KDE developers George Staikos and Aaron J. Seigo joined in “The Linux Show“. The archived version of the show is now available for download.
The KDE Desktop on The Linux Show
About The Author
Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
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They gave a lot of details in all of their answers, seemed very enthusiastic and talked about many subjects. It’s always nice to see what developers think.
However, I think the Linux Show hosts could have been more welcoming and enthusiastic too, not just for the KDE segment, but throughout the whole thing.
Instead of only offering a 16kbps version, they should release it on P2P (to save on bandwidth) at a slightly higher bitrate. 32kbps usually does the trick, but 16 is a little low.
Sun seems to have confused everyone. The kept on talking about how strange Java on the Desktop sounds thinking Suns Java Desktop is based on Java.
I would hope they would know what is in the product!
I agree – its ironic really; there was an outcry (especially from the linux community) when MS mis-branded everything with ‘.Net’ hence diluting the brand and confusing customers. And sun is now doing what? Branding a desktop OS with the word Java, because there are some Java apps on it, and it supports the technology….
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/shift/KDE3.2/kcontrol-kdePerformance.png
From the above screenshot, what exactly does preloading do, and also is that available in 3.1.x
Why can you have more than one instance?
First are the options about memory usage (number of instances of konqueror open)
Minimize memory usage options:
Never: open allways a new instance of Konqueror (less prone to crash all konqueror windows)
For file browsing only: Open new instances for web browsing, but use the same instance for file browsing: since file browsing is less prone to crash than facing the jungle of the web (designer?), this is a sensible solution, a balance between memory usage and stability.
Allways: Use allways the same instance: the fastest, and the option that uses less memory, but if one window crashes, they all crash.
Later, options about preloading:
Since konqueror is a very frequently used app in KDE, makes sense to leave at least one instance open, even when you quit the app. This way, the loading time the second time is very small. Additionally, you can have an instance preload at startup. This malkes the desktop feel much faster.
Preloading Options:
[i]Maximum number of instances kept preloaded: Limit the number of preloaded instances. I use only one.
Preload at startup: Open an instance at system start. Makes Konqueror snappy.
Allways try to have at least one preloaded instance: This will cause KDE to have at least one instance ready for whenever you fire konqueror.
Curious, I was writing context help for this (whats this) yesterday. I hope this will be on KDE 3.2.1. Not now (string freeze).
These guys really have to learn how to run a radio show. I mean, it is a pain to listen through. If the guests talk super long, that I understand, but the host should always keep it short, simple and direct, with humour littered here and there. And most importantly, they should speak clearly.
After the first 5 minutes, I couldn’t stand it, and turned it off. Transcripts maybe?
Thanks for the helpful information.
Yeah, I agree. And the last few times I’ve listened to it, there’s been this horrible piercing sound, like TVs sometimes make but a lot worse. It was only coming from one of the hosts’ microphones though. Also, they don’t introduce themselves at the beginning of the show, sometimes you’ll have dead air because nobody has anything to say, and the MUSIC they play! It’s SO BAD! I would honestly rather have silence. Or some better music.
OK, enough with the *constructive criticism*. I am truly thankful that the show exists, and that these guys are so knowledgeable. If you’re reading this, please don’t take offense but take consideration.
Curious, I was writing context help for this (whats this) yesterday. I hope this will be on KDE 3.2.1. Not now (string freeze).
It wont, the string freeze also applies to KDE 3.2.x. Only bug fixes will be allowed. (Else it would be a lot harder coordinating the minor versions)
I really hope that there will be a quick KDE 3.3 release however, as i think there are some key components that aren’t really ready in 3.2. (most noteably kontact) But that said, i still think that KDE 3.2 is the most exciting release since KDE 2.0.
It is unfortunate that documentation can’t be accepted after the freeze. The dialogs change a lot, and you have a moving target for context help. I think there should be an intermediate release for docs only.
The multiple comments about JDS/Java betrayed the commentators lack of knowledge about Java technology. First of all, they obviously hadn’t done enough research to know that JDS has very little to do with Java. Second, not only did they suggest that Java simply doesn’t work, but that scripting languages should be used in its place.
This lead me to believe that:
A. None of the partipants understand the relative benefits of untyped scripted languages versus strictly typed and compiled languages probably shouldn’t be commenting on either.
B. They have a very narrow view of the marketplace if they believe that there are no functional java websites.
C. Most of all, they were merely espousing the tools that they knew well rather than attempting to provide an objective view of merits of all options.
I’m not saying that Java is the “best thing ever”, but it is certainly above idle comments such as those made on this show.
I’m a big Linux fan but that show has got to be the worst show I’ve heard in years. No scripts, bad music, terrible audio quality, guys with voices for newspapers…
Anyone who still believes that there are such things as scripting languages vs “real” languages, or that dynamically typed means untyped, or that a poor “strict typing” system like Java’s is worth anything, shouldn’t be commenting on anything related to computer languages.
– So-called scripting languages are more powerful than ones like Java. Python has closures, lambdas, dynamic typing, dynamic evaluation, list comprehensions, generators, and a whole raft of features that are just plain out of Java’s reach. Hell, Java*script* has features that put Java to shame.
– Dynamic typing is completely different from static typing, and can often be a huge productivity benefit. This is especially true for things like UIs. Remember, some of the most powerful GUI-oriented languages ever (Smalltalk and Objective C) were dynamically typed.
– While there is a great deal of debate about static vs dynamic typing, and nobody can agree on which is better, Java can’t claim anything on either side. Java’s type system isn’t the type of static type system people talk about when they debate dynamic vs static typing. Proper static type systems (Hindley-Milner is the most common) are in a completely different league than Java’s. Think of it — a dynamic type system that will regularly give you type errors (from bad casts) at runtime!
Java does have its merits: huge, useful class library, fairly good development tools, excellent application and business server support, integrated documentation, fairly okay-ish syntax, good introspection. However, none of the things you mentioned are strengths of Java’s. In this day and age, there is no reason such a primitive language should be used for high-level uses like GUIs and business applications. RedHat definitely has the right idea switching to Python for its system tools. I hope KDE developers follow suit and make more use of PyKDE.