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List:       kde-devel
Subject:    Re: KDE Mindshare (or the lack thereof)
From:       <mosfet () jorsm ! com>
Date:       1999-03-05 12:31:45
[Download RAW message or body]

On Fri, 05 Mar 1999, Robert Hagemann wrote:
>
>my shot for buzzword compliance:
>KDE :
>
>Korba-based
>Distributed
>Environment

How about:
 
The K Desktop Environment Overview:
 
The K Desktop environment is designed by a large international group of
Open-Source programmers in order to provide Unix-like systems with a
object-oriented desktop focused on the end user. KDE is the preferred desktop
evironment of the majority of home Unix based vendors and is included in
popular distributions such as Caldera, SuSe, SlackWare, and Stampede. KDE users
on the internet also account for gigabyte daily downloads on the KDE related
internet archives. 

Unlike most Unix desktop technologies, KDE started and continues to be the
front-runner in applications designed with usability as the primary focus.
Whereas most desktops for Unix and Unix-like systems are developed with people
already familiar with advanced Unix operating system principles, KDE allows
users completely new to the strengths of Unix to take advantage of them in a
easy to use and coherent fashion.
 
KDE's current strengths derive from it's strong Unix based functionality, it's
unparalleled stability, and a consistency in user interface design that is
sorely lacking in other Unix based desktop environments. 

KDE also gains it's strength from the fact that it is truly a independent Open
Source project. KDE is sustained by a wide group of developers and companies
worldwide and not primarily by a single commercial entity. This assures users
of a system truly designed to match their needs and not the needs of one
particular business. This avoids problems in software that is funded and
developed primarily by a single company where sometimes issues such as
marketing prompt unstable application releases, etc... 

In addition to the basic desktop functionality provided by most desktops, KDE
includes a large variety of everyday applications such as a file manager, web
browser, mail and news clients, text editors, and essentially every other tool
one would need to begin being productive in the Unix environment. Also of note
is the KOffice productivity suite, which is currently under active development
and takes full advantage of the technologies listed below.
 
Of course, being a X Windows based desktop users can take advantage of any
Unix/X11 application inside KDE. This includes popular products such as Netscape
Cop's. Communicator and Corel's WordPerfect.
 
Technologies being developed for the K Desktop Environment include:  

Superior internet integration. Almost all KDE applications, from simple text
editors and image viewers to large applications like productivity suites, are
fully internet transparent. Being a Unix based technology, KDE has been able
to attain a much higher and more complete level of internet transparency then
other operating system's desktops. KDE is the most advanced implementation of
this technology even on the Unix platform, where internet protocols such as FTP
and HTTP (WWW pages) originated and are heavily used on a daily basis.  

Advanced Corba communication. Applications within the K Desktop Environment
can take advantage of the OpenParts object model. Similar in theory to OLE II
but based on a non-proprietary API, this allows users to embed applications
within documents. OpenParts expands on this model, providing a general
framework for applications to interact in a completely object oriented fashion. 

Modernized libraries to access traditional Unix functionality. KDE is mostly
being developed with a focus on C++ and other modern languages like Python.
While C++ has been the most common GUI development language on the most common
platforms for many years, it has taken some time to gain support with Unix/X11
applications. KDE breaks this mold, providing easy to use interfaces that
build on Unix and X Window's traditional strengths. This has benefited KDE in
numerous ways including modular design, easy application development, and
consistency in the user interface. 

Of course, since C++ is derived from the C language it is easy to add bindings
to other popular languages. Python has already been mentioned, but there are
also bindings in development for other languages such as Scheme.          

More information on the K Desktop Enviroment is available at:

http://www.kde.org

>Ciao,
>Robert
>.

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