Version: 2008

Comments on: KDE 4 gives Linux some Mac, Windows flavor

A major KDE overhaul gives of one of the two prevailing Linux user interfaces a new look and new applications. Some features will be familiar Windows and Mac OS X users.

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Sorry, but the look and feel sucks...
by JasonCe January 11, 2008 2:23 PM PST
This is nowhere near Windows or OSX. There is no consistency in the overall user interface. Icons and other graphics do not even compare...

The poor user experience is what makes people stay away from Linux.
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4.1
by ethana2 January 11, 2008 4:18 PM PST
A complete overhaul combined with 'release early, release often' and it's not quite as polished as a multibillion dollar project? Are you /serious/?!

So what? Wait until KDE 4.1 if you want polish. You will get it.
View all 3 replies
Man some of you are a bit harsh
by stockyjoe January 12, 2008 2:56 AM PST
I'm not a big Linux user. I dont really find any reason to use it on the desktop, but its a great server platform, and both KDE and GNOME are making great improvments. For something that is practically free its looks pretty good. Give them a break.
So change it.
by Penguinisto January 13, 2008 9:16 PM PST
There are about half a zillion ways to customize the whole thing without knowing a single bit of programming or command-line skill.

So your point was... what?

/P
View reply
More than a flavor...
by shoffmueller January 11, 2008 2:24 PM PST
... this stuff seems like a rip-off of the other OSs, expecially Mac's expose, dashboard, and spaces.
Reply to this comment
Let me know
by ethana2 January 11, 2008 4:20 PM PST
when OSX runs on /my/ hardware, and I may not consider them completely disqualified from the running. So what if Apple brought dashboard to the world?

KDE4 brings it to _me_.
Re
by 6c1452 January 11, 2008 4:36 PM PST
Wait, a rip off of spaces? And there I thought Linux had had those since like mac OS 9. I guess we do live and learn.

I've been waiting for commercial operating systems to use workspaces for years. And now that one finally has, I like linux too much to even think about switching.
by architsol November 13, 2008 4:45 AM PST
Your comment is wrong!! You should be say the other OSs rip-off Linux, KDE and Gnome get your facts straight.
Why copy other OS's?
by Vegaman_Dan January 11, 2008 2:49 PM PST
I'm not sure why this desktop GUI is trying so hard to copy features from OS X and Windows. Generally people are running Linux to get *AWAY* from those, not to copy them.

Keep it unique, keep it separate. If I want to run OS X, I'll start my G4. If I want Windows, then I'll run that system. There's no need to make my Linux system into a clone of the others.
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The one thing Vista did right
by ethana2 January 11, 2008 4:10 PM PST
was the pretty theme.
Ubuntu doesn't have a really good pretty theme of its own yet.
That's why. I expect this to change soon.
Windows clone
by 6c1452 January 11, 2008 4:44 PM PST
KDE has always been the windows look-alike desktop. If you want a unique and efficient DTE or window manager, there are plenty to choose from.
LOL
by The_Decider January 13, 2008 12:50 PM PST
Since you are an idiot I will assume that you do not know that Vista is a copy of many features of Linux and OSX.

Many new features of the Windows world via Vista, have been available in Linux for years.
View reply
The Open Source Community...
by jelloburn January 11, 2008 2:51 PM PST
...makes me sick. I'm waiting for the day that Apple and
Microsoft and the multitude of other companies that the open
source community steals patented ideas from come down hard
and sue them into the ground.

There was a reason that Microsoft didn't use an Exposé style
system for windows management. Because they knew Apple
would come after them if they did. So they used Flip 3D instead.

The open source community seems to be stuck in the mindset
that everything should be free, including other's patented ideas.
The only saving grace for them is that since nothing in the
various distros is even close to being fully developed, most
people that try the operating systems leave it with a bad taste in
their mouth.

Lets hear it for uninspired copy-cats!
Reply to this comment
The Art of Innovation:
by ethana2 January 11, 2008 4:08 PM PST
Implement every good idea in existence. Anything blocking the implementation of a good idea should be taken out and shot.

We come up with a good many ideas ourselves and in fact, our implementations are infinitely more flexible and more efficient than those of our competitors so really, while perhaps behaving similarly, they hold to a higher set of standards.

Flamebait--
KDE Didn't Steal
by timcarr89 January 11, 2008 8:48 PM PST
Having followed the KDE4 development closely for some time I would like to point out...
the KDE developers had most of these ideas prior to the release of Windows Vista. And although they have borrowed a few ideas from Apple it is about time they get some payback for giving Apple the KHTML rendering engine for Safari. Apple owes much to the open source community and they know it - FreeBSD, libgcc, libstdc++, etc.

As to stealing... look at Windows Vista. Most of their ideas are slightly-changed rip-offs of Linux desktop environments and OSX. For example, where did they get the idea to have rectangular title bar buttons that fade brighter or to red on mouse hover. Look at several Linux themes and that's exactly what you find.

I am not going to argue about software patents, although I personally think software should be governed by what it was in the first place...copyrights, not patents. Patenting software is like putting a patent on a document... you could do it, but it would be sub-intelligent.

I do agree that KDE4 has rough edges, but as I have watched the developers this long. I think I can trust them that KDE 4.1 will follow soon and will bring a much better user experience. KDE 4 is just the beginning from what I have read I understand that more original user interface changes will be added in future versions...It's not like Vista where you will see the same interface and hear the same sounds for the next six years.
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mistitle
by ethana2 January 11, 2008 4:16 PM PST
KDE4 brought some compiz action down into KDE. And seeing as Windows only runs on x86, and OSX only on Apple hardware, our community is putting whatever 'flavor' you want to call it everywhere from the PS3 to PegasosPPC machines to SPARC servers to Nokia internet tablets to supercomputers; from some of the richest places in the world to the penniless.

If you want to accuse someone of ripping off of Mac or Windows, go after compiz, AWN, and desklets. Sometimes a competitor has a good idea. You don't run from it because it's theirs. You match it and raise them one. We're constantly doing just that.

Also, we have some very fierce competition going on between window managers right now, and I'd nearly say Mac and Windows are irrelevant. This is e17, compiz, KDE, and gnome competing, and i dare say they're doing a much better job than explorer, aero, quartz and whatever else is going on.
</rant>
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Linux is for morons
by vini156 January 11, 2008 6:40 PM PST
Linux sucks and it sucks so much that Linus Torvalds family members doesn't even use it.
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/notag/torvalds-family-uses-windows-not-linus-linux-311845.php
This operating system sucks so much that they need representatives to be sent to various schools, colleges, offices so that they can motivate people to use their dump O.S named Linux. The long haired man named Richard Stallman has no work to do but to move here and there and make absurd comments about other software companies. Stop whining that Linux is secure , it is free....bla bla bla. Even it is free its struggling from a long time against Mac and Windows. Thats the reason why open source morons try to copy features and show that if apple and windows can do this, it is also available in Linux. Though some open source applications are good, Linux is as bad as and OS can be.
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Please don't feed the troll (nt)
by 6c1452 January 11, 2008 7:05 PM PST
B'i'hi "comment" inl'"shove" ue b'i'hi utsoy....
View reply
Ummm...
by timcarr89 January 11, 2008 8:53 PM PST
Stallman has NOTHING to do with Linux development and he and Linus don't even get along that well.

Even then would you really believe all those jokers an gizmodo.

http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9849168-7.html?tag=nefd.only
View reply
So by your logic, Goog is a moron company..
by allanregistso January 11, 2008 11:21 PM PST
Have been using google lately? Then that makes you also a ____ you fill it.
View reply
vini156 is the moron
by Seaspray0 January 13, 2008 10:43 AM PST
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

That being said, your eye doesn't like linux. That's obvious and personally I don't care if you like it or not. For others, linux is a thing of beauty. Considering this article concerns those who are interested in linux, your comments are akin to walking into a biker bar and shouting, "motorcycles suck and are for morons!" How stupid can you get?
View reply
Dude, take a chill pill
by shadowh511 January 14, 2008 9:02 AM PST
Linux made my laptop 15X faster than windows vista. Linux WILL BE THE ONLY CHOICE IN THE FUTURE, NOT MICROSOFT, NOT APPLE, LINUX.
by runix81 December 26, 2008 1:18 PM PST
Well another incompetent Windows (Mac) user. If you do a little research you my friend will find that in now days most of the software is an open source software. As to your comment about the security of Linux "Stop whining that Linux is secure , it is free....bla bla bla" - why would people do that it makes the OS so much better. You are accusing people of being morons simply because they have open minds and want to see what else is out there beside the rubbish Windows. I bet you are one of users that have tried Linux and run into the smallest problem and decided that is beyond your competence to deal with. Is that true? :-) :-) I will set up a little challenge for you. You take you smart OS and I will use my " ..dump O.S named Linux" and we will test the productivity and functionality on both. AGREE???????
Because its stupid to change what works just to be different
by stockyjoe January 12, 2008 3:00 AM PST
Teh biggest mistake you can make is to change common UI attributes so much people cant understand how it works. Its one thing to make an improvment or soemthing completely new, but to change common methods for using a GUI just to be different is well dumb.
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Linux KDE 4.0: Lipstick on a Pig
by cjohn17 January 12, 2008 5:12 AM PST
So I have to ask Linux lovers - after all these years, what's the
point? Your open source crusade has, as far as I can tell, made
little progress and labored to produce a variant that looks like
the original beta copy of OS X. Not exactly forward thinking,
guys. In fact, OS X and even Vista, for all its many faults, are far
more forwarding thinking than any Linux operating system
flavor. Is Linux still appealing to you because you're stubborn
malcontents unhappy with any system that's (gasp) user
friendly? That sounds like a clear case of software Ron Paulitist.

Face it Linux boys and girls, you are in conflict and at a
crossroad in your lives. You have labored to produce an uncool
software Golem that I would argue is overly difficult to
use/maintain and perhaps become passé. You had your fun
poking Bill Gates in the eye and raging against the "machine".
But it's time to join the family of man and decide what you will
do with your remaining years. Put down the blimp and simply
walk away.

http://theillustratedconservative.blogspot.com/
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Put down the blimp and simply walk away?
by throwingstrikes January 12, 2008 9:19 AM PST
Tell the the countless corporations that use Linux day in and out for their servers and workstations todo that. Tell corporations like Novell and Google who's putting their weight behind this "passé" system to drop it like a bad habit. Also inform Asus that the Linux is a "uncool software Golem" that they should drop from their laptops and motherboards (Splashtop/Eee PC) like a bad habit. Its never gonna happen.

C John your thoughts about Linux are flawed. Just because you couldn't leverage Linux to your advantage doesn't mean its a worthless system.
View reply
Lost one potential blog reader..
by gabeheim January 13, 2008 12:42 PM PST
I wonder how many more you will lose by acting like a mac lover and yet hating linux like your steve ballmer. Sad. I might have found your blog interesting, but your attitude indicates its probably worthless. Show me a thousand way SMP system running xserve. Show me a multi=thousand node grid/cluster running MS. Linux is a highly scalable operating system kernel (do you even know what an OS, let alone a kernel is? IF you think KDE is an OS or a "flavor" of linux, you obviously don't). Maybe your overreactive and paranoid thinking linux is run by commies. Sad. Remember, apple founders used to be hippies. They certainly learned how to do business, and so have thousands of businesses that use/produce linux devices and services. Trust me, the reds are not coming for you, linux is not a product of social liberalism either. (From a pragmatic conservative.)
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you serious?
by acassidy89 February 2, 2008 7:34 PM PST
Your comment sounds like you've had a bad experience with linux. That is a shame that because somone dosen't get something to work right away that they bash it. I agree that it has same elements of vista and mac os x, but if their good ideas, why not? You get the look and feel of vista on a unix-secured system without having to purchase a mac. As a programming and networking major, linux is great! Alot of companies use Red-Hat or, for example, ubuntu server. They are ALOT cheaper to use as red-hat only charges for tech support (and its a flat rate a company pays which is minimal compared to windows server). Windows and Mac are great too, dont get me wrong, but linux tops them both.
by architsol November 13, 2008 5:16 AM PST
Are you serious, OS X and vista get most of the feature from Linux! Face it boy!! Linux is going to rule PCs and embedded systems. Get it into your head. Linux is the future. Linux is on Mars in the rovers software, on board the hubble space telescope just to name a few. Oh by the way your BLACKBERRY!!!! So next time you point a finger @ Linux get your facts together. By the way are you a windows user?
Default wallpaper
by vladstudio January 12, 2008 9:29 AM PST
Hi, I am the author of new default KDE4 wallpaper, I wanted to let
you know you can download it separately in many color variations
from http://www.vladstudio.com/wallpapers/?keyword=eos
Thanks!
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Huh?
by cjohn17 January 12, 2008 3:16 PM PST
... ah, why?
Chics dig Linux
by supervillains January 13, 2008 1:35 AM PST
Linux is hard, so I learn it.

I earned two beautiful college chics along the process
by teaching them Linux, and had sex with them.

Now sex, that's the most amazing operating system
ever!

All I have to do is talk confidently about Linux and
they're turned on.

Really cool stuff!
Reply to this comment
Tool
by cjohn17 January 13, 2008 5:20 AM PST
You're such a tool - congrats!
View all 2 replies
Such motivation!
by Seaspray0 January 13, 2008 11:02 AM PST
I get the feeling you'd be willing to teach linux to your own grandmother?
Guess what Google's Secret Weapon is?
by supervillains January 14, 2008 12:58 PM PST
Good Guess, Linux and Open Source.

http://redmondmag.com/features/article.asp?editorialsid=2395
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baseless comments
by oyster11 January 14, 2008 4:44 PM PST
Just wondering if vini156 has ever actually used Linux. The reason Microsoft products are so widely used is because they have a death-grip on the computer industry. Almost all computers are presold with Windows. Also, does MS use Google products? I think not.

Linux isn't for everyone, and if vini156 doesn't like it, that's fine. But those considering a switch shouldn't be impaired by accusatory whining or a pathetic system such as KDE. I also fault the author, Stephan Shankland, for insinuating that Linux is trying to catch up to other OS's. In many ways, Linux is already ahead.
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What's with all these Linux bashers?!
by JuggerNaut January 14, 2008 5:57 PM PST
KDE goes beyond just Linux to other OS favorites like the BSD
brethren or yore. Personally I'm a GNOME fan myself, but KDE 4 is
looking quite sharp and seems to out do even Windows Vista in
look-n-feel in some places.

The more choice the better, kudos to the KDE development team
for all their hard work and dedication :-)
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I have no idea
by Astinsan February 18, 2008 7:58 PM PST
People get sensitive about "their" setup. It happened with Commodore people and Apple people back in the day...

Maybe they are stock holders? I guess apple and Ms are public companies.
Funny Stuff
by hellsyes January 15, 2008 9:38 AM PST
You've been drinking too much of the Steve Ballmer Kool-aid. "Linux infringes on 235 Microsoft Patents".

Oh yeah, Steve? Can you tell us which ones and how? "Uhh... no, I can't"

Problem is, most of Microsofts software patents are probably bogus anyhow and wouldn't hold up in court. That's why they haven't pursued legal action against the open source community.
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