Version: 4.1.Beta 2 (using KDE 4.0.83) Installed from: I Don't Know Compiler: none, OpenSuse Live CDe with KDE 4.1 Beta 2 OS: Linux I have a copy of OpenSuse 11.0 with KDE 4.1.Beta 2. I see none of the exciting functionality that I was lead to believe would be available in KDE 4. Here's what I see. I see no Bugs, everything works fine, I just can't do anything new. All the functionality that is currently available in KDE 3 is there, I can do all the things with windows that i can do in KDE 3.5.9. The problem is I was lead to believe, by various KDE 4 devs blogs that I could do some really exciting things with KDE 4, None of that functionality is there, it’s basically 3.5.9 with glossier graphics and these giant Icon things they call plasmoids, but do anything with those Icon things… no way, they just sit there taking up desktop space, until you remove them. Yeah you can move them around and make them bigger.. big deal. Then there’s the task bar at the bottom it’s too big, it’s not resizable and it’s not hide able. getting icons onto it is fraught, and the functionality is so limited it’s virtually useless. Then there’s this thing where can zoom in and Zoom out, it’s available from the top RH corner of the desktop. Wow, that is so exciting, it will make the desktop wallpaper bigger and smaller. All in all I’m very disappointed with KDE4. I was expecting some exciting new functionality (based on the obviously overblown rhetoric emanating from KDE devs), and all I’ve got so far in an unusable desktop environment. KDE 4.1 Beta 2 is obviously not Beta material, at best I’d place it as Alpha.
If you see no bugs, why did you open a bug report then? Let's close this as invalid, no need to even comment on it...
> I see no Bugs great > All the functionality that is currently available in KDE 3 is there once again great > Then there’s the task bar at the bottom it’s too big, it’s not resizable it IS resizeable (unlock the taskbar (right click on it --> unlock widgets), click on the little cashew on the right side of it, a black bar with some icons (center, left, right align will appear), you can make the taskbar smaller (and of course bigger) by dragging the border (just like you do it with windows) > and it’s not hide able afaik plasma is capable of it but there's still missing a GUI (correct me if I'm wrong *looking at aaron ^^* > getting icons onto it is fraught, and the functionality is so limited it’s virtually useless. with the cashew thingy there appears a button add widgets (scroll through the list and then just simply drag some items from the list to the taskbar and before you ask: moving is not YET possible (there already exist some patches (maybe for 4.1.x .. don't know) you can get many more "icons" -- they are called plasmoids if you install the extragear and playground packages -- but be aware: the playground packages may be >>really<< unstable > Then there’s this thing where can zoom in and Zoom out, it’s available from > the top RH corner of the desktop. Wow, that is so exciting, it will make the > desktop wallpaper bigger and smaller. those are called activities.. there have been many blog entries about it.. it IS really useful if you get used to it.. imagine one activity for developing, another one for playing games (all with different wallpapers, plasmoids) > All in all I’m very disappointed with KDE4. I was expecting some exciting new > functionality (based on the obviously overblown rhetoric emanating from KDE > devs), and all I’ve got so far in an unusable desktop environment. GIVE IT SOME TIME! it was the same with the KDE3 series (as I've heard) and it's improving with such a rapid speed that you'll be blown away by the upcoming releases. The foundations have been made with 4.0 and 4.1 and now the implementation of these cool technologies can begin (in plasma and many many apps). > KDE 4.1 Beta 2 is obviously not Beta material, at best I’d place it as Alpha. Oh no.. not again.. sry.. this has been discussed sooo often.. just believe me: it's absolutely justified! And now: let the devs do their work and be happy that 4.1 delivers you with all features you need and wait for the following releases to be blown away! I think this bug can be closed and marked as invalid or resolved.
*** Bug 165784 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Tracy, while closing this report was indeed the right thing to do (it is completely free of actionable content), i'd like to add a few things: a) everything we've been talking about it is indeed right there in the code b) we've provided a fairly "traditional" experience as the default, and even that isn't traditional enough for some. we had to provide a working replacement for what was there otherwise we'd have lots and lots of unhappy people. as i noted, it still isn't conservative for some d) suse does to go great pains to make things look even more conservative, as they feel that's what their audience wants c) i suggest you try out some of the other available widgets d) part of your problem is the lack of user documentation helping you find the various things (e.g. panel customization) e) if you have *specific* features/ideas/etc that you are looking for that you saw in our blogs, then please feel free to drop an email to panel-devel@kde.org asking about them. if you do, show up with a professional attitude and you'll get a professional response.
I've looked at the various icons things you have there, I'm not at all interested in having Icons on my desktop, so even bigger ones don't really impress me. I've gone to the tools option on the icon things, the image of a spanner says to me toolbox, and there is no substantial functionality available there. Suse must have this pretty damn well hidden, as I've been through every option on the menu system, and I can't find anything that looks even remotely like a tool box for managing these new icons And by the way the Kickoff menu is a mistake. I have new computer users who are completly bewildered by it, who when presented with the Classic menu go "oh, that makes sense, I can find everything now", this in spite of the fact that the Kickoff menu doesn't present them with as many mouse usage challenges. Ok lets see now. These icon things that are available. There's the one that is on the desktop by default. You click on the image of a spanner that on this bit that inconsistantly pops out one side or another, and sometimes disappears when you mouse over the area. a window pops up and it has two radio buttons a textbox and a file dialog, and a filtered textbox. So now I can choose between shoing the desktop folder and a different folder, and I can search to show specific files or folders. I can't do anything useful with it, it either sits on my desktop, bigger or smaller, taking up space. I may as well have the icons on the desktop 3.5.9 style. Then there's the Analogue clock, I get a clock sitting on my desktop, if I click on it I get a calendar, I click on the spanner image to find the toolbox and I get the option to set the time and date and select one or more time zones. I get tha functionality alreadey in 3.5.9, and I don't have to have this giant icon sitting on my desktop. I could go on. Each and every one of the things available leaves me with a giant icon sitting on my desktop. I was really looking forward to something really new and exciting, I've been waiting for this since the project was first announced. But what we have is something that I can't recommend to my new Linux/new computer users, they find the Kickoff menu frustrating and obscure. They can see where things are on the Classic menu. Imagine what they will do when presented with a giant icon that has a popout side that sometime displays image buttons on one side and sometimes another, that sometimes disappears when you mouse over it. And then there's this Zoom In/Zoom Out thing at the top right hand corner that makes the desktop wallpaper bigger and smaller, what's the point of that? I read in your blog that one could configure these icons things, these plasmoids in such a way that one could, for example have different desktops kitted out in different ways. I really like that idea, It's a neat extension to what I already do on 3.5.9, where I have desktops that I use for different things - only there really is no diffentiation possible except to change the desktop colour/background image and locking an application to that desktop. Currently I either have to use the standard desktop icons or none at at all, which makes no sense in the case of some of the desktops. So I go looking for this wonderful functionality you blogged about, and I can't find it, it's not there, the functionality available on the plasmoids is minimal to say the least. The only customisation functionality I can find is that which is already available in 3.5.9. If there is any new functionality, it is so well hidden I can't find it, and as it stands I see nothing about KDE 4 that makes it any more desirable or usable than 3.5.9. regards tracyanne -----Original Message----- From: Aaron J.Seigo - aseigo@kde.org <+kde+tracyanne +80be2e5922.aseigo#kde.org@spamgourmet.com> Reply-To: kde.1.tracyanne@spamgourmet.com +354868400b.165781#bugs.kde.org@spamgourmet.com> To: kde.1.tracyanne@spamgourmet.com Subject: [Bug 165781] I am unable to do any of the exciting things Arron and other s blogs lead me to believe is in KDE 4 (trusted: kde.org) Date: 5 Jul 2008 17:22:06 -0000 ------- You are receiving this mail because: ------- You reported the bug, or are watching the reporter. http://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=165781 ------- Additional Comments From aseigo kde org 2008-07-05 19:21 ------- Tracy, while closing this report was indeed the right thing to do (it is completely free of actionable content), i'd like to add a few things: a) everything we've been talking about it is indeed right there in the code b) we've provided a fairly "traditional" experience as the default, and even that isn't traditional enough for some. we had to provide a working replacement for what was there otherwise we'd have lots and lots of unhappy people. as i noted, it still isn't conservative for some d) suse does to go great pains to make things look even more conservative, as they feel that's what their audience wants c) i suggest you try out some of the other available widgets d) part of your problem is the lack of user documentation helping you find the various things (e.g. panel customization) e) if you have *specific* features/ideas/etc that you are looking for that you saw in our blogs, then please feel free to drop an email to panel-devel kde org asking about them. if you do, show up with a professional attitude and you'll get a professional response.
> I have new computer users who are completly bewildered by it interesting. what sort of deployment/environment is it that these new computer users are using kde4 in? > I can't do anything useful with it, it either sits on my desktop, bigger > or smaller, taking up space. click the close button (it looks like an 'x', it's right near the spanner/wrench button). > I get tha functionality alreadey in 3.5.9, and I don't > have to have this giant icon sitting on my desktop. yes, there are lots of features in plasma that were also in kicker. would you prefer there weren't any similarities? of course not. this is a very silly complaint if you ask me. and you may, or may not, have noticed by those clocks are what appear in the panel. the panel and the desktop are all plasma in kde4. without those clocks, you wouldn't have one in your panel (assuming you do have one there, of course). there are a few dozen other native plasma widgets available for use, as well, some of which have no analog in kde3. > And then there's this Zoom In/Zoom Out thing at the top right hand > corner that makes the desktop wallpaper bigger and smaller, what's the > point of that? http://aseigo.blogspot.com/2007/07/desktop-zooming.html http://techbase.kde.org/Projects/Plasma/FAQ#What_is_the_Zooming_User_Interface_.28ZUI.29.3F > I read in your blog that one could configure these icons things, these > plasmoids in such a way that one could, for example have different > desktops kitted out in different ways. plasma offers Activities that let you group different sets of widgets around, yes. and people use it quite successfully; we get fan mail about it on a fairly regular basis these days even. right now every virtual desktop shows the same activity (so it's one activity at a time) in 4.2 we'll be bringing the option of associating activities with different desktops (so it's 1..N activities at a time, where N is the number of virtual desktops). the rest of the Activities are available by zooming out and selecting one of them. and that is, actually, what i've said in blog. precisely. > If there is any new functionality, it is so well > hidden I can't find it, i suppose what you mean to say is that you can't find any new functionality that you care about. svg theming, scripting, folderview, widgets for things like twitter, integrated superkaramba and macos x dashboard, the ZUI, multiple activities, the new device mounter, the panel configuration, picture frames and sticky notes and .. these are all things i find useful myself. we first concentrated on building a framework underneath, then replicating the traditional components on top of it (to appease existing users) and have spent the remaining time working on new things. as we achieve feature parity with the traditional desktop experience, you'll begin to see more and more of the new framework capabilities emerge. the fact that we have, with a few exceptions, reached feature parity of kde3's kdesktop, run command dialog and kicker in ~1 year with a from-scratch effort says a lot about the framework underneath it. in one sense, i'm pretty proud that you look at it and go "so?" because it says we've done a good job with making it possible for people used to 3.x feel at home. but its certainly not the only possible way of using plasma. many use it radically different already, and we'll be bringing more possibilities to the table as things grow. so i'd like to humbly suggest that your attitude in this bug report has been .. well ... deplorable. i've been patient to this point, and i'd prefer to not have to continue exercising restraint in the face of such blather. > they find the Kickoff menu frustrating and obscure. > They can see where things are on the Classic menu. let me humbly suggest that you give them the Classic menu then. that's why it's there: for those who prefer it. kickoff actually tests very well with a broad segment of users, particularly non-sophisticated or new users. but use whatever you like. > Imagine what > they will do when presented with a giant icon that has a popout side > that sometime displays image buttons on one side and sometimes another, > that sometimes disappears when you mouse over it. i don't have to imagine. i've watched people use it. i've tested the ui on people as we go along. most people aren't exactly stupid, and for those who can't figure it out we'll have documentation for them to read. btw, most people figure out why the handle appears on one side or the other. it's actually pretty obvious if you sit and think about it for a moment. (note where the widget is when the buttons appear on the right instead of the left) > and as it stands I see nothing about KDE 4 that > makes it any more desirable or usable than 3.5.9. that's certainly a conclusion you can choose to arrive it if you wish. in fact, i invite you to use 3.5.9.
Mandriva Linux 2008.1 with KDE 3.5.9 , I never said they were using KDE 4, I said they were getting the Kickoff menu by default, and that they were confused by it, and that when I gave them the classic menu they found it easier to understand. Just in case you are not aware, Mnadriva have included the Kickoff menu as a default menu option on KDE 3.5.9 on the 2008.1 (spring) release. regards tracyanne -----Original Message----- From: Aaron J.Seigo - aseigo@kde.org <+kde+tracyanne +80be2e5922.aseigo#kde.org@spamgourmet.com> Reply-To: kde.1.tracyanne@spamgourmet.com +354868400b.165781#bugs.kde.org@spamgourmet.com> To: kde.1.tracyanne@spamgourmet.com Subject: [Bug 165781] I am unable to do any of the exciting things Arron and other s blogs lead me to believe is in KDE 4 (trusted: kde.org) Date: 6 Jul 2008 07:55:48 -0000 > I have new computer users who are completly bewildered by it interesting. what sort of deployment/environment is it that these new computer users are using kde4 in?
> I said they were getting the Kickoff menu by default, and that they > were confused by it, and that when I gave them the classic menu they > found it easier to understand. Can you be more specific about what confused them? On the one hand there is a study which found Kickoff (as implemented for KDE 3 by OpenSuse) to work well for a range of users - http://en.opensuse.org/Kickoff. On the other there is anecdotal evidence of both positive and negative experiences with Kickoff amongst "new users".
Yep I do that, it neatly removes the Icon from the desktop. useful feature. regards tracyanne -----Original Message----- From: Aaron J.Seigo - aseigo@kde.org <+kde+tracyanne +80be2e5922.aseigo#kde.org@spamgourmet.com> Reply-To: kde.1.tracyanne@spamgourmet.com +354868400b.165781#bugs.kde.org@spamgourmet.com> To: kde.1.tracyanne@spamgourmet.com Subject: [Bug 165781] I am unable to do any of the exciting things Arron and other s blogs lead me to believe is in KDE 4 (trusted: kde.org) Date: 6 Jul 2008 07:55:48 -0000 > I can't do anything useful with it, it either sits on my desktop, bigger > or smaller, taking up space. click the close button (it looks like an 'x', it's right near the spanner/wrench button).
You misunderstand. The only functionality I can find is that which is already in KDE3. I don't see those few dozen widgets, all I'm seeing stuff that can be done, and better, in KDE 3. Maybe I have the wrong demo live CD, maybe I shouldn't be using openSuSe, you did say it was set up very conservative. So perhaps you'd like to tell me how I get to run the configurtion application that enables me to configure these plamoids. regards tracyanne -----Original Message----- From: Aaron J.Seigo - aseigo@kde.org <+kde+tracyanne +80be2e5922.aseigo#kde.org@spamgourmet.com> Reply-To: kde.1.tracyanne@spamgourmet.com +354868400b.165781#bugs.kde.org@spamgourmet.com> To: kde.1.tracyanne@spamgourmet.com Subject: [Bug 165781] I am unable to do any of the exciting things Arron and other s blogs lead me to believe is in KDE 4 (trusted: kde.org) Date: 6 Jul 2008 07:55:48 -0000 > I get tha functionality alreadey in 3.5.9, and I don't > have to have this giant icon sitting on my desktop. yes, there are lots of features in plasma that were also in kicker. would you prefer there weren't any similarities? of course not. this is a very silly complaint if you ask me. and you may, or may not, have noticed by those clocks are what appear in the panel. the panel and the desktop are all plasma in kde4. without those clocks, you wouldn't have one in your panel (assuming you do have one there, of course). there are a few dozen other native plasma widgets available for use, as well, some of which have no analog in kde3.
Thanks for that explanation. Not being a person who uses desktop icons much, if at all, I don't see much use for that fucntionality as it currently exists. What you are talking about for 4.2, sounds a lot more like what I was expecting in the current beta. If what you are talking about enables me to kit out different desktops for different purposes, then I will probably be impressed. As for zoomin in and out to see more or less icons, I don't have much use for that, as I don't find Icons particulaly useful as a paradigm for working, and your giant ones, the plasmoids add nothing to the paradigm, as far as I'm concerned. and if I can customise each desktop for a particular functionality than zoom in zoom out will be redundant anyway. regards tracyanne -----Original Message----- From: Aaron J.Seigo - aseigo@kde.org <+kde+tracyanne +80be2e5922.aseigo#kde.org@spamgourmet.com> Reply-To: kde.1.tracyanne@spamgourmet.com +354868400b.165781#bugs.kde.org@spamgourmet.com> To: kde.1.tracyanne@spamgourmet.com Subject: [Bug 165781] I am unable to do any of the exciting things Arron and other s blogs lead me to believe is in KDE 4 (trusted: kde.org) Date: 6 Jul 2008 07:55:48 -0000 > And then there's this Zoom In/Zoom Out thing at the top right hand > corner that makes the desktop wallpaper bigger and smaller, what's the > point of that? http://aseigo.blogspot.com/2007/07/desktop-zooming.html http://techbase.kde.org/Projects/Plasma/FAQ#What_is_the_Zooming_User_Interface_.28ZUI.29.3F > I read in your blog that one could configure these icons things, these > plasmoids in such a way that one could, for example have different > desktops kitted out in different ways. plasma offers Activities that let you group different sets of widgets around, yes. and people use it quite successfully; we get fan mail about it on a fairly regular basis these days even. right now every virtual desktop shows the same activity (so it's one activity at a time) in 4.2 we'll be bringing the option of associating activities with different desktops (so it's 1..N activities at a time, where N is the number of virtual desktops). the rest of the Activities are available by zooming out and selecting one of them. and that is, actually, what i've said in blog. precisely.
Well I guess that would be true, I find no new functionality that I care about. folderview, twitter, superkaramba I couldn't give a rats about, they give me nothing I find useful, maybe when things like the weather forcast widget recognises Australia I might find it useful. the panel configuration, are you talking about that bit that pops uo above the applications panel, that allows you to position the thing left and right, no I don't see anything impressive there. picture frames and sticky notes, what more clutter on my desktop. what macos what x dashboard, what's a ZUI, multiple activities?, I can already do multiple activities on KDE 3.4.9. the new device mounter, should be useful, but I sould also never notice it. regards tracyanne -----Original Message----- From: Aaron J.Seigo - aseigo@kde.org <+kde+tracyanne +80be2e5922.aseigo#kde.org@spamgourmet.com> Reply-To: kde.1.tracyanne@spamgourmet.com +354868400b.165781#bugs.kde.org@spamgourmet.com> To: kde.1.tracyanne@spamgourmet.com Subject: [Bug 165781] I am unable to do any of the exciting things Arron and other s blogs lead me to believe is in KDE 4 (trusted: kde.org) Date: 6 Jul 2008 07:55:48 -0000 > If there is any new functionality, it is so well > hidden I can't find it, i suppose what you mean to say is that you can't find any new functionality that you care about. svg theming, scripting, folderview, widgets for things like twitter, integrated superkaramba and macos x dashboard, the ZUI, multiple activities, the new device mounter, the panel configuration, picture frames and sticky notes and .. these are all things i find useful myself. we first concentrated on building a framework underneath, then replicating the traditional components on top of it (to appease existing users) and have spent the remaining time working on new things. as we achieve feature parity with the traditional desktop experience, you'll begin to see more and more of the new framework capabilities emerge. the fact that we have, with a few exceptions, reached feature parity of kde3's kdesktop, run command dialog and kicker in ~1 year with a from-scratch effort says a lot about the framework underneath it. in one sense, i'm pretty proud that you look at it and go "so?" because it says we've done a good job with making it possible for people used to 3.x feel at home. but its certainly not the only possible way of using plasma. many use it radically different already, and we'll be bringing more possibilities to the table as things grow. so i'd like to humbly suggest that your attitude in this bug report has been .. well ... deplorable. i've been patient to this point, and i'd prefer to not have to continue exercising restraint in the face of such blather.
I usually give them the Kickoff menu by default, and replace it when they demonstrate confusion. That confussion usually goes away when I give them the classic menu. Thanks though for the permission to do this. regards tracyanne -----Original Message----- From: Aaron J.Seigo - aseigo@kde.org <+kde+tracyanne +80be2e5922.aseigo#kde.org@spamgourmet.com> Reply-To: kde.1.tracyanne@spamgourmet.com +354868400b.165781#bugs.kde.org@spamgourmet.com> To: kde.1.tracyanne@spamgourmet.com Subject: [Bug 165781] I am unable to do any of the exciting things Arron and other s blogs lead me to believe is in KDE 4 (trusted: kde.org) Date: 6 Jul 2008 07:55:48 -0000 > they find the Kickoff menu frustrating and obscure. > They can see where things are on the Classic menu. let me humbly suggest that you give them the Classic menu then. that's why it's there: for those who prefer it. kickoff actually tests very well with a broad segment of users, particularly non-sophisticated or new users. but use whatever you like.
usually to the left of centre. sometimes to the right of centre. either way it pops out either side unpredictably. I would understand if it was consistant, but it's not. regards tracyanne -----Original Message----- From: Aaron J.Seigo - aseigo@kde.org <+kde+tracyanne +80be2e5922.aseigo#kde.org@spamgourmet.com> Reply-To: kde.1.tracyanne@spamgourmet.com +354868400b.165781#bugs.kde.org@spamgourmet.com> To: kde.1.tracyanne@spamgourmet.com Subject: [Bug 165781] I am unable to do any of the exciting things Arron and other s blogs lead me to believe is in KDE 4 (trusted: kde.org) Date: 6 Jul 2008 07:55:48 -0000 > Imagine what > they will do when presented with a giant icon that has a popout side > that sometime displays image buttons on one side and sometimes another, > that sometimes disappears when you mouse over it. i don't have to imagine. i've watched people use it. i've tested the ui on people as we go along. most people aren't exactly stupid, and for those who can't figure it out we'll have documentation for them to read. btw, most people figure out why the handle appears on one side or the other. it's actually pretty obvious if you sit and think about it for a moment. (note where the widget is when the buttons appear on the right instead of the left)
Well as KDE 4 stands, it's not ready for prime time, so that leaves 3.5.9, until such time as 4 is ready. But thank you for thh permission to continue using 3.5.9. regards tracyanne -----Original Message----- From: Aaron J.Seigo - aseigo@kde.org <+kde+tracyanne +80be2e5922.aseigo#kde.org@spamgourmet.com> Reply-To: kde.1.tracyanne@spamgourmet.com +354868400b.165781#bugs.kde.org@spamgourmet.com> To: kde.1.tracyanne@spamgourmet.com Subject: [Bug 165781] I am unable to do any of the exciting things Arron and other s blogs lead me to believe is in KDE 4 (trusted: kde.org) Date: 6 Jul 2008 07:55:48 -0000 > and as it stands I see nothing about KDE 4 that > makes it any more desirable or usable than 3.5.9. that's certainly a conclusion you can choose to arrive it if you wish. in fact, i invite you to use 3.5.9.
I find this a very interesting discussion (though it is not a valid bug report) because I have the same feeling about kickoff, it confuses me. You want to know what exactly does confuse a user like me: It's the fact that the categories slide over each over, replacing views. I associate tasks with fixed places (therefore e.g. I am not able to work with ms office with its changing menus). But in kickoff that is not possible anymore. E.g. the place where the task for starting koffice sits is replaced by the task for starting kmahjongg (just to name too different applications) when I switch category. And I cannot see the category I am in. And I cannot see the other categories while I am in a category. And I cannot see all applications in a category (when it is a category with many applications). And I cannot look into submenus in that category while having the applications outside of that submenu in sight. And I cannot start kickoff with the section all applications, it always starts with favorites thus not remembering the last section I chose. It took a while to figure out how to go back to the categories when I once entered one. At first I always closed the menu just to reopen it again. The first thing I tried was the context menu in hope for a back entry which is a somewhat "naturally" behaviour I guess. After that I tried the middle click and mouse buttons/wheel together with Shift, Alt, Ctrl and the left and back key on the keyboard, then together with Shift, Alt, Ctrl. I just didn't see that small back stripe on the left of the menu (and I still find it a complete design and usability desaster - but at least I now know it's there). It confuses me too that the tabs react on mouseover so I accidently always was where I didn't want/expect to be. And it confuses me that on the other hand the menu itself does not follow the mouse which is the standard behaviour for classic menus. It confuses me there are no context menu entries like "open in run dialog" or "edit entry" (and the back button of course). It confuses me that I cannot see all applications in a category, that I have to scoll with the mouse whell. I tried dragging the menu bigger so that all applications fit into the menu window without the need of scolling but the menu does not stay that size. But the worst for me is that the applications overlap the categories when I enter a category. I am curious of what KDE 4.2 will look like (activities for different desktops really sounds interesting) and I really admire the work the devs did and do. But KDE 4 IMHO lacks a "classic" mode, where especially the panel can be configured to exactly look like good old KDE 3 kicker in all possible facets. And until now it still is not configurable enough to give me all the functionality and easy workflow I am used to on my KDE 3 desktop. I'd be glad if I could configure KDE 4 to just look and behave like KDE 3: lots of more context menu actions and especially more use of middle mouse button, different wallpapers for different desktops (and shown in pager too), some options to better position widgets on the panel and the desktop (tools like grid, helplines, to exactly align and center things), mousewheel over free desktop changes desktop and so on. And I'd wish KDE 4 panel would allow pseudo transparency like kicker for those machines that don't have a 3d capable graphics card (my notebook e.g.). And I'd wish I just could use PNGs in addition to SVG to theme my environment, constructing (svgs) is so complicated compared to creating (bitmaps) - for me. And I don't understand why I have to theme the whole environment and cannot just theme the panel and why this theme must be in one file instead of multiple pngs for every part I want to theme. I feel like it is much more difficult to visually adjust KDE 4 to my needs than KDE 3. The way KDE 4 handles visual adjustment confuses me. Maybe I find different wishlist entries where I can cling to (or write on or the other myself). I know with just complaining you cannot change anything. But when the devs do not know what confuses the users and makes them afraid of the new environment they cannot adjust it. As I said, I'm looking forward to 4.2 :)