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KDE4 Functionality

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brando56894

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Wednesday, July 30th 2008, 5:19pm

KDE4 Functionality

First off I would like to say that I love KDE and have been using it for many years and my comments aren't meant to bash KDE 4.1 but more to offer constructive criticism.

When KDE 4 first came out I couldn't wait to install it and see how it looked, I installed it and was let down like most people were. I anxiously awaited KDE 4.1 and installed it yesterday, I love the way it looks and they way it performs but the functionality (read as ease of use) of it is crap.

I've had it installed for about 12 hours and I've been through all of the settings and I still cant figure out how to change the clock from 24 hour format to 12 hour format! Simple things like this aggravate me, switching from KDE 3.5.9 to KDE 4.1 feels like I'm switching from Windows XP to Windows Vista.

Other simple things that were easy to do in KDE 3.5.9 but I cant seem to figure out how do are the following: Create a new item on the desktop, rename a file, figure out where the desktop directory for KDE 4 is (i have about 5 icons on my desktop in KDE 3 yet they dont appear on my desktop in KDE 4), and use widgets that were downloaded by the widget installer (obviously this wasnt possible in KDE 3).

I sincerely hope the developers take notice of this since ease of use should be the first thing before performance (well maybe ease of use and performance should both be the major things to take care of first) and looks.

neverendingo

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Wednesday, July 30th 2008, 5:42pm

You are right about these points. Be sure that these will be handled, there is ongoing activity on this.

But for your Desktop icons point: Did you already noticed the Folderview plasmoid? If not, try it, maybe it fits your needs.

brando56894

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Wednesday, July 30th 2008, 7:03pm

I didnt try it out until now, its useful but I still feel it should be in the context menu like it was before.

jetpeach

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Wednesday, July 30th 2008, 9:56pm

noto change the clock to 12 hour time, in the systemsettings use the regional configuration icon and change the time format globally. agreed, this could be easier...i'm sure it will happen in time

now that i've adjusted to the idea of the new desktop (not being a folder anymore, but more a posterboard to stick links, images, notes and such on, i'm truly loving it. pictures of my cat automatically rotate in one widget on the top left, then 2 other widgets show my desktop folder and home directory. it's truly great to have the icons from my home directory on the desktop, i actually use it more than the desktop folder anyway, so its great to have on the desktop as well as all the other goodies.

with big changes in user interface, some kinks need working out, but overall this is going to be awesome. 4.1 has been such a gigantic improvement over 4.0 too, if progress continues like this, i'll be even more delighted!
jetpeach
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jamesronan

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Thursday, July 31st 2008, 10:22am

RE: KDE4 Functionality

Quoted from "brando56894"

First off I would like to say that I love KDE and have been using it for many years and my comments aren't meant to bash KDE 4.1 but more to offer constructive criticism.

When KDE 4 first came out I couldn't wait to install it and see how it looked, I installed it and was let down like most people were. I anxiously awaited KDE 4.1 and installed it yesterday, I love the way it looks and they way it performs but the functionality (read as ease of use) of it is crap.

I've had it installed for about 12 hours and I've been through all of the settings and I still cant figure out how to change the clock from 24 hour format to 12 hour format! Simple things like this aggravate me, switching from KDE 3.5.9 to KDE 4.1 feels like I'm switching from Windows XP to Windows Vista.

Other simple things that were easy to do in KDE 3.5.9 but I cant seem to figure out how do are the following: Create a new item on the desktop, rename a file, figure out where the desktop directory for KDE 4 is (i have about 5 icons on my desktop in KDE 3 yet they dont appear on my desktop in KDE 4), and use widgets that were downloaded by the widget installer (obviously this wasnt possible in KDE 3).

I sincerely hope the developers take notice of this since ease of use should be the first thing before performance (well maybe ease of use and performance should both be the major things to take care of first) and looks.
I agree, Its the simple things that KDE was brilliant for that seem to have been forgotten, and have ben lost as a result of the new look and feel (which I think looks great btw).

A few of my gripes: Switching Desktops with the mouse wheel; Where has this gone? Has it been moved or does it not work at all anymore? Mouse context menus; I liked the ability to have my own list of frequently used programs (and xterms) in a user defined context menu (namely middle mouse click). Has this been sacrificed to the graphics gods as well or has it just moved?

If anyone can point me in the direction of how to sort these thing if they do still exist somewhere, i'd be grateful as I really want to move forward with the new KDE, but currently its annoying that it doesn't work the way we've all come to know and love.

Cheers,
JamesR

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