Linked by Thom Holwerda on Wed 11th Jul 2007 21:15 UTC, submitted by Johan Thelin
A quick look at the state of KDE 4, including screenshots. "Over all, KDE 4 alpha 2, was a pleasant experience. Not much worked on a user level, but large parts of the underlaying infrastructure seems to be in place. I'm looking forward to the more releases and the final version due in October."
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Member since:2005-07-06
Well, at the very least Dolphin and the new replacement for KControl seem to be big improvements usability-wise. Other apps will likely improve more over time. I, like you, fear that some of the finer aspects of for instance the control panel applets will be rushed. Not that UI layout issues couldn't be fixed later, just that they tend not to be after a product comes out of beta.
On the whole, though, time will tell. The good thing is that we have a fresh start, and even after the 4.0 release there will still be plenty of room for feedback and improvements. Just stay positive and keep bugging the developers if something seems out of whack to you; hopefully they will listen!
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Member since:
2005-06-30
Actually, I am not pleading for a change from the WIMP paradigm, but rather for better usability. It's not just a question of paint job : it's trying to fit everything together harmoniously for making it pleasant to use. Basically, trying to adapt feng shui for human interfaces.
Unfortunately, it takes quite a lot of time and resources to get it right. Even though a better HIG is a stated goal for KDE 4, it's going to be a tough job to finish it and implement the recommendations in just a few months if nothing has been done yet.
That wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't the weakest area of KDE (IMO, anyway). I would definitely welcome all the customisation features and the rather brilliant framework if most apps didn't look like a pretty bad mess.
Now, I am well aware the developers can do whatever they want, I would just be disappointed if nothing was done on the usability front, especially if I'm coming back (probably soon; I definitely like Qt)...