The KDE development community announced the release of version 4.1 of its desktop environment Wednesday, aimed at addressing shortcomings of its initial 4.0 release.
KDE 4.x is a huge departure from KDE 3.x. Many felt that KDE 4.0 was released a bit prematurely, but today's KDE 4.1 solidifies many of the much-hyped changes and resolves most of the problems that plagued KDE 4.0.
In short, KDE 4.1 delivers what KDE 4.0 should have been. The new version of the desktop environment packs a ton of user interface improvements, more KDE 4 native applications and a significantly better desktop interface, codenamed "Plasma."
The revamped Plasma tools in KDE 4.1 are looking very slick with a new system for creating the menus and panels that make up your desktop. Plasma now supports multiple and resizable panels making it every bit as flexible as KDE 3. The new graphical controls for resizing panels mean no more digging into the internals of your system just to resize a simple toolbar.
The Dolphin file manager has also been improved with support for tabbed file browsing. Both Dolphin and Konquerer have gained (regained in Konquerer's case) the old KDE 3 tree-view option. The Run command dialog has been overhauled as well, making it easier for power users to quickly launch applications, open documents and visit websites.
Longtime KDE fans will be happy to note that Kontact, the KDE PIM app, has been ported to KDE 4 bringing with it the integrated calendar, mail program, address book and more.
KDE 4.1 also brings a new video program (DragonPlayer) and a much improved new CD audio player.
However, despite the improvements, KDE 4.1 still feels primarily aimed at developers wanting to work with new libraries.
For normal users, especially those familiar with KDE 3.x, there's still a number of missing features, strange behaviors and bugs. For instance, many familiar KDE 3 key bindings don't seem to work or have been changed. Desktop panels still have some bugs. Also, common tasks like switching virtual desktops or resizing windows are less snappy than other platforms.
Speaking of other platforms, KDE isn't just for Linux. Curious Mac and Windows users can check out the state of KDE 4 on those platforms as well. In both cases the projects are not necessarily aimed at providing a desktop environment (which both Mac and Windows already have), but adding the underlying frameworks to allow you to run KDE apps no matter what desktop you're using. Keep in mind, both are relatively young projects and neither is considered ready for prime time.
Of course, if you're the early adopter type, we definitely suggest upgrading – KDE 4.1 is a vast improvement over 4.0, but everyday users may want to wait for KDE 4.2 or perhaps 4.3 before making the leap.
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