What does KDE 3.5 have that KDE 4.3 doesn't?

English Open Chat
21

I tried the KDE version coming with 11.1 when it came out. After a few updates it wasn’t a catastrophy over all. But still, up to the current point kde 3.5 is better.
What is true, the very same KDE.org up to 4.3 did state it was only for “risk loving folks” and that conservative users were adviced to stick to 3.5.

When openSUSE did choose the 4.0 push, it happened that they at the time where trying to get the distribution as a whole to be Gnome based. Honit soit qui mal y pense. But to integrate an immature KDE was IMHO not so “unfitting” in this strategy.

I think the “religious war” about Gnome, KDE 3 or 4 is pointless. Wenn 4.4 or 4.5 will be out, it will simply come normal to use it. And users should install what they like best. You have installed KDE4 and you do not like it? Use Yast…and the mouse. For heaven sake, one of the biggest advantages is that you can install a base system with multiple desktop environment and you can choose the session you want to use.

There have been some voices saying: is this for productive use…or for play?
Well, if one wants a professional productive solution in my view he has two choices: one is to get a bit more conservative. At least 50% (but probably more) of the people crying misery on KDE 4.x did update although there was no hurry, no necessity and no indication. The were horny to see new stuff and viced because for years now every new version was more bullet proof. If you do, if you “violently update”, you do bear the consequences.
The other choice would be to buy a “conservative product” of novel like SLED. You pay and you have professional assistance.

You here a lot of people complaining about stability. Honestly I have the impression that the stability experience is much due to hardware. You can get the “die harder” so you use ATI. You can get the “s.u.c.k.s. sometimes during kernel upgrades” that is you are using latest Nivida graphic cards. You may have luck and graphic is not so important (as me with a GM intel based laptop) and you have nearly no trouble.
Also here: people have more instability and trouble if the have the “updatitis”.
Maybe, if you have a system that you are getting used to and it works…you just do not update it at all (but the security updates of course). You will see that when you come to a point when the current option will not suffice anymore, quite some time went by and you will have gathered the necessary experience to carry on with a major update.

Personally, as for now I am still using KDE3.5 and 11.1 (and when I installed it, it was quite buggy and unstable and now I feel cosy and comfortable, learned to live with the very few “won’t fix” bugs and do not dream to update up to the end of life). If it wouldn’t be my productive system I would try out the latest and greates and do bug reporting, but that only given I have a second machine for working. I cannot even claim the current developments I do not like them, the are interesting, althouth they are indicating clearly that the conventional desktop KDE4 will be only for the now fashionable bit 19-23" monitors and the laptops will be “forced” to use what now is a technology preview: a special net/notebook desktop.

What does KDE3.5 and KDE 4.3 have that the other desktop environments do not have? A lot of geniality, originality and good will and a huge number of innovations :-). Just to refrase your question.

**Use what you like, but if you have done your choice do not wine about what is an obvious consequence of your choices. **I guess that is the essence.

22

That’s a valid point. Whenever someone (including yours truly) would complain here about KDE 4, someone else would immediately respond: “it’s essentially a beta release.” As though that answered all objections. “We have to move forward.” As though that effectively dismissed the fact that KDE 4.0, at least, was almost unusable.

What frustrated (and even frightened) many of us was the announcement that KDE 3.5 wouldn’t be supported even while acknowledging that KDE 4 was essentially a “beta” and that it had problems. Contrast that to Apache, which only just recently retired the venerable 1.3 series after a decade and a half, even though the 2.xx branch has been around for many years.

I realize that the KDE developers have limited manpower and resources, but the decision to essentially just abandon 3.5 was kind of unprecedented for a major F/OSS project. The obvious answer would have been to move more slowly – take your time on KDE 4, while still maintaining KDE 3.5.

I’m sticking with KDE 3.5 under 11.1 in the hopes that, by the time 11.3 or 12.0 rolls around, KDE 4.xx will finally allow me to do everything that I did under KDE 3.5 without having to search for each feature, one at a time. More importantly, I’m hoping that, by that time, the documentation for KDE 4 will finally be finished enough to permit me to configure the basics without posting a dozen questions here.

23

Seen KDE3 coming, maturing; think it’s still great, but overtaken by KDE4.

I agree on quite a lot of the things mentioned here. Too quick in the open, not ready for production use, this being said by the devs etc. etc. But

Last week some people in a production environment started using KDE4 4.4 RC3 on their own request. They are going out of their mind. Not on the desktop effects, which are on and regarded as cool, but on Nepomuk. All of a sudden they can find anything, as long as it’s in their homedir. They talk about “revolution”, “the end of M$”.

24

Well, if it is mature and WORKING then of course, a semantic desktop can be a real killer app.

25

No I dont have updatis, granted I beta test every so often, but for pete sake man there is stuff still in beta or alpha that feels more stable then the upcomming KDE 4.4.
And they call it release ready, feh.
Using 4.4 in its betas feels no different then its RC’s for me.
And no this is not a hardware issue, I can place full blame on KDE 4.4 for my woes.
The reason being is simple, I can load and run Gnome, XFCE and LXDE with compositing and loads of apps just fine and my hardware is able to take it.
I might not have the most advanced hardware, sure I got 2GB of ram and 600GB of disk space but I still got a intel 915G GEM graphics card and a P4 processor, so on those fronts I am lacking behind in.
But ever since I got my memory and hard drive space upped, shes been a beauty.
Even at 1GB of RAM she seems fine but I did boost up the ram as it only cost 30 buckaroos.
Shes not cutting edge anymore but she still runs well, even with compositing.
Even Kwin works out pretty well, its the rest of KDE thats been giving me gripes… plasma especially.

26

You might as take a look at newer Xorg packages. They work better with your videocard.

27

Thanks for the pictures on your site, enjoyed them.

28

What does KDE 3.5 have that KDE 4.3 doesn’t?.. ME!!! Under openSUSE’s wing KDE 4.3 is (IMHO) great!!!

I’ve tried the Kubuntu’s, the Fedora’s and even went over (briefly) to the dark side>:) with Gnome (sorry guys!!!)… openSUSE and KDE 4.3 have the best desktop experience. Even my mother in law likes it!!!lol!

29

Bah, to me the dark side means a black terminal screen using only CLI to do heavy command line magic. :stuck_out_tongue:

Even my mother in law likes it!!!

Your mother-in-law must like you then. lol!

30

You see I’m living the life!!!:wink:

31

Xorg is fully updated, still crashes…