Summary: The world's most powerful desktop/software compilation is reaching adulthood (age 18) in 2014 and it still enjoys good momentum

NEXT YEAR KDE will turn 18. The project has matured a lot for almost a couple of decades and we now have KDE 4.12 [1], the twelfth release of KDE4. We can also take a glimpse at Plasma 2 [2], which makes GNU/Linux looks more visually attractive than any other operating systems (subjective), even the proprietary ones that are all about packaging and very little substance (yes, Apple). Kdenlive has just been revived [3] and Plasma Media Center 1.2 was released for the holidays [4], ushering good news about Akademy 2014 [5].

Of course, not everyone is entirely happy with KDE [6]. That is fine. KDE is not for everyone and it's good that alternatives exist so that GNU/Linux isn't the choice between KDE or nothing at all (Windows and Apple OSuX offer no alternative 'shells'). Black Lab Linux is one of the latest distributions to have embraced KDE [7] and now we have Qt 5.2 [8] to enhance the new/prosepctive releases [9], promising a future of rapid development of both the toolkit and the applications, not just the desktop environment (KWin, KDM, Plasma, and so on). ⬆

Related/contextual items from the news:

1. KDE 4.12 Applications & Development Platform Released





2. Plasma 2 Technology Preview

   KDE's Plasma Team presents a first glimpse at the evolution of the Plasma Workspaces. Plasma 2 Technology Preview demonstrates the current development status.





3. Kdenlive's Video Editing Future Has Been Revived

   Last month I wrote how the Kdenlive project had gone dark after the KDE video editing software's leader had gone missing. Fortunately, the maintainer is alive and well and there's renewed hope for new developments within Kdenlive.





4. Plasma Media Center 1.2 Released In Time For Christmas

   The KDE community has a Christmas gift for you! We are happy to announce the release of KDE's Plasma Media Center 1.2—your first stop for media and entertainment created by the Elves at KDE. Plasma Media Center is designed to provide an easy and comfortable way to watch your videos, browse your photo collection and listen to your music, all in one place. This release brings many refinements and a host of new features, making consuming media even easier and more fun.





5. Akademy 2014 - Brno, Czech Republic

   Where is the next Akademy? In Czech, "KDE je pÅ™íští Akademy?" as 'kde' means 'where' in Czech.





6. A Few Grains of Sand in the FOSS Bucket

   I switched back to KDE a couple months ago, and low and behold, the very same problem that released my inner crybaby in 2009, 2012 and even a month ago is still plaguing KDE today. Like Gnome, KDE has a dedicated search tool. Just as Gnome has Gnome Search Tool, KDE has Kfind.
   
   There’s only one problem. Kfind Ksucks.
   
   I’ve played with about every setting you can imagine in Kfind, from the funky default file string to the box that says “use indexing.” It gives me nothing. Nada. Zip. Ziltch.





7. Black Lab Linux 4.1.9 KDE released





8. KDE Releases Applications and Development Platform 4.12

   The KDE Community is proud to announce the latest major updates to KDE Applications delivering new features and fixes. With Plasma Workspaces and the KDE Platform frozen and receiving only long term support, those teams are focusing on the technical transition to Frameworks 5.





9. Qt 5.2 - Foundation for KDE Frameworks 5