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List:       kde-promo
Subject:    [kde-promo] KDE 2.1 released
From:       David Faure <faure () kde ! org>
Date:       2001-02-27 4:30:24
[Download RAW message or body]

DATELINE FEBRUARY 26, 2001

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New KDE Desktop Ready for the Enterprise

KDE Ships Leading Desktop with Advanced Web Browser for Linux and Other UNIXes

February 26, 2001 (The INTERNET). 
The KDE Project today announced the release of KDE 2.1, a powerful and 
easy-to-use Internet-enabled desktop for Linux. KDE features Konqueror, a 
state-of-the-art web browser, as an integrated component of its user-friendly 
desktop environment, as well as KDevelop, an advanced IDE, as a central 
component of KDE's powerful development environment. This release marks a 
leap forward in Linux desktop stability, usability and maturity and is 
suitable for enterprise deployment. The KDE Project strongly encourages all 
users to upgrade to KDE 2.1.

KDE and all its components are available for free under Open Source licenses 
from the KDE server and its mirrors and can also be obtained on CD-ROM. KDE 
2.1 is available in 33 languages and ships with the core KDE libraries, the 
core desktop environment (including Konqueror), developer packages (including 
KDevelop), as well as the over 100 applications from the other standard base 
KDE packages (administration, games, graphics, multimedia, network, PIM and 
utilities).

"This second major release of the KDE 2 series is a real improvement in terms 
of stability, performance and features," said David Faure, release manager 
for KDE 2.1 and KDE Representative at Mandrakesoft. "KDE 2 has now matured 
into a solid, intuitive and complete desktop for daily use. Konqueror is a 
full-featured and robust web browser and important applications like the mail 
client (KMail) have greatly improved. The multimedia architecture has made 
great strides and this release inaugurates the new media player noatun, which 
has a modular, plugin design for playing the latest audio and video formats. 
For development, KDE 2.1 for the first time is bundled with KDevelop, an 
outstanding IDE/RAD which will be comfortably familiar to developers with 
Windows development backgrounds. In short, KDE 2.1 is a state-of-the-art 
desktop and development environment, and positions Linux/Unix to make 
significant inroads in the home and enterprise."

"KDE 2.1 opens the door to widespread adoption of the Linux desktop and will 
help provide the success on the desktop that Linux already enjoys in the 
server space," added Dirk Hohndel, CTO of Suse AG. "With its intuitive 
interface, code maturity and excellent development tools and environment, I 
am confident that enterprises and third party developers will realize the 
enormous potential KDE offers and will migrate their workstations and 
applications to Linux/KDE."

"KDE boasts an outstanding graphical design and robust functionality," said 
Sheila Harnett, Senior Technical Staff Member for IBM's Linux Technology 
Center. "KDE 2.1 significantly raises the bar for Linux desktop 
functionality, usability and quality in virtually every aspect of the 
desktop."

KDE 2: The K Desktop Environment. Konqueror is KDE 2's next-generation web 
browser, file manager and document viewer. The standards-compliant Konqueror 
has a component-based architecture which combines the features and 
functionality of Internet Explorer/Netscape Communicator and Windows 
Explorer. Konqueror supports the full gamut of current Internet technologies, 
including JavaScript, Java, XML, HTML 4.0, CSS-1 and -2 (Cascading Style 
Sheets), SSL (Secure Socket Layer for secure communications) and Netscape 
Communicator plug-ins (for Flash, RealAudio, RealVideo and similar 
technologies).

In addition, KDE offers seamless network transparency for accessing or 
browsing files on Linux, NFS shares, MS Windows SMB shares, HTTP pages, FTP 
directories, LDAP directories and audio CDs. The modular, plug-in nature of 
KDE's file architecture makes it simple to add additional protocols (such as 
IPX, WebDAV or digital cameras) to KDE, which would then automatically be 
available to all KDE applications.

KDE's configurability and customizability touches every aspect of the 
desktop. KDE offers a unique cascading customization feature where 
customization settings are inherited through different layers, from global to 
per-user, permitting enterprise-wide and group-based configurations. KDE's 
sophisticated theme support starts with Qt's style engine, which permits 
developers and artists to create their own widget designs. KDE 2.1 ships with 
over 14 of these styles, some of which emulate the look of various operating 
systems. Additionally KDE includes a new theme manager and does an excellent 
job of importing themes from GTK and GNOME. Moreover, KDE 2 fully supports 
Unicode and KHTML is the only free HTML rendering engine on Linux/X11 that 
features nascent support for BiDi scripts such as Arabic and Hebrew.

KDE 2 features an advanced, network-transparent multimedia architecture based 
on aRts, the Analog Realtime Synthesizer. ARts is a full-featured sound 
system which includes a number of effects and filters, a modular analog 
synthesizer and a mixer. The aRts sound server provides network transparent 
sound support for both input and output using MCOP, a CORBA-like network 
design, enabling applications running on remote computers to output sound and 
receive input from the local workstation. This architecture provides a 
much-needed complement to the network transparency provided by X and for the 
first time permits users to run their applications remotely with sound 
enabled. Moreover, aRts enables multiple applications (local or remote) to 
output sound and/or video concurrently. Video support is available for MPEG 
versions 1, 2 and 4 (experimental), as well as the AVI and DivX formats. 
Using the aRts component technology, it is very easy to develop multimedia 
applications.

Besides the exceptional compliance with Internet and file-sharing standards 
mentioned above, KDE 2 is a leader in compliance with the available Linux 
desktop standards. KWin, KDE's new re-engineered window manager, complies to 
the new Window Manager Specification. Konqueror and KDE comply with the 
Desktop Entry Standard. Konqueror uses the XBEL standard for its bookmarks. 
KDE 2 largely complies with the X Drag-and-Drop (XDND) protocol as well as 
with the X11R6 session management protocol (XSMP).

KDE 2: The K Development Environment. KDE 2.1 offers developers a 
sophisticated IDE as well as a rich set of major technological improvements 
over the critically acclaimed KDE 1 series. Chief among the technologies are 
the Desktop COmmunication Protocol (DCOP), the I/O libraries (KIO), the 
component object model (KParts), an XML-based GUI class, and a 
standards-compliant HTML rendering engine (KHTML).

KDevelop is a leading Linux IDE with numerous features for rapid application 
development, including a GUI dialog builder, integrated debugging, project 
management, documentation and translation facilities, built-in concurrent 
development support, and much more.

KParts, KDE 2's proven component object model, handles all aspects of 
application embedding, such as positioning toolbars and inserting the proper 
menus when the embedded component is activated or deactivated. KParts can 
also interface with the KIO trader to locate available handlers for specific 
mimetypes or services/protocols. This technology is used extensively by the 
KOffice suite and Konqueror.

KIO implements application I/O in a separate process to enable a non-blocking 
GUI without the use of threads. The class is network and protocol transparent 
and hence can be used seamlessly to access HTTP, FTP, POP, IMAP, NFS, SMB, 
LDAP and local files. Moreover, its modular and extensible design permits 
developers to "drop in" additional protocols, such as WebDAV, which will then 
automatically be available to all KDE applications. KIO also implements a 
trader which can locate handlers for specified mimetypes; these handlers can 
then be embedded within the requesting application using the KParts 
technology.

The XML GUI employs XML to create and position menus, toolbars and possibly 
other aspects of the GUI. This technology offers developers and users the 
advantage of simplified configurability of these user interface elements 
across applications and automatic compliance with the KDE Standards and Style 
Guide irrespective of modifications to the standards.

DCOP is a client-to-client communications protocol intermediated by a server 
over the standard X11 ICE library. The protocol supports both message passing 
and remote procedure calls using an XML-RPC to DCOP "gateway". Bindings for 
C, C++ and Python, as well as experimental Java bindings, are available.

KHTML is an HTML 4.0 compliant rendering and drawing engine. The class will 
support the full gamut of current Internet technologies, including 
JavaScript, Java, HTML 4.0, CSS-2 (Cascading Style Sheets), SSL (Secure 
Socket Layer for secure communications) and Netscape Communicator plugins 
(for viewing Flash, RealAudio, RealVideo and similar technologies). The KHTML 
class can easily be used by an application as either a widget (using normal 
window parenting) or as a component (using the KParts technology). KHTML, in 
turn, has the capacity to embed components within itself using the KParts 
technology.

Downloading and Compiling KDE 2.1

The source packages for KDE 2.1 are available for free download at 
http://ftp.kde.org/stable/2.1/distribution/tar/generic/src/ or in the 
equivalent directory at one of the many KDE ftp server mirrors
(http://www.kde.org/mirrors.html). KDE 2.1 requires qt-2.2.4, which is 
available in source code from Trolltech as 
ftp://ftp.trolltech.com/qt/source/qt-x11-2.2.4.tar.gz.
KDE 2.1 should work with Qt-2.2.3 but Qt-2.2.4 is recommended.

For further instructions on compiling and installing KDE 2.1, please consult 
the installation instructions and, if you encounter problems, the compilation 
FAQ. 

Installing Binary Packages

Some distributors choose to provide binary packages of KDE for certain 
versions of their distribution. Some of these binary packages for KDE 2.1 
will be available for free download under 
http://ftp.kde.org/stable/2.1/distribution/ or under the equivalent directory 
at one of the many KDE ftp server mirrors. Please note that the KDE team is 
not responsible for these packages as they are provided by third parties -- 
typically, but not always, the distributor of the relevant distribution.

KDE 2.1 requires qt-2.2.4, the free version of which is available from the 
above locations usually under the name qt-x11-2.2.4. KDE 2.1 should work with 
Qt-2.2.3 but Qt-2.2.4 is recommended. 

At the time of this release, pre-compiled packages are available for:
Caldera eDesktop 2.4:
       http://ftp.kde.org/stable/2.1/distribution/rpm/Caldera/eDesktop24
Debian GNU/Linux (i386, Sparc and PPC)
  Potato (2.2):
       http://ftp.kde.org/stable/2.1/distribution/deb/dists/potato/main
  Stable (2.3):
       http://ftp.kde.org/stable/2.1/distribution/deb/dists/stable/main
Linux-Mandrake 7.2:
       http://ftp.kde.org/stable/2.1/distribution/rpm/Mandrake/7.2
RedHat Linux: 
  Wolverine (i386):
       http://ftp.kde.org/stable/2.1/distribution/rpm/RedHat/wolverine
  7.0 (i386 and alpha): 
       http://ftp.kde.org/stable/2.1/distribution/rpm/RedHat/7.0
  6.x (i386, Alpha and Sparc):
       http://ftp.kde.org/stable/2.1/distribution/rpm/RedHat/6.x
SuSE Linux: 
  7.1(i386 and Sparc) :
       http://ftp.kde.org/stable/2.1/distribution/rpm/SuSE
  7.0 (i386 and PPC) :
       http://ftp.kde.org/stable/2.1/distribution/rpm/SuSE
  6.4 (i386) :
       http://ftp.kde.org/stable/2.1/distribution/rpm/SuSE/6.4-i386
  6.3 (i386) :
       http://ftp.kde.org/stable/2.1/distribution/rpm/SuSE/6.3-i386
Tru64 Systems
       http://ftp.kde.org/stable/2.1/distribution/tar/Tru64
FreeBSD
       http://ftp.kde.org/stable/2.1/distribution/tar/FreeBSD

Please check the servers periodically for pre-compiled packages for other 
distributions. More binary packages will become available over the coming 
days and weeks.

What Others Are Saying

KDE 2.1 has already earned accolades from industry leaders worldwide. A 
sampling of comments follows.

"We are very excited about the enhancements in KDE 2.1 and we are pleased to 
be able to contribute to the project," said Rene Schmidt, Corel's Executive 
Vice-President, Linux Products. "KDE continues to improve with each release, 
and these enhancements will make our easy-to-use Linux distribution for the 
desktop even better."

"A greater number and availability of Linux applications is an important 
factor that will determine if Linux permeates the enterprise desktop," said 
Drew Spencer, Chief Technology Officer for Caldera Systems, Inc. "KDE 2.1 
addresses this issue with the integration of the Konqueror browser and 
KDevelop, a tool that allows developers to create applications in C++ for all 
kinds of environments. Together with the existing tools available for KDE, 
KDevelop is a one-stop solution for developers."

"With the 2.1 release, KDE again demonstrates its capacity to offer rich 
software and provide a complete and stable environment for everyday use", 
added Gaël Duval, co-founder of Mandrakesoft. "This latest release has paved 
the way for KDE on user's desktops in the enterprise as well as at home. From 
the full-featured web browser to the friendly configuration center, it 
provides all the common facilities many computers users need to abandon 
Windows® entirely."

About KDE

KDE is an independent, collaborative project by hundreds of developers 
worldwide to create a sophisticated, customizable and stable desktop 
environment employing a component-based, network-transparent architecture. 
KDE is working proof of the power of the Open Source "Bazaar-style" software 
development model to create first-rate technologies on par with and superior 
to even the most complex commercial software.

For more information about KDE, please visit KDE's web site. More information 
about KDE 2 is available in two (1, 2) slideshow presentations and on KDE's 
web site, including an evolving FAQ to answer questions about migrating to 
KDE 2.1 from KDE 1.x, a number of screenshots, developer information and a 
developer's KDE 1 - KDE 2 porting guide.

Trademarks Notices. 

KDE and K Desktop Environment are trademarks of KDE e.V. Linux is a 
registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. Unix is a registered trademark of The 
Open Group. Trolltech and Qt are trademarks of Trolltech AS. MS Windows, 
Internet Explorer and Windows Explorer are trademarks or registered 
trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Netscape and Netscape Communicator are 
trademarks or registered trademarks of Netscape Communications Corporation in 
the United States and other countries and JavaScript is a trademark of 
Netscape Communications Corporation. Java is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, 
Inc. Flash is a trademark or registered trademark of Macromedia, Inc. in the 
United States and/or other countries. RealAudio and RealVideo are trademarks 
or registered trademarks of RealNetworks, Inc. All other trademarks and 
copyrights referred to in this announcement are the property of their 
respective owners. 
Press Contacts:

United States:

Kurt Granroth
granroth@kde.org
(1) 480 732 1752
 
Andreas Pour
pour@kde.org
(1) 718 456 1165

Europe (French and English):

David Faure
faure@kde.org
(44) 1225 837409

Europe (English and German):

Martin Konold
konold@kde.org
(49) 179 2252249

-- 
David FAURE, david@mandrakesoft.com, faure@kde.org
http://perso.mandrakesoft.com/~david/, http://www.konqueror.org/
KDE, Making The Future of Computing Available Today

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