|
LinuxDig.Com : Linux News : KDE 3.3 Review
Author: HumanX | Sunday August 22, 2004
After 6 months of waiting, KDE 3.3 has been unleashed on the *nix world and it brings improvements for all applications and better internalization, which means KDE now supports some 50 languages and 30 others are partially supported. Read on for the KDE 3.3 review.
* I use O/S and desktop interchangeably within this article. This is merely to compare KDE as a desktop to the desktop of Windows or OS/X.
* Update : KDE 3.3 Base-10 and Multimedia-10 libs are out and KDE 3.3 runs much better with those versions of 3.3. It makes a big difference on Suse 9.1
Getting Started
For this review, KDE 3.3 was installed on SuSE 9.1 on a Dell 4500 with a 1.7 celeron, 1 gig of ram and a 20 gig hard drive.
It's all about the "K" - Newbies
KDE is a desktop environment though I like to call it a desktop experience for X (windows). It is an all-in-one system which provides a graphic user interface and a suite of applications from web to word processing to sticky notes. Just about any common office retail application you can purchase is delivered freely within KDE and it does include things such as word processing, spread sheets, email, web browser, games and more. Anything you can find on competing operating systems can be found here, only free.
KDE is a highly configurable system which allows you to change the total look and feel of the environment, customize shortcut keys and more. Practically anything you can do with a mouse can be turned into a keyboard shortcut. It is everything you expect from a desktop and more. The customization far surprises any other desktops/operating systems, allowing the end user to essentially build the system to his or her needs.
Installation
RPM's for KDE were downloaded from SuSE and installed using Yast (Also command line). Both installations went off with only a few hitches and I only needed a few dependent programs to achieve full installation.
Note: Be warned, Installing KDE 3.3 with Yast (or command line) crippled Yast's "Install Programs" feature and I can no longer view that part of Yast as the page goes blank. This is not a KDE issue but a Yast issue.
On with the Show
Often times when I write these articles I think to myself would I recommend this product to someone. Sure, I know how to use it, but would a friend who has no experience with Linux be able to use the product. With KDE, I must say yes. The average home computer user would get along in KDE just as well as with any other O/S desktop. Maybe even easier.
One of the strengths of KDE is the developers have put a great deal of focus on ease of use (sometimes to much for advanced users). Anyone familiar enough with computers can most definitely take advantage of KDE. Most of the commercial Linux distributions marketed today to the home and office are KDE based and the reason is ease of use and range of applications.
Applications and 3.3
The range of applications in KDE 3.3 is astounding and with the maturity of this release the end user gets stability, speed and many application attributes that are available in other non Linux programs.
KMail is becoming a powerful mail client which now has the capability to stop spam. KMail's spam system uses non-native KDE Linux applications to achieve this feet and is compatible with a variety of anti-spam programs which gives you the freedom of choice and the option to pick the anti-spam program which best fits your needs. Integration of anti-spam is created with wizards and is easy to setup. Kmail supports all common mail protocols and authentication systems. As with all of KDE, it is highly configurable.
Konqueror is KDE's web browser and file manager. As a web browser, Konqueror is fast and supports the bulk of most web protocols (still growing CSS2) and plugins such as flash (Note: Any plugin that works in Mozilla/Netscape should work in Konqueror). With popup blocking and tabbed browsing support, you can surf the web in one window while browsing your file system in the other. Konqueror today is probably the most powerful web browser compared to similar applications on all platforms/operating systems (power as far as capabilities). When XP Service Pack 2 is released and IE finally has tabbed browsing and popup blocking, the comparison will be interesting. But I think Konqueror will still beat IE in its ability to communicate with the O/S through multiple protocols, for example, Konqueror combined with Lisa can browse windows networks the same way explorer does, which means, Konqueror can do everything IE can do and more. Konqueror can also be launched as a strict web browser reducing the visibility of unneeded tools that are built into Konqueror. That is the power of this application, broad in ability and highly configurable.
Usability Note: Bloggers might be interested in the Form Spell Check feature of the Konqueror web browser. Yes, Konqueror allows you to spell check forms. Not only for Bloggers, but people active in Forums would like this feature.
KDE's Kontact is a powerful PIM (Personal Information Manager) with many of the attributes of Outlook or Novell's Evolution. It is an all in one application which supports email (through KMail), address books (contact management), project / task management, calendering and connects to your PDA (not directly). It is powerful and easy to use.
And one program I almost forgot which I think is one of the best applications I have found in a while, Kopete. Kopete is probably one of the best IM managers around. I call it a manager because it integrates well into KDE and supports practically every popular IM today: AOL AIM, MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, IRC, SMS and Jabber. I use Kopete with my hotmail and aim accounts, giving me the ability to not only maintain by business IM accounts but personal as well, all within a single application. I give Kopete a 10.
Kopete Note 1: Kopete also integrates into Kmail and Kontact.
Kopete Note 2: IM is one of the newest ways of conducting/communicating in business. An application like Kopete allows you to unite multiple IM accounts for example, accounts for tech support, customer service all within one window and all active at the same time.
Other Applications worth noting in KDE
1. KSnapShot: Windows Screen Grabber which I used with this article
2. Games: Far to many to mention, but believe me there is many.
3. Quanta: PHP/Web development IDE
4. KDevelop: Full C/C++ IDE with integrated Qt form development.
5. Education: Plenty of programs for kids and even tools for teachers to develop tests.
6. Art & Design: KScan (Scan Pictures), KChart (Flowcharting),KSpread
7. KIOSK Settings: Yes you can turn KDE into a kiosk.
8. Knotes: Sticky notes for the desktop also built into Kontact.
9. Rekall: A Microsoft Access type database front end design application for Linux and KDE. Very powerful with many attributes of Access. I think you would be surprised.
KDE 3.3 at a Glance
New applications
- Kolourpaint, an easy-to-use replacement for KPaint
- KWordQuiz, KLatin and KTurtle expand the list of education packages for schools and families
- Kimagemapeditor and klinkstatus make life easier for web designers
- KSpell2, a new spellchecking library that fixes all of KSpell's shortcomings
- KThemeManager, a new control center module to globally handle KDE visual themes
- The Python bindings PyQT and PyKDE are now maintained with KDE in our CVS
Integration of desktop components
- Kontact is now integrated with Kolab, KDE's groupware solution, and Kpilot
- Konqueror features better support for Instant Messenging contacts, with the capability to send files to IM contacts, and support for IM protocols (e.g. irc://)
- KMail can display the online presence of IM contacts
- Kopete can display a "now listening to" message from amaroK
- Juk has support for burning audio CDs with K3B
Many small desktop enhancements
- Tab improvements in Konqueror, including scrollwheel switching
- An RSS feed viewer sidebar in Konqueror
- A searchbar for Konqueror, compatible with all keyword: searches
- HTML composing, anti-spam/anti-virus wizards, automatic handling of mailing lists, improved support for cryptography and a handy quick search bar all make their way into KMail
- Kopete gains support for file transfers with Jabber
- Quanta Plus has a VPL (Visual Page Layout) mode to make editing even easier
- aRts gains jack support, and aKode, a new multithreaded audio decoding/encoding library to replace mpeglib
- KWin has new buttons to support its full features, including "always on top"
- Over 7,000 bugs have been closed, and over 2,000 wishes have been fulfilled
- Over 60,000 lines of code, documentation and other contributions have been committed to CVS
For the Office, the Enterprise
As of version 3, the KDE team now has an enterprise section located at KDE's web site. The configurability and expandability of KDE has outgrown the home computer and is quite capable of driving large organizations. For more information visit Enterprise KDE
The KDE - GNome Debate
This debate has been active for quite sometime. GNome is another desktop environment similar to KDE but not as mature. One of the advantages of GNome is that it does have a smoother graphic display but the girth of KDE far outweighs GNome's display advantage. There is also the argument that KDE is based on closed sourse, Qt. Qt has shown its commitment to open source and stated that if the Qt company were to ever close its doors then the Qt libraries would be released to the open source community. It is safe to say that KDE is in good hands.
KDE also has a huge support base and the commitment of support from KDE is noticable by visiting their website. GNome on the other hand tends to be a little out of reach, more difficult to connect with in my opinion. Visit the two sites and see for yourself.
Problems
* Update: KDE 3.3 Base libs and multimedia (Base 10) made a big difference on my installation and solved the problems below.
To begin with, SuSE has stated that if you install 3.3 you are on your own, they even recommend against the installation so consider that before reading further. Novell has not had the oppurtunity to fully version test KDE with their suite of utilities and so some of the below issues maybe a result of that.
Konqueror temporarily hung which hung the system while I was creating a link from some executable files. Aside from that, some of the issues were in the usability area. KWord started a little slowly and I had some issues with the spell checker not, well, spell checking. Also, KWord has the tendency to lowercase words at the beginning of a sentence, it is safe to say that KWord still needs some work. Also, though not an error, KMail ran into a problem with my imap server which was down. KMail did not inform me of the outage and seemed to just hang.
Needless to say, none of the issues were at all serious and there maybe fixes or workarounds already available. One of the problems with system like KDE is that they are still maturing and the developers are working out the kinks. But with each new release, they get better and better and 3.3 is no exception.
I would say the system is totally usable, but for a new user, some of these issues could be irritating.
Note: Visiting the KDE web site you would be happy to see just how aggresive the KDE developers are in addressing issues with the system and working towards routine updates. KDE has a healthy community and any problems you may find should be addressed relatively quickly.
A Linux Note on Web Browsing Security
A reocurring problem in the Windows world is the onslaught of viruses and adware plagueing Internet Explorer. Want to protect your company's network or your home computer? Tired of dealing with security issues on the Microsoft platform? Give Linux and KDE a try, the problems found in Internet Explorer are not found in Linux.
Note: It has been shown that Windows XP Service Pack 2 still does not address many of the security issues affecting Windows. Before and after the release of the Service Pack, hackers found weaknesses in the system.
Closing
On a score of 1-10 with 10 being the best I give KDE a 9. But with that 9 goes my recommendations to all who have read this article. There are a few issues to contend with, but if you want a free desktop environment with a suite of great applications then look no further.
Where to get KDE, References
KDE can be downloaded from KDE's website at KDE. RPM files are available for both SuSE and RedHat,
If you are a new user or planning on switching to Linux then I recommend you give Suse a try, take a look at SuSE's personal or professional Linux distribution. SuSE also has a Live CD which you can download which allows you to try Linux without modifying your computers current configuration.
You can also purchase inexpensive PC's from Walmart which come preinstalled with Linux and KDE. There are also numerous companies selling Linux Based Workstations from Dell to HP.
Here is a list of Linux distributions that come installed with KDE.
Linux Distributions:
[ Conectiva Linux | Debian GNU/Linux | Fedora Core | Gentoo Linux | Libranet Linux | Linspire | Mandrake Linux | Slackware Linux | SOT Linux | SuSE Linux | Turbolinux | United Linux | Yellow Dog Linux ]
BSD Derivates:
[ FreeBSD | NetBSD | OpenBSD ]
Other UNIX Vendors:
[ IBM AIX® | Sun Solaris® ]
Enterprise or Large organizations may consider visiting Novell for their large deplyment needs.
|
