[dot] The Start of Something Amazing with KDE 4.0 Release

[Dot Stories]

URL: http://dot.kde.org/1200050369/

From: Sebastian Kuegler <sebas at kde.org>
Dept: a-ppeal-coming-true
Date: Friday 11/Jan/2008, @03:19

The Start of Something Amazing with KDE 4.0 Release
===================================================

      Several years of design, development and testing came together
today for the release of KDE 4.0
[http://www.kde.org/announcements/4.0/]. This is our most significant
release in our 11 year history and marks both the end of the long and
intensive development cycle leading up to KDE 4.0 and the start of the
KDE 4 era.  Join us now in #kde4-release-party on Freenode to celebrate
or come to the release event [http://www.kde.org/kde-4.0-release-event/]
in person next week.  Packages are available for all the major
distributions with live CDs available currently from Kubuntu and
openSUSE.  Read on for details or take the KDE 4.0 Visual Guide
[http://www.kde.org/announcements/4.0/guide.php] to find your way
around.
  The KDE 4.0 desktop
     The KDE 4 Libraries have seen major improvements in almost all
areas. The Phonon multimedia framework provides platform independent
multimedia support to all KDE applications, the Solid hardware
integration framework makes interacting with (removable) devices easier
and provides tools for better powermanagement.

     The KDE 4 Desktop has gained some major new capabilities. The
Plasma desktop shell offers a new desktop interface, including panel,
menu and widgets on the desktop as well as a dashboard function. KWin,
the KDE Window manager, now supports advanced graphical effects to ease
interaction with your windows.

     Lots of KDE Applications have seen improvements as well. Visual
updates through vector-based artwork, changes in the underlying
libraries, user interface enhancements, new features, even new
applications -- you name it, KDE 4.0 has it. Okular, the new document
viewer and Dolphin, the new filemanager are only two applications that
leverage KDE 4.0's new technologies.


      The Oxygen Artwork team provides a breath of fresh air on the
desktop. Nearly all user-visible parts of the KDE desktop and
applications have been given a facelift. Beauty and consistency are two
of the basic concepts behind Oxygen.

     Distributions known to have packages:

    *  An alpha version of KDE4-based Arklinux 2008.1
      is expected shortly after this release, with an expected final
      release within 3 or 4 weeks.
    *  Debian KDE 4.0 packages are available in the
      experimental branch. The KDE Development Platform will even make
      it into Lenny. Watch for announcements by the Debian KDE
      Team [http://pkg-kde.alioth.debian.org/].
    *  Fedora will feature KDE 4.0 in Fedora 9, to be
      released [http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Releases/9] in April, with
      Alpha releases being available from 24th of January.  KDE 4.0
      packages are in the pre-alpha Rawhide
      [http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Releases/Rawhide] repository.
    *  Gentoo Linux provides KDE 4.0 builds on
      http://kde.gentoo.org [http://kde.gentoo.org].
    *  Kubuntu packages are included in the upcoming
      "Hardy Heron" (8.04) and also made available as updates for the
      stable "Gutsy Gibbon" (7.10). A Live CD is available for trying
      out KDE 4.0. More details can be found in  the  announcement on
      kubuntu.org [http://kubuntu.org/announcements/kde-4.0.php].
    *  Mandriva will provide packages for 2008.0
      [http://download.kde.org/binarydownload.html?url=/stable/4.0.0/Man
      driva/]
       and aims at producing a Live CD with the latest snapshot of
      2008.1.
    *  openSUSE packages are available
      [http://en.opensuse.org/KDE/KDE4] for openSUSE 10.3 ( one-click
      install)
      [http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/KDE:/KDE4/openSUSE_10.3
      /KDE4-BASIS.ymp],
       openSUSE Factory ( one-click install
      [http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/KDE:/KDE4/openSUSE_Fact
      ory/KDE4-BASIS.ymp])
       and openSUSE 10.2. A KDE Four Live CD
      [http://home.kde.org/~binner/kde-four-live/] with these packages
      is also available. KDE 4.0 will be part of the upcoming openSUSE
      11.0 release.

     Thanks to the coders, artists, usability experts, testers, bug
triagers and many more who have made this release the start of something
amazing.  Tell us what you think on this 4.0 feedback page.
 [http://wiki.kde.org/tiki-index.php?page=KDE+4.0+Feedback]