Sorry everyone, but I need to get this off my chest. And most of what I'm about to rant about isn't kubuntu's fault...
OK, so I've been a KDE user for a long time. I started with Corel Linux (remember Corel?) in, maybe, 1999. I've tried most of the other desktops at some point, but have always preferred KDE and used it as my main desktop. I just love the way it looks, and (until recently) the way everything is so slick and well integrated.
I jumped straight into KDE4 (at 4.0.1). Of course I read all the criticism about how it wasn't ready and was released too early, but I knew the KDE devs would get it fixed quick and I wanted to get used to the new way of working. And so it was - I found KDE4 to be stable and productive way before it started to get any credit from the critics.
My first minor gripe with KDE was konqueror getting marginalised in the KDE world. I loved konqueror and how so much of my work flow could be handled with a few konqueror windows open. It was my default web browser, file manager, network share browser, file and media previewer. But then we were told that konqueror was "too complicated" as a file browser and got given Dolphin. Who were these users who found konqueror "too complicated"? Have you ever met one? I know I haven't..... Of course I know I can still set up konqueror to be my default file manager, but I trusted the KDE devs and wanted to "get with the program" so I embraced Dolphin. It's alright.
Then along comes rekonq. Why? If I want a Google Chrome clone, I'll just run Google Chrome thanks. I still use konqueror as my default web browser with webkit as the back-end. Why put resources into developing a new browser instead of improving the old one?
So the above is all old news. What's prompted this rant is kmail2/nepomuk/akonadi of course. I just upgraded and had hours of grief sorting out my email. Whilst sorting this out I discovered I now apparently have to run a mysql instance if I want to read my email. And I sort of half understand what akonadi and nepomuk are for, but while digesting this I suddenly realised I am no longer the target market for KDE.
All I want is a slick, attractive and well integrated desktop that suits the way I work and doesn't need lots of attention.
Apparently the target user for KDE is now the anally-retentive uber power user who organises his or her (but probably his, lets be honest) life into "activities" and spends all their spare time tagging their content to share with their socially networked friends.
I understand that the most reliably KDE-centric of the major distros - Mandriva - has switched to thunderbird as it's default mail client. It's fairly damning that Mandriva have abandoned the native mail client.
Now I'm pissed off at the moment after a painful upgrade. Maybe I'll come to understand the other half of the nepomuk/akonadi thing and suddenly find I can't live without it. Certainly the alternatives don't attract me, particularly after spending a couple of hours with unity on a netbook last night, and gnome 3 doesn't appeal. So I'll probably stick with KDE until E17 is finished.
Thank you for listening.
OK, so I've been a KDE user for a long time. I started with Corel Linux (remember Corel?) in, maybe, 1999. I've tried most of the other desktops at some point, but have always preferred KDE and used it as my main desktop. I just love the way it looks, and (until recently) the way everything is so slick and well integrated.
I jumped straight into KDE4 (at 4.0.1). Of course I read all the criticism about how it wasn't ready and was released too early, but I knew the KDE devs would get it fixed quick and I wanted to get used to the new way of working. And so it was - I found KDE4 to be stable and productive way before it started to get any credit from the critics.
My first minor gripe with KDE was konqueror getting marginalised in the KDE world. I loved konqueror and how so much of my work flow could be handled with a few konqueror windows open. It was my default web browser, file manager, network share browser, file and media previewer. But then we were told that konqueror was "too complicated" as a file browser and got given Dolphin. Who were these users who found konqueror "too complicated"? Have you ever met one? I know I haven't..... Of course I know I can still set up konqueror to be my default file manager, but I trusted the KDE devs and wanted to "get with the program" so I embraced Dolphin. It's alright.
Then along comes rekonq. Why? If I want a Google Chrome clone, I'll just run Google Chrome thanks. I still use konqueror as my default web browser with webkit as the back-end. Why put resources into developing a new browser instead of improving the old one?
So the above is all old news. What's prompted this rant is kmail2/nepomuk/akonadi of course. I just upgraded and had hours of grief sorting out my email. Whilst sorting this out I discovered I now apparently have to run a mysql instance if I want to read my email. And I sort of half understand what akonadi and nepomuk are for, but while digesting this I suddenly realised I am no longer the target market for KDE.
All I want is a slick, attractive and well integrated desktop that suits the way I work and doesn't need lots of attention.
Apparently the target user for KDE is now the anally-retentive uber power user who organises his or her (but probably his, lets be honest) life into "activities" and spends all their spare time tagging their content to share with their socially networked friends.
I understand that the most reliably KDE-centric of the major distros - Mandriva - has switched to thunderbird as it's default mail client. It's fairly damning that Mandriva have abandoned the native mail client.
Now I'm pissed off at the moment after a painful upgrade. Maybe I'll come to understand the other half of the nepomuk/akonadi thing and suddenly find I can't live without it. Certainly the alternatives don't attract me, particularly after spending a couple of hours with unity on a netbook last night, and gnome 3 doesn't appeal. So I'll probably stick with KDE until E17 is finished.
Thank you for listening.
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