KDE 5 has been released

by
in linux on (#3R2)
story imageKDE 5 has been released. Er, that's the KDE 5 Plasma Desktop since the folks at KDE are now very particular about making sure you call it Plasma. But nomenclature isn't important; what's important is what this latest evolution of the desktop brings to the user, and in my opinion it's quite a lot. Plus, two big things: First, unlike the transition from KDE3 -> KDE4, which broke everything, the transition from KDE4 -> KDE5 should be automatic. Secondly, this article points out everything has gotten faster, which makes clear a lot of energy has gone into optimizing underneath the hood. Sounds good!
  1. Converged Shell: means the same components can be used to design a desktop or tablet interface or phone interface. It lays the groundwork for a device that adapts its interface to whatever you're holding, like the Asus Padphone [ed. note: which is pretty damned cool!]
  2. Modernized launchers: 3 of them, including one called Kicker (for you KDE3 nostalgics like me)
  3. Improved notification area: leads to fewer distractions, apparently
  4. Better support for high DPI displays
In the words of Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols1:
When KDE made a radical change to its popular Linux desktop in 2008 in KDE 4, I hated it. Over a year and many changes later, I finally found KDE 4.3 usable. This time, with the just-released KDE Plasma 5, I didn't have to wait for it to be usable. The new KDE is already good to go.
1Get a nickname, dude! SJVN is too much to type!

KDE Is Just The Best (Score: 1, Interesting)

by Anonymous Coward on 2014-07-18 15:52 (#2JE)

It's the most polished and usable environment, with a real file manager instead of a pretend one. It seems as if they're almost always making the right choices over there (KDE4 beta distro debacle aside).

KDE doesn't get nearly enough respect in my opinion. Smooth software that works properly, and Linux GUI you can actually live in.
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