KDE 4.4 'Caikaku' released, complete with netbook trimmings
By Donald Melanson 
posted February 10th 2010 1:06PM
posted February 10th 2010 1:06PM
KDE might not be on the radar of everyone that jumped into the Linux game with Ubuntu, but that might change a bit with the release of KDE Software Compilation 4.4 (a.k.a "Caikaku"), which looks to add considerably more than some tweaks and a bit of polish. That includes a range of built-in social network features and, perhaps most notably, a Plasma Netbook component that's specifically designed for "ergonomic use on netbooks and smaller notebooks." Otherwise, you can expect to see some improved window management features, a new Desktop Search, and, of course, plenty of other minor improvements and bug fixes (7,293, to be exact). Hit up the link below for the complete overview, and the necessary download links to get started.
[Thanks, Madman]
[Thanks, Madman]
Comparing KDE to Ubuntu doesn't make sense. Although Ubuntu by default ships with Gnome, you're comparing a linux GUI to a linux distribution.
Check your nerds, engadget.
@Drew
maybe he meant kubuntu?
@Drew: Yeah, I'm always a little disappointed how Engadget writes anything about Linux (apart from Android). At least I know about KDE 4.4 though.
@Drew Next headline: "Apple might not be doing as well as the iPhone."
@Drew hey, do you want the comments shut again ;)
@Drew
+1
xfce is mo-betta.
@7egend
openbox FTW
@Drew I don't think the article compares Ububtu to KDE. I think it means that most people think of Ubuntu and its Gnome desktop when they think of Linux and don't know about the other available desktop environments.
@ChrisSsk
The writer of this article (Donald) changed the wording of the sentence in question after I posted my comment to make it more ambiguous. Before he was directly comparing KDE to Ubuntu.
@Drew 'KDE might not be on the radar of everyone that jumped into the Linux game with Ubuntu,...'
The author is implying that because Ubuntu ships with Gnome as its default GUI, KDE may not be familiar to everyone.
Reading comprehension 101.
@clockwork
I use Openbox most of the time, too :). Although I find myself using XMonad for some nice dynamic tiling action more and more often.
The nice thing about Linux is that you don't have to limit yourself to one single way of doing things...
@dcarpenter85
Read All Follow-Up Comments Before Posting 101
@Drew Ah-hem, that's a GNU/Linux distro. ;)
@Drew It is simply stating that people who entered the linux world with ubuntu might not know about KDE because ubuntu defaults to gnome. It is not comparing the two at all.
Check your grammar handbook Drew :)
@marsmissions
As I stated before, the author of this post changed the wording. My comment lacks relevance now and your point is valid every since he changed it.
Already looks like a dated interface. Windows 7 really upped the design and productivity game.
@(Unverified)
Answer this dude, have you even tried Kubuntu 9.10? I have both Kubuntu 9.10 and Windows 7 installed and although Windows 7 has the edge in the UI, you won't notice much of a difference in Kubuntu 9.10.
And Engadget, you are a Gadget site, but you still reviewed, sort of, Mac OSX and Windows 7. Could you just give a hands-on on Kubuntu 9.10? Would go a long way in spreading out the word. If you do so, make sure the proprietary Graphics driver is installed and just try to have a feel of the UI.
Hmmm.. but I already know that I got carried away and its just wishful thinking that Engadget would do so.
@vvnraman I like desktop linux a lot (Mint being my favorite), but even between KDE or GNOME or XFE they all still lack polish. Particularly the fonts, I have never liked the fonts that must distros use and I have to go out of my way to fix them.
@(Unverified) You are forgetting the price point which is ZERO.
Plus this thing comes with KWin, those floating windows and animations that every one thinks its so cool for 15 minutes, which is an added plus...
And hey, windows xp is still out there... Very outdated and used by millions.
@(Unverified) When comparing it against a newer copy, an original tends to look dated indeed.
Although in the case of KDE, and Windows7 et al, I am at a loss as to how wasting over one quarter of the pixels in the screen with window decorations and borders the size of an aircraft carrier, can be construed as increased "productivity." Unless it refers to the productivity of screen manufacturers getting to sell you bigger and bigger screen to basically do the same thing you were doing with the smaller monitor not that long ago.
@(Unverified)
Windows 7 feels like a gigantic toy. "Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away"
@magic6435
Agreed, but with a few settings tweaks you can make it feel really lean and smart :)
@vvnraman
If there's people at Engadget who use Linux alongside other OSes, then i'm all for a review. i wouldn't want an Engadget review from someone who tried out a LiveCD of Ubuntu and messed with a few netbooks running Linux to write a review. Pardon my ignorance, Engadget writers, but i'm afraid an Engadget review would be closer to the latter.
@tterremmotto KDE comes with very small borders by default, and they can be removed completely if you want - replaced by a drag-handle on the bottom-right of windows.
Just as... caikaku?
I just got it, it is actually very good. Although I do recommend downloading an alternative font (Lucida Grande which is used on OS X) and using that.
@Rambor im thinking about replacing Ubuntu on my netbook. what distro are you running? Ubuntu is really all i know (not that i know it very well at all) and im looking to branch out. any suggestions?
@kojo87
If you want KDE I recommend either Arch+Kdemod (since you are pretty new to Linux only try this if you have 2-3 hours free and you are willing to learn a LOT about the way Linux works) or go with OpenSuse and upgrading to Kde4.4.
Just remember that while Ubuntu is a very good operating system for Gnome, for KDE it does seem lacking.
The best thing about Linux is that if you don't like the one you are using you can simply download a different one.
@kojo87
Just thought I would add, you might want to look into separating your /home folder into a different partition, this will allow you to install new distros without losing your data/documents. Some distros might be a little harder to set up with a separate home folder though so remember to use google when you need it.
@kojo87 I strongly recommend using openSuSE 11.2 if you want to use KDE4. It is a very polished distro, very stable, and a great community. Of course you'll have to update KDE if you want 4.4 but it's well worth it. Best distro I have used ever and I tried over 25 distros.
Apparently, Kubuntu is not as stable as openSuSE when running KDE. It's one of the rare "major" distros I have not tried because I like openSuSE so I have slowed down the testing process.
openSuSE is also backed up by Novell which is a nice company and they fund openSuSE in order to make it stable and sell it as SuSE to companies by adding customer support.
@kojo87 Debian.
Debian is the answer to anything. Any question.
@Rambor i used SUSE a while back (i think it was 10.1 and i am pretty sure i have the 5 installation CDs around here somewhere lol) and remember liking it. of course i was an idiot and installed it to an external HDD connected to my laptop and was super confused when i could not boot Linux or Windows while the HDD was connected. took me a month to figure out. i've always been pretty interested in Linux but never had a dedicated machine or got very good at using it. i will try SUSE agin. thank you for the tip! i forgot all about SUSE!
@kojo87, if you want a taste of both worlds, GNOME and KDE (and Xfc), I'd recommend Fedora Core. Yes, it's not as polished as Ubuntu, and not as KDE-centric as openSUSE, but I find it quite satisfactory when it comes to everyday usage.
you had me at " 20:34
why do most linux distros look the the same with a few different features?
@OCEAN CLAK
I agree. They all look like they were designed by programmers rather than designers. Much like early versions of Windows.
@OCEAN CLAK It's called opensource...
@OCEAN CLAK That is sort of like asking why does Windows 7 sort of look like WIndows Server 8 R2. They share a common desktop environment.
Most Linux distributions use GNOME, KDE XFCE, or LXDE desktops with a different theme. So, there will be similarities if they use the same desktop environment.
@OCEAN CLAK Don't judge a book by its cover. Don't judge an OS by its theme.
Plus, just go to gnome-look, kde-look or xfce-look and download whichever theme you like. There are thousands of themes there. I never stick to the default theme. Every time I make a fresh install, I always replace the default theme with the one I always use anyways.
Desktop environments like Gnome, KDE and Xfce are highly customizable. You can make it pretty much whichever way you like. I have my own customization, which is significantly different from the default one.
@initialxy
@Clak
The beauty of Linux is that it is infinitely customizable, it mops the floor with Windows and Mac when it comes to user interface.
http://www.linuxhaxor.net/?p=1030
http://www.smashingtips.com/30-gnome-linux-ubuntu-desktop-themes
http://www.webupd8.org/2009/09/12-gnome-ubuntu-themes-recently-updated.html
Just a few examples...
I still feel that much of KDE4's look and feel is "cheap". For instance, those fonts. There are some very nice free fonts out there, and they are still using those by default?
I'm also not a fan of the Window decorations. There are some very nice custom themes available for various OS's on deviantART which, IMO, blow this UI away. By version 4.4, they should have made more improvements to it.
At least in this version, they made the blue glow around the active window more prominent, so that the difference between active and inactive windows are more distinguishable.
All in all, KDE4 is not ugly. However, by this stage in its development, I would expect it to look better.
@Mikee Whaa?
Well, the fonts used are subjective - but the rest feels incredibly polished, even compared to Windows, I think.
@Mikee Are you nuts? The default KDE widget style and window decoration (Oxygen) and plasma theme (Air) looks *much* nicer than the default of any other window manager/desktop environment except OS X's. Any distro's default gnome theme is nearly completely hideous in comparison and Windows 7's window decoration is blechhhh! (There's a limit to the visual appeal of translucency.) That said, I actually prefer 4.3.x's window decoration to 4.4's (I like the repressed button look more), nor am I much of a fan of the excessive window shadows on active windows.
And what's wrong with DejaVu as a font? Looks great to me and I've tried a good number of fonts!
KDE became so bloated after 4.0, I have personally chosen to stick to XFCE.
@Eternity I know, but I'm an XFCE fan, so what do I know.
From where I see it, take KDE, toss a linux kernel and busybox, and you have a full OS already. Bloated indeed.
I cruise with Awesome as my WM atop of Debian. If you're using a netbook you shouldn't really be using any DE, period.
Many of the current Linux users use the terminal for just about everything. This is why you see such a date appearance. If KDE was interested in drawing in converters, it would be smart for them to make a more aesthetically pleasing interface. However, they would risk losing the users they already have. Either way, I'm waiting for Gnome 3.0.
KDE was almost perfect at 3.3. It had Gnome beaten in features, design, and usability. KDE 4 with Plasma was designed to be the next Big Thing, mind-bending, awesome, groundbreaking, beautiful,and intuitive.
What happened?!
@kuyman Tell me about it. Since 6.06, I'd preferred Kubuntu to Ubuntu. Kubuntu 8.04 was probably the best Linux distro I'd used. Kubuntu's been worthless since dumping KDE 3 for KDE 4. Ubuntu 9.10's gone a long way toward delivering a GNOME-based distro that I actually like, but I long for the days when KDE was a no-brainer for me.
Wow. Just when I was nostalgic for Windows 3.1. And it's free!