Everybody has a strong opinion about KDE4, except me; I have several! I have been unable to decide if I love it or hate it, but embracing the "Folder View" desktop activity type has taken me another big step toward resolving my ambivalence.

I know for a fact that at least some KDE3 holdouts aren't aware of the"Folder View" option (No wonder, with a confusing name like that, BTW!) , which provides a more traditional KDE Desktop: icons on the desktop, widgets on the panel, Thank you very much! I think that more of us KDE Desktop refugees ought to consider giving it a try. It's pretty clear that the KDE team has been working to satisfy us, and some of us should get on board to help them. It's not all the way there yet, but support from the community is what will get them there, and while the Desktop itself needs work, in my opinion, there have been exciting developments in the KDE applications that make embracing KDE4 as a whole worth the minor inconveniences.



You can find the folder view setting under Appearance Settings/Desktop Activity/Type

i use kde 3 on many boxes and miss the kde 4's plasmoids and folder view in a small window

(but i dont upgrade cause of kde 4 performance)

I have folderview on my laptop, and the default on my desktop. I still prefer the folderview "icons on the desktop", even though it is officially declared ugly and old fashioned.

I am glad that the cashew in the upper right corner is gone, in the latest KDE4 UNSTABLE LiveCD. I don't know how they did it but it's gone.

Now, it only took me about a day of using Folderview (and I mean folderview the activity, not the widget) to understand why they call it Folderview, even though it is confusing as hell. You are not confined to the folder named "Desktop" on the desktop, and that's a big difference from Old Old school. You can throw any folder you want up there for multiple desktops, specialized Desktops, acres of Desktops, good old fashioned Desktops, and I can switch to a widget Console whenever I like, right? Unless I'm mistaken, that's what the activity bar does.


The way I see it, I'd like to set up the default Desktop with the widgets as a display for when I'm using the computer as an audio player or not using it at all, a kind of super groovy information clock display. The folderview is for when I want to work.


Okay, now, that's awesome. I think we can consider my ambivalence to KDE4 resolved, now and forever. For this point on, I am KDE4's disciple, advocate, aficiando, groupie, and ****.

I TAKE IT BACK!


LOL, I guess I was wrong! I got frustrated with all the minutiae once again, wiped my X system, and I'm reinstalling KDE3. What's that you say? I'm obviously insane? Thank you for noticing.

After about a year, my biggest problem with KDE4 is a little nagging detail that still periodically drives me beyond the path, the filter bar in Konqueror. It's gone. I'm petty sure there's a way to get the functionality back, or there will be eventually. I've complained about it a dozen times, and attempted dozens of google searches which mostly turn up my own complaints. You can actually get a filter bar in openSUSE, but I don't want to give up my beloved Debian(s). There's a filter bar in Dolphin, has been from the beginning, so I should just abandon Konqueror and stick with Dolphin... but, alas, the heart wants what the heart wants.

I think you guys are doing great work. I'll probably be back.

I use the new system because I like having multiple folders with different-sized icons. At home I have a large-icon home directory and small-icon folder-only documents directory on one monitor, and a small-icon folder-only home directory on my right desktop. Combining that with a symlink to my home directory in my home directory so I can launch it directly, it is really useful.

Brandybuck wrote:I have folderview on my laptop, and the default on my desktop. I still prefer the folderview "icons on the desktop", even though it is officially declared ugly and old fashioned.

I'm using icons too IMHO it's simpler then surfing around the widgets. Anyway you need to click in both styles - for me plasma is making this simple click even funnier and complicated, or maybe I'm just for the old-school too

blackbelt_jones wrote:You are not confined to the folder named "Desktop" on the desktop, and that's a big difference from Old Old school. You can throw any folder you want up there for multiple desktops, specialized Desktops, acres of Desktops, good old fashioned Desktops, and I can switch to a widget Console whenever I like, right? Unless I'm mistaken, that's what the activity bar does.

Think of this: You can separate your projects into different directories, then you a different folderview as desktop for each activity. Then you can just switch activities to get to different projects!

now imagine the windows zooming in and out together with the activities and not just being stuck in front

ash wrote:now imagine the windows zooming in and out together with the activities and not just being stuck in front

Isn't that Gnome3??

I keep my desktop clean of files and folders so I go old school with the folder view.

fbt wrote:I keep my desktop clean of files and folders so I go old school with the folder view.

Now I would really like to hear your reason for using Folder View if you want to keep your desktop clean from files and folders.

Hans wrote:

fbt wrote:I keep my desktop clean of files and folders so I go old school with the folder view.

Now I would really like to hear your reason for using Folder View if you want to keep your desktop clean from files and folders.

The only icons on my KDE3 desktop is the trashcan and a hard disk mount. With 4 the trashcan is in the panel, and I can mount drives with Dolphin. I will admit to dropping files there, but only temporary. It's how I keep it simple and organized.