I started working with Linux on Kubuntu 8.04 and loved it. When I started some serious projects, it was easier to switch to the GNOME desktop because of the integrated dual monitor (and I use a few GNOME programs). I've stopped by occasionally to see what KDE has been doing, and liked what I saw. I made the switch this weekend (made infinitely easier by a separate /home partition). They can't make me go back. KDE is a very solid desktop.

Things I love: Amarok, the overall graphic design, the system settings menu,
Korganizer, Open Office as bundled software, recently used menu (though scarcely necessary because the other menus are so well arranged).

Things I would like to see improved: easy extended desktop ability (but I have an ATI 9800 so everything with that is difficult). Only legitimate complaint.

Great OS. Running it on a P4 2.3 with 2GB of ram, 5 harddrives in LVM for 250GB of space, ATI 9800 graphics card, and Audigy2ZS sound.

What is so exiting in KDE 4. ?
Eye Candy or Nepomuk which has problem (big) still? KDE 3.5 are still much better and it was the big mistake to stopped develop KDE 3.5 and start KDE 4. How long we will wait for the stable and useful KDE 4? Again 10 years? IMO GNOME 2.6 is muc much better and incoming version 3 look very good.

I switched to GNOME as KDE user from first version of KDE (not just me).

not to forget the encoing WONTFIX bug that inhibits me from open files with broken encoding and the faulty plasmoids ...

version 4 is a great disappointment for me, too. I had serveral tests running since debian testing silently switched to kde 4. all versions till 4.3.2 including (last tested) fail on the basic tests for business environment. I had to change all rollouts to gnome/xfce to ensure functionality and not to put me out of business.

@Johnius:

Nice it works for you. I hope you will enjoy it further.

@lumiwa:

If the overall experience is good, why put that in question? As we all probably know by now, there seem to be certain conditions where performance fails or crashes happen. The only option is to report it, otherwise it probably can't be fixed. This of course can result in "WONTFIX" reports like the one samhain means. But looking closer at this special case it is a "IWONTFIXBUTFEELFREETODOITIFYOUHAVETHERESOURCES".
And lastly, KDE3.5 is still out there, for the ones not being happy with 4. That is the power of opensource, use what you prefer.

lumiwa wrote:What is so exiting in KDE 4. ?
Eye Candy or Nepomuk which has problem (big) still? KDE 3.5 are still much better and it was the big mistake to stopped develop KDE 3.5 and start KDE 4. How long we will wait for the stable and useful KDE 4? Again 10 years? IMO GNOME 2.6 is muc much better and incoming version 3 look very good.

I switched to GNOME as KDE user from first version of KDE (not just me).

Nepomuk works in many distributions. Kubuntu is the only one I've had problems with in that regard. Even in Gentoo, straight from sources, I've had no problems with Nepomuk.

And the reasons they went from KDE 3.5 to 4.0 have been explained a few times over. It's getting kinda boring to hear people bringing it up. They're not changing their mind. Forget it. Use 3.5, or Gnome, or something else if you find KDE 4.x so abhorrent. Leave the rest of us alone.

And I can't wait to see Gnome 3.0 come out, to have thousands of people complaining about stability and lack of configuration... what do you mean, I can't have a second panel? What do you mean, I can't change the colours? What do you mean, I can't re-arrange the panel applets? What do you mean, I can't change the height of the panel? What do you mean, I can't move the panel? What do you mean, xyz favourite feature missing bla bla bla rant and rave?

When things change, things change. Of course they do. You can't have, "the same but better". And when things are new, they're new. Obviously. That's why they need to worked on for a time.

Yes, Madman, "When things change, things change" but if something works after ten years very good and you start this work changing to something new, user expected to this "new things" work as good as old one or better. But in case of KDE 4 is everyrhing worse except eye kandy which looks like many Linux and Winbloze user like.

Have a good day.

lumiwa wrote:Yes, Madman, "When things change, things change" but if something works after ten years very good and you start this work changing to something new, user expected to this "new things" work as good as old one or better. But in case of KDE 4 is everyrhing worse except eye kandy which looks like many Linux and Winbloze user like.

Have a good day.

Then they have too high expectations. It's new. It wasn't just the old stuff with something extra slapped on top of it and re-branded as, "Hey it's better then before!". The KDE devs have been saying this since before KDE 4.0 was released. If distros and power-users turned a deaf ear, it's their own fault.

It's a difference between reading it's limited and actually feeling that borders.

samhain wrote:It's a difference between reading it's limited and actually feeling that borders.

So the developers told you it was going to be limited, but you didn't believe them, and then you are surprised and upset when it turns out to be exactly what they told you it would be?

Not precisely. What I got and understood to be KDE4 before debian testing introduced it in May was that it has been a total rewrite, things have been dropped, things made different.

Ok, that's what happenes all the time. Thats software in alpha stage then with some years to get ready anyway for use. That was what I was told and what I read.

Somehow debian testing team switched to KDE4 as KDE3.5 reasoning 3.5 is officially not supported any more. But that this unfinished piece named KDE4 is said to be as good as KDE3.5 is somewhat surprising. This statement could only come from people that have not been on KDE3.5 for quite a while and have seen things beeing worse (e.g.: KDE 4.0).

Anyway, that's not me. I come from KDE3.5 and can compare 1:1 what's missing. To get the same usability as KDE3.5 was at least to be expected by the user. But it's a far way from 4.3.2 to KDE3.5 on usability issues. Just take plasma and use a vertical panel and see what problems you run into wuth this strange kinde of handle on the plasmoids. That's what I mean to feel the borders.

Don't get me wrong, KDE4 is nice and will probably be a good peace of software but it'll take about 2 years from now.

That was the problem of Debian testing, then, as well as all the other distros that started packaging KDE 4.0 as the default. They were warned and told not to.

"Hey, don't pack KDE4, stay with KDE 3.5! By the way, we've droped support for KDE 3.5."

Well, that's not a good way to place a warning, is it?

samhain wrote:"Hey, don't pack KDE4, stay with KDE 3.5! By the way, we've droped support for KDE 3.5."

Well, that's not a good way to place a warning, is it?

According to the announcements, KDE 4.0 was released 11th January 2008 and KDE 3.5.10 26th August 2008. Go figure.

Actually

Madman wrote:That was the problem of Debian testing, then, as well as all the other distros that started packaging KDE 4.0 as the default.

While other distros are there to blame the first kde4 that hit debian testing was 4.2 . Debian was one of the few distros that correctly waited and didn't package 4.0 or 4.1 aside from experimental branch.

Though debian testing is still what it is TESTING, it's not stable. Blaming debian kde team that they do their work in testing branch and make a switch that will happen for next stable anyway is really strange. Next stable release of debian will probably have qt 4.6 and kde 4.4 (maybe 4.5) . That's a long way to stable with lots of improvements on the way ...

val-gaav wrote:Actually

Madman wrote:That was the problem of Debian testing, then, as well as all the other distros that started packaging KDE 4.0 as the default.

While other distros are there to blame the first kde4 that hit debian testing was 4.2 . Debian was one of the few distros that correctly waited and didn't package 4.0 or 4.1 aside from experimental branch.

Though debian testing is still what it is TESTING, it's not stable. Blaming debian kde team that they do their work in testing branch and make a switch that will happen for next stable anyway is really strange. Next stable release of debian will probably have qt 4.6 and kde 4.4 (maybe 4.5) . That's a long way to stable with lots of improvements on the way ...

In that case, why was (whoever it was) complaining about KDE 4.0 being included in Debian Testing, when it wasn't ready yet? You've just told me that's exactly what Debian Testing is FOR! >.<'