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List:       kde-devel
Subject:    Re: kde's future
From:       Andreas Pour <pour () mieterra ! com>
Date:       2000-12-30 16:00:49
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Mudonja Tekara wrote:
> 
> Gnome is behind KDE, and no foundation nor money would help here.
> But KDE is behind MS Windows and KDE will have a future when:
> 
> 1. Konqeror becomes as good as Internet Explorer (Java etc.)
> 2. Koffice becomes as good as Microsoft Office

At least some Office Suite.  E.g. HancomLinux suite might get really good
(http://www.hancom.com/en/news/media11_28.html) or someone might do a Qt/KDE
face for OpenOffice.

> 3. Kmail or Magellan becomes as good as Outlook
> 4. it provides better installation method

A lot of energy targeted here already.

> 5. it provides a seemless keyboard layout switch etc.

This is getting pretty close.
 
> 6. X gets full support for AA

This is a short time away.

> 7. X gets faster (KDE runs slow comparing to Windows on 64 RAM)

Hmm, I don't think this is an issue, X is fast for me.  Maybe you don't use a
card supported well?  Also maybe KDE has not been compiled optimized on your
system.  One of the things that should really make KDE faster is a better C++
compiler -- I anxiously await gcc 3.0.

> 8. something else replaces X

That of course is an option :-).

> 9. normal user (like my wife) is able to install Linux/BSD etc. with
>    KDE easily

I'd like to see a "normal" user install Windows!!  (And I don't mean from an
OEM's installation CD -- that one has already everything on it suitable for the
hardware).  What you really mean is that OEM's need to sell KDE boxes, so it
(a) doesn't need to be installed, and (b) if you need to re-install, all the
drives and software selections have already been made.  In that case it should
be *much* easier to install than Windows, which requires rebooting about 5
times in the process.

> 10. printer support with cups, qups and kups becomes easier to use

Yes, this is a *major* weakness right now -- even in KDE printing support
sucks.  And of your list this weakness is the furthest from being solved :-(.

> 
> Not to mention Macromedia Flash, QuickTime, PhotoShop, PaintShopPro, 3D
> Studio Max, Bruce, PhotoShop Plugins etc. etc.

How many peopleuse Studio Max and PhotoShop?  Well, maybe in "blackmarket"
countries it's pretty high, but forking out the mega-cost of these programs is
not something the average person does.

> 
> Not to mention that you can buy secondhand Windows 98 for 250 danish krowns,
> and that Linux-Mandrake 7.2 costs 500 danish krowns. Ok, you may say the
> download is free. No, it's not. It's again aproximately 500 krowns, because
> it takes three days to download it with 56 modem (most people have 56 modems).

Right, but you only need to buy Linux-Mandrake once :-).  And if more people
used it you can just get CDs from your friends, for free.  This is more of a
critical mass issue -- once it gets more popular it will definitely be easier
to get.  Also things are moving to a higher-bandwidth worlds.

[ ... ]

Ciao,

Andreas Pour

http://www.kde.com/ :  Everything KDE
http://apps.kde.com/:  The Latest in KDE Applications
 
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