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KDE Ships Second Beta of Next Generation Plasma Workspace

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Re: KDE Ships Second Beta of Next Generation Plasma Workspace

#81
post #3

Based on the screenshots it seem KDE devs tone down their interface to simpler visuals (icons, colours, shades and all the blingbling I usually associate KDE with). Is that the trend for the next iteration of KDE ? (I like it)

Yes, they have a new design project: http://wheeldesign.blogspot.fi/ Although in my opinion their work hasn't exactly been a huge improvement so far. It's just a flatter coat of paint with the same issues that already plague KDE: inconsistent padding and spacing, terrible organization (think system settings) and so on.

Note that the wheeldesigners are just making a new default theme. With minor tweaks all kde 4 series themes are still usable.

Also, the inconsistencies are mostly due to app developers themselves. The difference between plasma and the software compilation can exemplify that - you use two entirely different application stacks if you are developing for one or the other (qt widgets enhanced by kdelibs vs qml enhanced by plasma). And then there are multiple ways to actually develop the app interfaces - you can use anchor based widgets, ui files, or raw custom positioning which I find in reviewing a lot of codebases a bit too common for my liking.

When I have the time I try to fix it, though. The problem right now is that while the Qt world's future is QML based, the KDE applications and libraries were developed for over a decade around widgets. So when I develop something new I'm using QML and it can scale, animate, and orient really well for arbitrary window sizes and devices, but some widgets applications just anchor a toolbar to 50px indents and then it looks like puke on high DPI.

I mean you can still do that in QML, but the anchors and layouts are so easy to use it seems insane to do so.

Re: KDE Ships Second Beta of Next Generation Plasma Workspace

#82
post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, they have a new design project: http://wheeldesign.blogspot.fi/ Although in my opinion their work hasn't exactly been a huge improvement so far. It's just a flatter coat of paint with the same issues that already plague KDE: inconsistent padding and spacing, terrible organization (think system settings) and so on.

Their icons are not good. Too glassy and cartoony and too many gradients. They don't look modern, they look like icons for a kids app from 10 years ago.

They are planning to adopt Font Awesome as the default icon theme. Right now they are still using the old Oxygen set.

And at that, you can pick your own icon themes anyway. There are Hycons, Numix, Faenza, etc. I do agree defaults matter and the Oxygen icon set is gaudy, but it shouldn't stop an HN user from trying it since you can change them.

Re: KDE Ships Second Beta of Next Generation Plasma Workspace

#83
post #24

Based on the screenshots it seem KDE devs tone down their interface to simpler visuals (icons, colours, shades and all the blingbling I usually associate KDE with). Is that the trend for the next iteration of KDE ? (I like it)

But they're still using those gaudy start menu icons that looked gaudy 5 years ago.

The developers intend to adopt Font Awesome as the icon theme, they are just designing all the missing icons in the background right now. Which probably includes the start menu icons.

And remember you can change the icon theme. Numix, Faenza, and Hycons are all popular alternatives available already. Though I'm still using the Oxygen icons on kde4 because all those themes are missing swathes of icons...

Re: KDE Ships Second Beta of Next Generation Plasma Workspace

#85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is? My girlfriend uses KDE, and I never found difficult to find stuff using the integrated search. On the other hand, if they would recreate print settings, I wouldn't have to explain that typing http://localhost:631/ in a browser is the most intuitive way of managing printers.

Sorry - What's the point you're making about your girlfriend?

That he has someone close to him that uses it that doesn't mind when he jumps on the system, so he does it occasionally? There may or may not have been something implied by stating his/her girlfriend used it, but assuming a negative implication does not lead to useful conversation, IMHO.

Re: KDE Ships Second Beta of Next Generation Plasma Workspace

#86
post #57

Can I press super/win-key, type [name of application], press enter and it brings up the [application]? It didn't when I last tried, and I don't want a window manager that doesn't behave in that way. Windows, Gnome shell and Unity does it - it's not hard.

Alt+F2 in KDE to bring up KRunner but you can change it to whatever keys you like

Nice. I don't get why they can't just use the super key by default like everyone else, but it's not a very big problem. Is it a fuzzy search? How does it handle "term" and "temrinal"?

Re: KDE Ships Second Beta of Next Generation Plasma Workspace

#87
post #74
post #25

About 4 years ago, I switched from KDE/Kubuntu to OSX. Not because I hated KDE, but because my job needed OSX. It takes divvy, sizeup, apptivate, bartenderapp to do, what I was able to do with KDE out of box. The dual monitor support in OSX is still not in par with KDE. I have been using Kubuntu/KDE as my main workstation for last couple of months and I love depth of how much is possible with window environment. I th…

and yet every OSX diehard will think you're on crack and KDE is inferior.

Please don’t stir conflict by only reasoning in terms superior and inferior.

Things are different, no need to order them, especially on one single axis.

Re: KDE Ships Second Beta of Next Generation Plasma Workspace

#88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is? My girlfriend uses KDE, and I never found difficult to find stuff using the integrated search. On the other hand, if they would recreate print settings, I wouldn't have to explain that typing http://localhost:631/ in a browser is the most intuitive way of managing printers.

Sorry - What's the point you're making about your girlfriend?

I'm not making any point about her. It's just that I wrote in another comment that I was using XMonad and not KDE any more.

Re: KDE Ships Second Beta of Next Generation Plasma Workspace

#89
post #74
post #25

About 4 years ago, I switched from KDE/Kubuntu to OSX. Not because I hated KDE, but because my job needed OSX. It takes divvy, sizeup, apptivate, bartenderapp to do, what I was able to do with KDE out of box. The dual monitor support in OSX is still not in par with KDE. I have been using Kubuntu/KDE as my main workstation for last couple of months and I love depth of how much is possible with window environment. I th…

and yet every OSX diehard will think you're on crack and KDE is inferior.

You are correct sir. People who prefer OS X to KDE will prefer OS X to KDE, and people who prefer KDE to OS X will prefer KDE to OS X. Funny how it works out that way. :)

Re: KDE Ships Second Beta of Next Generation Plasma Workspace

#90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't use KDE anymore (switched to XMonad a few years ago), but I still use Dolphin for its DAV/SMB capabilities, and occasionally gwenview. But why do you think KDE is "losing ground"? And Konsole is pretty good, but doesn't handle resizing well in XMonad, so it's urxvt for me.

> But why do you think KDE is "losing ground"? I used to see it everywhere that linux was being used, 50/50 or so with other desktops, I don't even remember the last time I saw someone use it.

Well, that's a bit circumstantial, but OK.
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