@Oceanwatcher:

They just showed why business users have problems taking open source seriously.

No business worth its salt will be storing vital information on a system running bleeding edge distros. That's what enterprise distros are for.

s1300045 wrote:I am on Kubuntu 9.10 with KDE 4.4 too, and I can't create group. The option is greyed out, and the mailing lists I previously created are all gone. What is happening? I store all my information in a local vcard file and access it through akonadi.

I'd ask kubuntu why since it works on a Fedora system.

annew wrote:No business worth its salt will be storing vital information on a system running bleeding edge distros. That's what enterprise distros are for.

Well... You are talking big companies. For the small businesses owners, specially the one person businesses, they might use a distro like Kubuntu LTS. And upgrading to the next one, 10.04 will bring a few surprises. One is BIG and NASTY!

The notes field with personal notes about a person do not transfer into Akonadi. Not only do I mean it is gone from the addressbook view (only a notes field in the business tab), but it is not possible to find it using the Akonadi console. I have confirmed that extra IM addresses are still in Akonadi, but all the information that I have built up in the notes field is gone.

When a software has reached x.4, it is not bleeding edge anymore. It is useless to hide behind that. If they call it bleeding edge, then the correct number should be x.04. In normal speak, all x.0 versions are bleeding edge and a lot of people stay away from it. When the version reaches x.4, it is normally a good sign that things are stable and ready for critical use. And this is probably why Kubuntu is going to label their next version an LTS version. But the addressbook will give headaches...

First, even a one-person business should put his business interests above bling. Certainly I would not have risked my business in that way. Second - no information is lost. It is merely not displayed at the moment. Try examining your std.vcf in a text editor. The information you entered is all there. Some of the gui display is still to be developed, presumably because it doesn't work in just the same way as before.

We absolutely agree that it is wise not to go for the brand new versions. What we do not agree on is what is a brand new versions.

Actually, this does not matter at all. I do know that a lot of open source software has adopted a "Release often, release early" motto. But for a few types of software (e-mail, addressboks), this is not a good idea. Release often - yes. But until it is feature complete (covering absolutely everything the previous version covered), it should not be a real release. Keep it as beta. I do not mind if software is kept as beta for a year! The beta label is a clear warning to people that it is unfinished software. This will also be a signal to the distros that it should not be included in any official releases.

I really LOVE to use KDE, but I get really frustrated sometimes when I do an upgrade and realise that it is actually a downgrade. What would give KDE a lot of trust would be if there would be a new motto "Never mess with users data". "Security before bling". "Stability before cool".

I better stop here All of this is my opinion and obviously colored by by the really bad feeling I got when I discovered that the notes field was nowhere to be seen by using the Akonadi console. The Akonadi console does show the fields that are still not available through the addressbook GUI. So I can see that there is more than one IM address. BUT - the notes I have entered for my contacts is not there. Any good explanations there?

Another question - I have several contacts with multiple IM addresses. If I need to change the main IM address for a contact - how will Kontact handle it? Will it wipe the others and I will be stuck with only one address? Or will it keep all of them and just add another one? As it is now, I am afraid to do any changes at all...

BTW - as I should not upgrade the PIM to 4.4, how do I keep the 4.3.5 version? I like the rest of the 4.4 release and have had very few problems so far. How do I keep the older version/revert back to the older version?

Another BTW - why did I not get any warning at all that I would loose access to some of the info in my addressbook and possibly actually loose other info before I upgraded to 4.4?

+1
Oceanwatcher has already put it well.

I'm also afraid of data loss in this situation. to me the new kaddressbook feels like a big downgrade. a lot of fields that i use are not displayed any more. what happens if i add new data like IM will the other stuff get deleted?
this should have never been released that way.
i think akonadi will be great, but rushing things like that makes no sense

Oceanwatcher is treading a fine path that will evidently lead to self destruction. Anybody who has data dear to him/her will have it backed up thrice over. I've had problems with kaddressbook myself but have successfully migrated to akonadi now. Nevertheless I keep my old data just in case. Oh, and that reminds me to establish a new backup routine for ~/.local/share

Anyway, you can use either your old style data or migrate. And to even mention things being deleted is quite plainly misleading. So, what exactly is your problem?

... hurries of to crontab -e ...

I promised to stop, but just had to reply to this one. Sorry...

Of course I have backups. BUT - Right now I am very unsure about what is happening.

I got the advice to use Akonadi console to check that my original data is still there. And yes, SOME of it is still there. But not all! So..

Is ther data that is hidden even for Akonadi console?

BTW -

Anyway, you can use either your old style data or migrate.

How do you do that? I never got a question if I wanted to keep things as they are with the old addressbook? I am not talking about the data, but the application. The data is no good without an application that can actually show them.

I think I have made my point. I am grateful for the people that helped me find the info I needed, even if it was not easy available.

Let me finish with some of the things I like about the addressbook (I am now talking about the 4.3.5 version):

I covers just about anything I want from an addressbook! It is the best I have used so far and I have used a lot.

I like that I can connect people in Kopete to the addressbook. Actually, I like connecting everything to the addressbook if possible. I really hate having to enter the same info twice.

I love the possibility of templates per contact. This was one of the things that impressed me in a mailprogram called "The Bat".

I love that I can have picture and logo connected to a contact. I don't think I can ever have too many options of adding info to a contact. So I also love the custom fields.

I love the search that is as close to instant as I can get! ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!

About the new version:

I am not sure if I like the three column layout. I still looks a bit rough to me and I am sure it will be more polished as time passes. But that layout is more suited to people with only a handful people in each addressbook. Aand a lot of addressbooks. I have one addressbook with 1600+ contacts, so scrolling is not really practical. So searching is better for me...

I do like the new layout per contact. No doubt about it. Just waiting for the rest of the fields from the previous version to appear.

I also love the idea of using Akonadi for it. I absolutely see the advantages.

Stuff missing (overall):

Sync with my mobile (based on Windows Mobile 6 for now, maybe Android later)
Sync with Plaxo (online addressbook with a couple of unique functions...)

With this, I would be in heaven and happy as... don't know what Don't remember the english expression (I am not a native English speaker).

I have today got a lot of information about what lives where, and definitions that make a lot of things clearer. I'll write them up for userbase and paste the link here, but it will probably be tomorrow.

Nice one - am looking forward to the info

Here you are, then: http://userbase.kde.org/Akonadi_and_AddressBook

Any other specific queries, just put them here or on that page's Discussion page, and I'll ask.

Wow, I like it! Thanks a ton, annew!

Problem solved... not really? I am now able to add new groups after adding the "Personal Contacts" akonadi resource, but it doesn't import my lists. One more question, how do I migrate that akonadi resource? Do I backup that folder? Or should I use the backup function in akonadi? Thanks for all the hard work guys! KDE rocks!

For backup advice, please read http://userbase.kde.org/Akonadi_and_AddressBook

For all interested, I have posted a suggestion at KDE Brainstorm, asking to release KDE SC 4.5 with old and new versions of KDE PIM apps to allow users a smoother transition: brainstorm.php#idea86135