The KDE community announced version 4.8 of its
desktop environment and software bundle for Linux, featuring improved,
adaptive power management and new windowing functions. KDE 4.8 is faster
and more stable, and offers new features like Qt Quick-based Plasma
widgets and the KDE Telepathy real-time communication and collaboration
framework, says the community.
KDE 4.8 follows up on KDE 4.7,
which arrived in early August around the same time Linus Torvalds
called for a fork of GNOME 3.0. We have yet to see evidence that
GNOME's troubles, or the flack over Ubuntu's Unity UI layer, have given a
major boost to the number two desktop environment. And yet, KDE
continues to present itself as a plausible alternative.
The new 4.8 release continues in the KDE tradition of providing
appealing visual quality while also adding "new features, improved
stability, and increased performance," according to the community.
KDE 4.8
(Click to enlarge)
KDE 4.8 offers an enhanced version of KDE's
Plasma Workspaces
UI environment, available in desktop and netbook versions. Plasma's
Window Switcher now supplies six Alt-Tab shortcut layouts, and the KWin
window manager and compositor has been revamped for better performance,
says the KDE community.
The other big Plasma enhancement is a redesigned power management
function. A revised UI offers three presets, and under the hood,
adaptive technology adapts to the user's current activity. For example,
power settings can be set to never dim or never turn off the screen in a
Photos or Video Activity, says the project.
Other new Plasma features are said to include better integration with KDE Activities, and the arrival of several
Qt Quick based Plasma widgets in the default installation of Plasma Desktop.
KDE 4.8 Plasma window switcher (left) and adaptive power management settings
(Click on either to enlarge)
The 4.8 release also updates the desktop's bundle of
KDE applications,
including a new version of the Dolphin file manager with an updated
display engine, says the project. There are also said to be enhanced
versions of the Kate text editor and Gwenview image viewer.
The KDE Telepathy real-time communication and collaboration IM
framework is now available in a beta version, and the Marble virtual
globe adds features like elevation profile, satellite tracking, and
integration of the
Krunner search/launch tool.
The foundational
KDE Platform,
meanwhile, offers stability improvements and bug fixes, as well as new
tools for building touch-friendly user interfaces, says the KDE
community. In addition, the KDE Platform is said to integrate with other
systems' password saving mechanisms, and it adds support for the
aforementioned KDE Telepathy framework.
Availability
KDE 4.8 is available for free download, says the KDE community. More information may be found in this
KDE 4.8 announcement and
KDE 4.8 download page.
Eric Brown can be reached at eric.brown@ziffdavisenterprise.com.
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