KDE 4.2: Usability Makes a Comeback

[ Thanks to Jmaguire for this link. ]

"Customization isn't the whole story in KDE 4.2, of course. Developers may appreciate the new support for writing desktop widgets in Ruby and Python. Average users can find all sorts of enhancements in individual applications, from the ability to open tabs in the Dolphin file-manager to the ability to use Vi keybindings in the Kate editor, and the addition of PowerDevil for power management, especially on laptops.

"All users, too, can appreciate the wealth of new applets, such as the Blue Marble Globe or RRSNow. There is even Bball, a red bouncing ball for the desktop that fulfills the apparent obligation for GNU/Linux desktops to have at least one useless widget.

"But even these changes -- which easily run into the hundreds, if not thousands -- are usually aimed at letting users work in their own way. And nowhere is this tendency more obvious than in the general desktop options. Although usability began to creep back in with the 4.1 release last summer, with 4.2, concern with usability has become the dominant theme, with new configuration options to FolderView, Krunner, and the various sections of the panel."

Complete Story

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