Category: kde

Keyboard Shortcuts

I may have mentioned earlier that I have set up keyboard shortcuts for menu items I use daily. But since I updated to KDE 4.3 I have noticed a change in the way shortcuts are set up.

Previously I right clicked on the menu icon and selected menu editor. Next I found the app I wanted to create a shortcut for and then I went to the advanced tab and entered the key combination.

I still do that but now an additional step is required. I need to go the System Settings then Input Actions and the shortcuts I have created are there but not activated. Adding a tick to each shortcut activates it and it starts to work. I’m not sure if this is a bug or a change that was added for a reason but it seems an unnecessary complication.

Fedora and KDE 4.3

KDE 4.3 was released a few weeks ago and the update has finally made it into the Fedora Updates repo a few days ago. It had been in Updates Testing for a while. The update was worth waiting for, 4.3 is another improvement.

The release notes list hundreds of bugs that have been squashed and although most apparent changes are cosmetic the work done beneath the skin is obvious from the improved performance. I’ve noticed a speed increase to the extent that KDE isn’t much slower than Xfce on the same hardware. This is a condemnation of Xfce as much as a bouquet for KDE. I found Xfce 4.6 to be slow compared to previous versions while KDE has made big strides forward since 4.0.

The only small problem I had was I needed to change my startup script for Conky as it lost its transparency. It appears the config file that contains the wallpaper setting has changed. That fixed everything is back to normal, well a better normal.

KDE 4.3 is another (big!) step forward for KDE. It is now well and truly ready for everyday use. If you haven’t tried KDE for a while now is the time for another look.

Fedora 11

I finally got around to installing F11 on my Dell 1520 laptop this week so here are some of my experiences and impressions. I looked back at my post on F10 before I wrote this and I must say although 10 was good the installation of F11 went very well.

This time I only installed KDE and not Xfce. Not that I have any problems with Xfce, I will use it on my older desktop as KDE is a bit heavy for it. I stuck to the x86_64 version as I haven’t had any problems with it in older versions. I can’t see the point of having a 64 bit processor and running a 32 bit system.

The installation didn’t start off well as it stalled when anaconda started. I had to use the basic video driver option on the dvd. It then went as usual. I didn’t need to do that in previous versions but it didn’t worry me as I intended to install the nVidia drivers anyway. They are needed for desktop effects and GoogleEarth.

The installation went well, I selected KDE and then added and removed some of the optional apps. Next step was to install yum-presto. This is one of the big advances in F11, or maybe that should be little advances as it reduces the size of updates. With presto only the actual changes are downloaded not the whole package. For those of us with slower connections or limited downloads this is a great improvement. The downloads are reduced by up to 80% but I gather the average is about 60%.

That done I updated which took a lot less time than usual. There was some problems getting started as I got some strange errors from the repos but I gather that was due to the heavy load. I sorted itself out and I haven’t had any problems since.  Then it was time to install the other apps and drivers I wanted.

Next was time to customise the desktop. The new artwork looks great but  … well lets just say blue isn’t my favourite colour. Unfortunately only one theme and wallpaper is installed with KDE so I installed kdeartwork from the Fedora repos. This adds many more themes and some wallpapers although I use one I found elsewhere or one of my own photos.

After setting up Conky and restoring my backups of data and some config files, Amarok databases and the like I was almost ready to go. The only real issue I had was my bluetooth mouse. I hate using the touchpad and wanted to get the mouse working asap. I found that although Kbluetooth4 was installed by default Bluez wasn’t so there was no Bluetooth service. That fixed I tried to get the mouse recognised. I had to restart before it would work. Kbluetooth4 let me set it up but after each restart I had to do it again, it showed in the status as “not trusted”. I couldn’t find anywhere to change it but after a few restarts it brought up a dialogue and asked if it was trusted and has been working ever since. I was then able to disable the touchpad as I have found my self bumping it in the past and ended up typing somewhere else on the screen.

The end result is I have working system in little time with no real problems after the Bluetooth was sorted. KDE looks great and runs better than ever. Some of the KDE apps have been updated and just keep getting better. I have seen reports of problems with sound but that seems to be mainly Gnome, mine worked out of the box on both speakers and headphones.

In my opinion this is the best Fedora ever, isn’t it great that we can say that every version. Well done to the Fedora team.

KDE – Desktop Environment of the Year

It comes as no surprise that KDE has been voted the Desktop Environment of the year by the members of LinuxQuestions.org. It has matured into a great environment and deserves its award.

It was nice to see some other KDE linked projects doing well too with Amarok winning the audio media player category and K3b the mutlimedia utility category.

See here for the full story.

More on Fedora 10 and KDE 4.2

I recently posted about updating to Fedora 10. After using it for a while on a couple of computers I have some more comments to share.

Desktop Managers

I have been switching between Xfce and KDE and so can offer a few comments on the differences. Much of the time I have been using KDE 4.1 while waiting on the update to 4.2 to appear in the repos. I updated as soon as it appeared and am pleased I did.

Xfce in promoted as a lightweight desktop and that it is noticeable as KDE uses around twice as much memory when doing something simple such as having just Firefox open. I have similar set-ups in both desktops so they are comparable in that way. I have their native desktop effects active not Compiz. KDE’s in more involved with a lot more options, similar but not as extensive as Compiz although with 4.2 it is a lot closer.

One good thing in KDE, actually there are quite a few, but the multimedia buttons on my laptop work after setting them up in Amarok. In Xfce the volume and mute buttons don’t work.

I like the quick launch bar in Xfce, setting that up in KDE is more difficult. I have my favourite apps in Favourites on the menu but that isn’t the same, two clicks instead of one. However with 4.2 the menu shortcuts are working again and so I can set them up as I used to have them. Using the keyboard to start my favourite apps is so much easier and quicker.

KDE is much more configurable, selecting colours and other options is so much easier then Xfce but still not as good as KDE 3.5. Again 4.2 is much better with more options available.

One feature of Xfce (and Gnome I believe) that I missed in KDE was the ability to switch desktops using the mouse wheel. Well 4.2 has introduced this feature.

Suspend

Suspend to Disk works once I installed Kpowersave and set it suspend on lid close. It resumes without problem but I noticed a few things. Memory usage seems higher after resume and that is the only time Swap is used. I have 3 gig and as I rarely use more than one (its on 1.1 at the moment and I have OO Writer and Firefox are open and Amarok is playing, Miles Davis’ Walkin’ since you asked,) so Swap isn’t needed. Also the processor is more likely to run at full power. It usually sits on 1 gig and jumps to 2 gig when needed. After resume it sits on 2 much longer.

Apps

Along with the development of KDE4 most of the KDE apps have been updated. Just like early versions of KDE4 this has not been without pain but that is improving now. The new version of Amarok is great. I also like Digikam’s new upload to Picasa Web option. This means I no longer need Picasa as that was the main thing I used it for. I’m starting to sound like a broken record (is that saying out of date now?) but 4.2 introduced many improvement both to apps and widgets.

As you may have gathered I am very pleased with the update to KDE 4.2 and am using it most of the time now. It isn’t perfect but is much better than earlier versions and now has regained much of the functionality we were used to in 3.5. If 4.2 is this good just imagine what is coming in future versions.