KDE SC 4.6 RC1 – Another Look

It is one thing to examine and review a full release of a software package; it is quite another to work with the same package while it is being developed. I prefer to work with the final release and I'm not given to tinkering other than to get something behaving the way I like it. I use my desktop as a tool for writing and data processing so I am very hesitant to do anything that could damage that information......A "play it safe, thoroughly conservative Luddite" if you like...lol.

But.....I have enormous respect for people, such as the writer of this article, who are prepared to get in and put up with crashes, display freezes, software "creaks and groans", unexpected results and yet keep their cool and tell us all about it as they test software still not ready for "final release". I'm thinking too of those beta-testers who work with even earlier and "rougher" versions where things often collapse around their ears. It isn't something I would like to do, and yet it is such a necessary part of the Linux world. We all acknowledge and appreciate the sterling work of the developers, but the beta testers can be so easily forgotten.

So, just for the record, I'd like to give an enormous vote of thanks to all you beta testers. I sometimes think, as a user of the final product, that credit needs to be given where credit is due and it's rather nice to say so on this occasion.

I do wish people would get off this "new features" merry-go-round what i want in a desktop is useability and stability with the basic set of useful features it doesn't have to be all singing & dancing or make me tea & toast.

Actually i might appreciate a tea & toast feature but that would be the worst example possible of feature creep in a DE :)

@Koriel.....oh yes, agreed. But the thought of this laptop controlling our slow combustion, wood-fired stove for tea and toast is a little too much even for me. I have visions of my laptop growing arms and legs and hurling wood chips into the firebox. Seriously though, when I wrote the above, I was just thinking strictly of "thems as test the stuff" who can be easily overlooked.

Yeh, sorry it was just reviewers no new features so this is kinda boring comment that annoyed me, i love KDE itself, its a great desktop.

I don't think I'll ever go back to KDE, but it's now in a state where I can give it to non technical users who won't play around with the settings.

@tracyanne.......just off to mow the meadow before the afternoon thunderstorm hits. That's not a bad compliment for KDE4. Curious you should say that because I am just about to explore how KDE4's admin settings differ from KDE3.5.

Good luck with the mowing. I managed to get half an acre mowed over Friday and Saturday (we're on a acre) with the ride on, if it had been any worse I'd have got our friends husband in to do it, he does it for a living. The Goat has the other half acre, but can't keep up with the grass, so I have to mow there from time to time as well.

When we were having the discussion about KDE4 I checked out PCLInuxOS with KDE4.5.4, and from a usability view it was ok, so long as you didn't try to customise it, as I was attempting, but failed to do. So I reckon anyone who doesn't fiddle with things but uses their favourite applications only should have no trouble with KDE4... now.

For me it's still not a patch on GNOME. The irony is I once thought GNOME wasn't a patch on KDE, times change.