashew I have Zoom out which allows me to add a complete new desktop with its own settings: that is an Activity. Try it.

Here there is a link on how to use it.

That's actually a link on what I use it for rather than how to use it (it doesn't give any instructions) but it's easy to figure out.

irina_r wrote:That's actually a link on what I use it for rather than how to use it (it doesn't give any instructions) but it's easy to figure out.

I didn't mean to display an how-to tout court on Cashew and Activity, just a creative way to use it. Your it's a good example.