kubuntu-kde3.5-users@lists.pearsoncomputing.net

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Month: April 2009

Re: [kubuntu-kde3.5-users] KDE 3 users: what is missing in KDE 4?

From: Dotan Cohen <dotancohen@...>
Date: Fri, 24 Apr 2009 00:01:23 +0300
> Hmm...where do I start? ;-)
>

I know, there's a long list!

> 1. I want to be able to bring up a configuration dialog for *all* of the
> Desktop and Taskbar settings by right-clicking on the taskbar. �All I get
> when I do that now is a less than helpful stripped down (and ugly) bar
> with a couple of settings on it.

That is not so much of a bug or missing feature as a personal
preference. However, I do share your preference and I hate the current
unintuitive and unusable panel configuration. I asked for a KDE3-style
configuration dialog in this bug:
https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=165196

If you can be _very_ specific as to which options (just list them all
if you must) you would like in a single dialog, I will review it and
file the feature request.

> 2. A way to shut down plasma, or at least the UI portion of it. �Yes, I
> know many people love the plasma interface, but many people hate it as
> well. �When I say get rid of it, I mean that ugly "cashew" too (I think
> you can remove the "cashew" in in KDE4.3 now, but you couldn't for quite a
> while).

Well, Plasma _is_ the desktop and panel. What would you have left?
Specifically, what don't you like (other than the cashew)?

> 3. A way to easily create a new theme--in KDE3, you could do almost
> anything with the colors, level of desired effects, etc.

You can create themes in KDE 4. Be specific as to what is different
from KDE 3 and how that affects you. I am unfamiliar with the theme
making process, so be explicit.

> 4. Bring back the good old kcontrol--style interface!! �My idea of a good
> time is *not* clicking on icons, only to find that what I wanted was not
> in that view and having to click back a couple of times before being able
> to click on a different icon, which still does not contain the desired
> settings...you get the point. �KDE3's reliance on tree views was wonderful
> from a productivity standpoint, and I hate to see that element largely
> missing in KDE4.

I'll file that, and post the bug soon.

> 5. I want desktop previews in the pagers. �This is a very useful feature
> that I sorely miss in KDE4.

I think that this is available in KDE 4.2, no?

> 6. Bring back the old clock, the one where I could have it display the
> time, in bold, next to the full date, unbolded.

Might this be the bug that you are looking for?
https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=185447

>�I really, really hate the
> overall rounded, bulbous look of KDE4, and wish there was an
> "un-Fisher-Price-it" setting that would streamline the interface and make
> it sleek again. �That means no stacked text in the Taskbar, smaller icons
> on the Desktop, getting rid of those huge blobs called the play, pause,
> FF, and rewind buttons in Amarok, etc. �Not everyone has or can afford
> QXGA monitors!

You can set a more space efficient widget style in System Settings ->
Appearance -> Style. As for the Amarok Icons we can file a new bug.
Send to me a screenshot of Amarok on your monitor. Thanks.

> 7. Most of all, bring back the overall configurability, and bring back
> useful context menus! �See my complaint in #4; that applies to almost all
> elements of the KDE4 inerface. �It is NOT FUN to have to click multiple
> time to perform a task that you should have performed in one click under
> KDE3.
>

That's what I am trying to do! But I need _specifics_, not a request
for "overall".

> There are more, but I'm going to see if these get fixed first. �Please
> don't take this list as an insult; these are some of my major issues with
> KDE4, and actually, the "new" desktop overall--a lot of these complaints
> apply to Vista and Mac OSX as well. �KDE3 was like a fresh breeze to me
> compared with those other two.
>

Keep them coming! Thanks!

> Thanks for the offer to file the bugs!
>

It's for the both of us.

-- 
Dotan Cohen

http://what-is-what.com
http://gibberish.co.il