“Earlier in the week, I conducted a lengthy phone interview with Aaron Seigo about the Open Source Desktop Workshop being held in San Diego on October 13th and 14th. Fast approaching, we discuss the workshop’s inception, target audience and expectations.”
Sounds like it’s more the KDE/Qt desktop workshop …
Yes, its just a KDE/Qt workshop not an Open Source Desktop Workshop.
KDE/Qt is an Open Source Desktop. And they are giving Workshops. Therefore the name is apt.
Man, GNOME fanboys sure are cry babies.
I’m not denying that KDE/Qt are open source (more restricted though) but they do not represent the *whole* of open source desktops, which the name implies, as compared to e.g. freedesktop.org
Shut up you Jew…
more restricted? how so? qt is under the gpl but can be licenced for closed source development if someone wants to.
how is that more restricted?
or are you just trying to ignite flames?
more restricted? how so? qt is under the gpl but can be licenced for closed source development if someone wants to.
Yes, the Qt license is restrictive.
but it does not effect the KDE project one bit as its open source and therefor its the GPL that covers Qt for them.
qt is basicly dual licenced and so are a lot of other stuff out there that people are using and i dont recall seeing anyone complain about those. but then i cant say i have looked hard either…
more restricted? how so? qt is under the gpl but can be licenced for closed source development
In fact you *have* to licence Qt if you want to release on windows, I’d call that a restriction, though I beleive it will be changing with Qt4 …
I’m afraid KDE will always have a hard job shrugging off the initial Qt legacy.
I accept that as a cross-platform toolkit Qt is good, but I’ve seen equally good apps build on wxWidgets (talking about apps that actually are available on multiple platforms) I can’t speak for the relative ease of development of those apps though.
or are you just trying to ignite flames?
Yes. Yes he is.
and sadly i helped in faning them…
…but they do not represent the *whole* of open source desktops, which the name implies, as compared to e.g. freedesktop.org
I don’t recall Freedesktop being the representative of any open source desktops.
Nope. From the interview they are going to discuss other development options like GTK as well, but it is going to have a slant on KDE/Qt obviously, especially when it talks about porting of existing Windows applications. No other set of development tools has the infrastructure to do that apart from Qt.
And as for the OSDW acronym, it was considered that talking in simple terms of an Open Source Desktop (which is what KDE is) would give it more exposure and keep it simple for people. It’s a bit like where some of the Gnome people have described everything they do as being a part of the Linux desktop. Some people may consider that to be jumping the gun, but it is nevertheless, somewhat accurate. Gnome is a Linux desktop (but it is not the Linux desktop).
This is a response to the desktop conference in Ottawa(I think) where the KDE developers didn’t like the Gnome/Freedesktop theme, and also the problem that KDE doesn’t have many North American developers.
This is a response to the desktop conference in Ottawa(I think) where the KDE developers didn’t like the Gnome/Freedesktop theme, and also the problem that KDE doesn’t have many North American developers.
No, I think it’s just that there are so few KDE oriented events in North America. Some people liked the Ottawa conference, some people didn’t, and I daresay if a Gnome developer attends San Diego he/she isn’t going to feel totally comfortable with everything there. C’est la vie.
Do people find that GNOME is more widely used in the USA whereas KDE is more popular in the UK and Europe? I would be interested to know, as I live in Australia, which seems to lean more heavily towards KDE.
Do you think that this is because SuSE and Mandrake were traditionally KDE-oriented desktops whereas Red Hat was GNOME? Does geography matter when developing distros for their subsequent popularity?
In Australia, Mandrake seems to be the most popular distro (no statistics, just my impression) due to its heavy promotion on magazines.
Do people find that GNOME is more widely used in the USA whereas KDE is more popular in the UK and Europe? I would be interested to know, as I live in Australia, which seems to lean more heavily towards KDE.
I’m from the UK and from what I’ve seen agree with you.
“Do people find that GNOME is more widely used in the USA whereas KDE is more popular in the UK and Europe? I would be interested to know, as I live in Australia, which seems to lean more heavily towards KDE.”
“I’m from the UK and from what I’ve seen agree with you.”
I’m from Kanada and it’s mostly KDE here– I think GNOME has more developers from the US, and a louder voice in English language sites, but I suspect KDE has a bigger % of the English speaking user base.
This is purely from personal observations about hobbyist users. I imagine cooperate desktop deployments would be skewed toward GNOME (Red Hat & Sun).
This is purely from personal observations about hobbyist users. I imagine cooperate desktop deployments would be skewed toward GNOME (Red Hat & Sun).
I’m only aware of hobbyist users and people in businesses going out and using the desktop software available to them to their advantage (and good for them), and it is always KDE here in the UK. The only time I see Gnome is when someone uses Red Hat on a server because that’s what it comes with. Absolute honesty there.
I’m not aware of any real corporate deployments of any desktop (despite some peoples’ protestations to the contrary for about five years) other than KDE in Munich, unless you count existing Unix workstations being replaced.
and not really a KDE thing, but KDE doesn’t have an XFCE of its own where people that want a KDE-lite can play around.
just install kdelibs+kdebase and nothing else.
Geez, why does every thread where KDE is mentioned end up with a “Qt is not free” argument? Just leave it and discuss the topic.
Mister Seigo, will these workshops transcribed to pdf or something?
You know for people like me who would like to lear about Qt/KDE programing but cannot go to the workskops.
Will the pros and cons of the Qt license be addressed?
Why don’t you try using the link in the article blurb, pointing at OSDW and read it yourself. You find a nice summary of the different topics in the Workshop Schedule page.
Oh, ok. thanks for the information. I hope they’ll address the Qt license then.
> I hope they’ll address the Qt license then.
No, but the obvious fact that Microsoft will probably sue you for patent infringement if you use Mono will be one of the main topics.
…yes, that’s counter-trolling.
OK, 2 new rules:
1) Remember the old BBS rule, that got carried somewhat forward to forums? The one where if you mention Nazis you automatically lose the argument. Well, from now on if you mention a licence that is off-topic to the story at hand you loose.
2) If the Qt license (being GPLed) bugs you that bad. Go here: http://kdemyths.urbanlizard.com/ It’s the KDE myths web site. Feel free to read it. Otherwise just email the maintainers and bug them for a wile… I’m sure they’d love to play whack-a-troll with you guys.
Just don’t make the rest of us read your bloody inane comments of every Qt / KDE story…
there was an article on /. today about koffice and well i saw a very rude response from a supposed koffice developer.
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=163348&cid=13646636
im new to linux and im thinkin about using kde but well i dont know if im going to now after seein that comment. i dont want to be insulted like that if ive got a question thats maybe easy.
Hi CyricZ,
I wanted you to know that there’s no “kde management”. Oh, and btw: having read the whole thread, I think the reply you received was too kind.
I agree.
im new to linux and im thinkin about using kde but well i dont know if im going to now after seein that comment. i dont want to be insulted like that if ive got a question thats maybe easy.
If you get affronted by every comment that someone makes then you’re going to be changing your software rather a lot, aren’t you? You’re also pointing to a flamewar on Slashdot, so that doesn’t lend you any credibility either. You also haven’t read the crap he was replying to either, have you? And it really is crap as well:
http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=163348&threshold=1&commentso…
http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=163348&threshold=1&commentso…
http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=163348&threshold=1&commentso…
Lame try.
Looking at your comments, you seem to be fairly predisposed against KDE and KOffice. No, they didn’t meet the target they thought they would; lots of things don’t. You seem to want a fully functional, stable suite AND you want it now… Those two things are kinda contradictory when the KOffice people aren’t done yet.
> No, they didn’t meet the target they thought they would;
What are you talking about? The thread on Slashdot was about something in the future. How can you say they didn’t meet that target when it’s one year away? What brand is your time machine?
It’s only KDE/Qt at the moment ebcause no one wants to represent GNOME. Give it time. There will be more in the future.
i’ve replied to this same inaccurate statement once before on this board. but hey, nothing’s more fun than repeating yourself, right?
preparation for OSDW started MONTHS ahead of the DLC which makes it impossible for it to have been a “reaction”. and my position on the DLC event was neutral at worst; seeing as i’ve been the primary sculptor and motivator behind OSDW think that pretty much says it all. =)
> will these workshops transcribed to pdf or
> something
we will be posting slides from the talks, yes. over time i hope to accrue, and make available from osdw.org, a large assortment of information on topics as presented @ OSDW events.
(and btw, just “Aaron” is fine; “mister” is way too stuffy for me =)
No, but the obvious fact that Microsoft will probably sue you for patent infringement if you use Mono will be one of the main topics.
The mono licenses are fine. It’s Qt that is viral.
> The mono licenses are fine. It’s Qt that is viral.
Yawn. You don’t get it, do you? Go away.
I have an idea. Why not create a tour? Trolltech and any other interested commercial open source desktop supporters should sponsor a ~10-stop world tour where experienced OSS developers from each geographical region accompany a core group of key presenters in exposing the world to OSS development. Summer 2006 would be a good time to do this.
The key is to capitalize on the hype, turn awareness into involvement.
One more idea to facilitate involvement is to set up a foundation for acrediting substantial contributions to OSS projects. I think more young developers would participate if they understood that contributing could help jumpstart their careers. The participants in the Google Summer or Code have an incredible line on their resumes, for example. Everyone who contributes their hard work should receive this kind of recognition.
> Why not create a tour?
that is pretty much exactly the idea behind OSDW. we won’t be doing it all in one summer, as that’s not within the realm of reason right now (where “reason” is defined by what i and my co-conspirators can handle at any one time)
in 2006 the goal is to have 4 events around north america, one in new zealand (linux conf australia) and a few in europe.
it’s not the whirlwind tour you’re suggesting, but it’s a plan that we can achieve. as things grow, however ….. who knows. maybe 2007 will be a 10-show-in-2-months tour =)