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COSMIC! This name has become increasingly popular in the open-source community over the past year, raising high expectations. Now, more than two years after System76 unexpectedly announced its bold plan to create a new desktop environment written in Rust programming language from scratch, users can finally try it out. And let me tell you, the wait was worth it.We recently tested the alpha version of COSMIC, and our initial thoughts can be summed up most briefly with this: it’s a game-changer! Above all, it is incredibly fast. And when I say fast, I don’t just mean fast – it’s fast...

Are you a newcomer to Linux? Not sure which Linux distribution to choose to begin your Linux journey? This article is for you!For the average PC user who has been using the established desktop operating systems such as Microsoft Windows and macOS, Linux can be somewhat confusing. Furthermore, the perception that Linux is mainly used by “pro” users and is “very complex” plays against it.Of course, neither of the preceding two statements is true. Linux is a complex operating system, just like any other. And, as always, it all depends on the individual.We’re all accustomed to working in our comfort...

"KDE Edition In continuation with what’s been done in the past, Linux Mint 18.3 will feature a KDE edition, but it will be the last release to do so."

Mint KDE 17 is finally released!

I came into work today and fired up Google Chrome, like on any other day. My Google home page usually displays the eight most frequently visited websites in icon/link form. The icon and link for Free Republic has always occupied the number one or two spot, depending on my frequency of visits. But today Chrome looked different. It wasn't just the new seasonal header image but that some of my frequently visited icon images have been replaced by some infrequently visited icon/links. I clicked on 'Do Not Show on This Page' option for these newbies and it replaced them with...

Release a day, or so, ago..

We've taken you through a tour of Window Managers in Linux, and now it's time to show you the Window Manager's bigger brother: the desktop environment, or DE for short. With a sea of choices out there, we can see where Linux newbies might feel a bit overwhelmed. Catch us after the break and we'll show you some of our favorites, along with a few honorable mentions. First things first: a desktop environment is an implementation of a graphical user interface commonly mimicking a physical desktop. Think about your grade school desktop on your computer screen, with folders, binders...

Semantic computing is the future of computing, and KDE4 has the only working implementation of a semantic desktop. If you want an example of where Linux and FOSS are taking the lead, this is a great one. KDE4 Semantic Desktop KDE4 has been flinging new technologies at us fast and furiously, many in the category of "semantic desktop." Semantic computing is the future of computing, and KDE4 has the only working implementation of a semantic desktop. The idea of a semantic Web has been kicking around for some years, and the semantic desktop is the same concept applied to the...

Have you experienced performance issues when using KDE? If so, then you aren't the only one. While things have been improving as KDE 4 matures, some users still have registered complaints. And one KDE hacker is trying to address them. Martin Gräßlin had begun working towards "rendering at 60 frames" per second. Gräßlin stated in a blog post today, "I could not imagine how a frame could take longer to render than the 16.67 msec." But after some thought he realized where a couple of bottlenecks may be hiding. In testing the effect chain performance, Gräßlin discovered a bug that...

KDE 4.2 "The Answer" has been released, which the K Desktop Environment community is confident will even be able to satisfy the needs of normal non-technical end-users.

I tried, I really did, to like KDE 4.2 I really didn't like the early versions of KDE 4. I then tried KDE 4.1. I hated it. I kept getting told by people that I just didn't get it. OK, I thought. Maybe I didn't get it. So, I gave the last KDE 4.2 beta and release candidate another try for a month on one of my openSUSE 11.1 desktops. Historically, SUSE and KDE developers work closely with each other, so openSUSE is a great distribution for any version of KDE. Well, they may work well together, but openSUSE with...

I want to start by telling a story. Bare with me. Once upon a time there was a software engineer. He wrote code, windows code, embedded firmware. He was happy. Then one day a new project is put before him, a project unlike any other he had encountered. It was going to require all new hardware, and the features, wow. Something like this is going to require a full blown Operating System not the usual rinky dink assembly program. Research leads to the inevitable conclusion, Linux. Further Research leads to a graphical toolkit called Qt A request was made and...

"The KDE desktop environment is going cross-platform with support for the Windows and Mac OS X operating systems. In addition to porting the core KDE libraries and applications, developers are also porting popular KDE-based software like the Amarok audio player and the KOffice productivity suite. New KDE binaries for Windows were released yesterday and are now available from KDE mirrors through an automated installer program. The Mac OS X port is made available via BitTorrent in universal binary format."

The KDE Community is thrilled to announce the immediate availability of KDE 4.0. This significant release marks both the end of the long and intensive development cycle leading up to KDE 4.0 and the beginning of the KDE 4 era.

KDE 4.0 Released FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE KDE Project Ships Fourth Major Version of cutting edge Free Software Desktop With the fourth major version, the KDE Community marks the beginning of the KDE 4 era. January 11, 2008 (The INTERNET). The KDE Community is thrilled to announce the immediate availability of KDE 4.0. This significant release marks both the end of the long and intensive development cycle leading up to KDE 4.0 and the beginning of the KDE 4 era. The KDE 4.0 desktop The KDE 4 Libraries have seen major improvements in almost all areas. The Phonon multimedia framework provides...

Although the release candidate has many rough edges and is significantly lacking in polish, the underlying technologies are all in place and deliver some very impressive functionality. KDE 4 offers some unique architectural advantages over its predecessor.

The KDE Community is happy to release the third Beta for KDE 4.0. This Beta is aimed at further polishing of the KDE codebase and also marks the freeze of the KDE Development Platform. We are joined in this release by the KOffice project which releases its 4th alpha release, bringing many improvements in OpenDocument support, a KChart Flake shape and much more to those willing to test. Since the last Beta, most of KDE has been frozen for new features, instead receiving the necessary polish and bugfixing. The components which were exempt from this freeze saw significant improvements as...

I've been following KDE 4 development very closely for quite a while and have noticed several neat features that have been independently cropping up all over the system in the last year. Perhaps it is the emergence of the new visual themes that make it feel fresh and new, but I get the feeling from this build that I'm finally starting to see the big picture.

August 2, 2007 (The INTERNET). The KDE Community is happy to announce the immediate availability of the first Beta release for KDE 4.0. This release marks the beginning of the integration process which will bring the powerful new technologies included in the now frozen KDE 4 libraries to the applications.

Dear Apple, the first 30 years were only the beginning, or so you say. You're poised to make HUGE inroads this year, with some sources saying you're going to claim up to 20% of laptop sales on college campuses. You're also going to sell a ridiculous number of iPods again, an obscene number of tracks on iTunes, and very likely a substantial number of iPhones and iTVs if, in fact, they show up soon. Let me tell you what you really ought to do then, and quickly: port Safari to Windows. Read on, I'll tell you why.