KDE 4.5 Released
By Michael Marr
Expert Author
Article Date: 2010-08-11
Yesterday, KDE released versions 4.5 of its various platforms. These releases include over 16,022 fixed bugs and 1,723 new features. Despite 17,000+ changes, nothing will stand out as surprisingly different from KDE 4.4. The KDE team focused on stability and improvement in this release.
For those who are unfamiliar with KDE, there are three different platform versions offered: Development, Desktop, and Netbook. Each platform is configured and tweaked for optimal use for developers, regular users, and netbooks, respectively. This announcement release also discussed the focus on providing a mobile platform of KDE.
The biggest news on the Development Platform front is the addition of a WebKit library. Konqueror now uses Webkit for various features, providing integration across browsers.
In the Desktop and Netbook platforms (and also included in the Development Platform), the notification area is likely the most noticeable improvement in KDE 4.5. All the notifications are displayed in a consistent manner and location.
An interesting new feature from an Admin's/Manufacturer's point of view is the built-in ability to control what GUI effects are available in the system. This is encouraging for administrators and/or computer manufacturers that could legitimately worry about deploying/selling a Linux distribution when a user could potentially turn on too many or too graphic intensive desktop effects. These graphic effects severely hinder system performance when an adequate video card is not available.
The suite of KDE applications has also been updated. Kajongg, a Mahjongg style game, has been added to the list of games. Most of the other KDE games have received some updates and interface improvements.
KDE's map application, Marble, has added the ability to download your map/route before leaving on a trip. This is a surprisingly good idea that is lacking from many map applications.
As mentioned by the KDE development team, there are no major updates or changes in KDE 4.5. However, a lot of minor improvements and fixes can certainly go a long way in creating a better experience.
About the Author:
Michael Marr is a IT staff Writer for WebProNews.
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