News About Desktop Environments: Enlightenment, KDE, GNOME, and Others
- Dr. Roy Schestowitz
- 2014-04-02 10:13:07 UTC
- Modified: 2014-04-02 10:13:07 UTC
Enlightenment
With the latest Git development work for the Elementary tool-kit and library, applications can run directly from the DRM driver interface without any display server / compositor / window manager. Applications can be created to run in DRM and by setting the ELM_ENGINE=drm option the apps will run in a standalone mode without anything else underneath.
Current support work is being done to enable client-side applications (as opposed to making a Wayland compositor itself - that is a future plan). Currently EFL applications that use the lower-level Ecore-Evas and higher level Elementary API's will work and display correctly in Wayland, handle input, resizing and moving. Client-side frames are already provided. Both Shared-memory buffers AND EGL/OpenGL-ES2 buffers are supported. The Shared-memory buffers are purely CPU-rendered, meaning that they will work with or without OpenGL hardware acceleration support. They are fast and usable. The OpenGL-ES2 display is fully accelerated with all primitives being rendered by OpenGL (Hardware acceleration) and already work fully due to a long history of supporting this under X11 and other embedded EGL/OpenGL-ES2 environments.
KDE
April 1, 2014. Today KDE makes available the first beta of Frameworks 5. This release is part of a series of releases leading up to the final version planned for June 2014 following the previous alpha last month. This release marks the freeze of source incompatible changes and the introduction of the Frameworks 5 Porting Aids.
And KDE knows what happens when you alienate a group of users since the moment when the anger of some people over KDE 4 lead to the first prominent fork of KDE software, the Trinity Desktop Environment.
Today KDE released updates for its Applications and Development Platform, the fourth in a series of monthly stabilization updates to the 4.12 series. This release also includes an updated Plasma Workspaces 4.11.8. Both releases contain only bugfixes and translation updates, providing a safe and pleasant update for everyone.
Part of the KDE PIM group is meeting over this weekend in Barcelona in the spacious BlueSystems offices, hacking on all sorts of things. Me and David Edmundson took the oportunity to do some super huge changes to our KPeople library that are needed and as the library is in its dawn, it's better to do it sooner than later. These are all internal and boring changes, but one of the changes we've been working on here is really cool and worth mentioning.
The CD and DVD era is coming to an end and developers don't really bother to innovate when it comes to applications that deal with this media. There are quite a few apps that are capable of writing to DVDs available for the Linux platform, and K3B is one of the best.
The fourth beta of digiKam Software Collection 4.0 is now available for photographers interested in testing out this popular KDE software component.
digiKam team is proud to announce the fourth beta release of digiKam Software Collection 4.0.0.
Qt3D is the Qt component that adds 3D support to Qt Quick for easily integrating 3D functionality. Qt3D has been in development for some time and was going to be an "essential" module to Qt 5.0 before being moved to just an add-on as part of Nokia's Qt changes prior to selling it to Digia. Qt3D offers up a lot of potential for 3D user-interfaces and applications, but hasn't seen too much work recently -- the last time we got to mention it was when talking about OpenGL taking on a greater role within Qt in late 2012.
The KDE Project developers have just released the first Release Candidate of Applications and Platform 4.13, and it's all about fixes and improvements.
“KDE has released the release candidate of the 4.13 versions of Applications and Development Platform. With API, dependency and feature freezes in place, the focus is now on fixing bugs and further polishing,” said the KDE developers.
“The Calligra team has released version 2.8.1, the first of the bugfix releases of the Calligra Suite, and Calligra Active in the 2.8 series. This release contains a few important bug fixes to 2.8.0 and we recommend everybody to update,” reads the official announcement.
GNOME
Announcing her departure, Karen said: “Working as the GNOME Foundation Executive Director has been one of the highlights of my career.” She also spoke of the achievements during her time as Executive Director: “I’ve helped to recruit two new advisory board members… and we have run the last three years in the black. We’ve held some successful funding campaigns, particularly around privacy. We have a mind-blowingly fantastic Board of Directors, and the Engagement team is doing amazing work. The GNOME.Asia team is strong, and we’ve got an influx of people, more so than I’ve seen in some time.”
Zukitwo, a beautiful theme designed for GNOME 3.12 that makes use of the GTK2 engine Murrine and the GTK2 pixbuf engine, is now at version 2014.03.29.
The Zukitwo theme was updated shortly after the release of GNOME 3.12 and it’s probably the first theme to support the new version of GNOME. A lot of other themes will probably follow soon but, coincidentally, Zukitwo is also one of the best ones around.
Our dedication towards Wayland has pushed us to build a cleaner architecture overall. What used to be a proliferation of X-specific video and input drivers is mostly culminating in centralized, standardized code. For input, we have libinput, which we’re using from Weston, mutter, and Xorg as well. What used to be a collection of chipset-specific video plugins for doing accelerated rendering have now been replaced by glamor, a credible chipset-independent acceleration architecture. What used to be large monolithic components heavily tied to Xorg and the Xorg input and video architectures have now been split out into separate, easily-reusable libraries with separate, easily-maintainable codebases. New, experimental features can be prototyped faster than ever before.
One of the great things about Linux distributions is the customization. In contrast, an operating system like Windows 8 is rather limited. Sure, you can change some colors, wallpapers and sounds, but pretty much, it is what it is. What you see is what you get. That is probably fine for most people, however, Linux users are not most people.
Itching to get your hands on the latest goodies from Gnome? Look no further… If you’d like to see the project’s latest efforts, including getting the best look at the latest Gnome core apps (Music, Weather, Maps, Videos), Matthias Clasen has a special gift for you. He’s made a special live CD containing a complete Gnome 3.12 atop Fedora 20.
Review When the GNOME 3.x desktop arrived it was, frankly, unusable. It wasn't so much the radical departure from past desktop environments, as the fact that essential things did not work properly or, more frustratingly, had been deemed unnecessary.
THE GNOME PROJECT has released Gnome 3.12, the latest version of the heavyweight Linux desktop environment, which adds support for better displays and faster startup times.
Earlier today GNOME 3.12 has been released, bringing major new features, several redesigned programs and three new applications: Logs, Sound Recorder and Polari.
Misc.
Recent Techrights' Posts
- Obscene Contradiction in Microsoft's Layoffs Tally ("Official" Numbers Do Not Add Up)
- Notice how they treat "LinkedIn" as separate
- Confirmed: Microsoft Layoffs Come in Two Waves, Just Like Last Summer
- To us, what stands out is the admission from Microsoft that there are two (or more) waves
- Links 06/07/2026: Artists Reject Slop (or Even de Facto Bribes to Market/Endorse Slop)
- Links for the day
- The Media Needs to Speak of Slop as a Climate Issue Like It Did With Bitcoin
- But the slop industry keeps paying the media to play along with the hype
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- SLAPP Censorship - Part 130 Out of 200: Jealousy, Envy, Hubris
- This site is primarily about Free software
- Gemini Links 06/07/2026: Still Mostly Dry, GoToSocial, and More
- Links for the day
- European Patent Office (EPO) Series: Effective Dispute Resolution… But Not For EPO Staff
- Slovenia fielded one of the few Administrative Council delegations which managed to maintain its own independent line against the tyrannical EPOnian "Sun King"
- Community Sites Need Genuine Collaboration and True Autonomy
- People who want to communicate, federate and organise for effective change need to evolve
- Free Software Foundation (FSF) Covers Quibble, Free Software for Secure Communications, in the FSF Summer Bulletin
- The Georgia Tech folks are bringing Free software education and contributions to one of the better known Computer Science hubs in the US
- Microsoft Layoffs Include Windows, Bing, Slop (CoPilot etc.) and There Will More More Rounds (or Waves) to Come
- "43% of Xbox laid off"
- Preserving Comments About the Real IBM Before They Get Deleted
- IBM in the 1980s is not what it is right now
- Cybershow on "Escaping Prisons For Your Mind"
- "THE CYBER SHOW: Stealing technofascism's boots, and stomping on its own face with them."
- The Media Talks a Lot About XBox Layoffs, a Closer Look at the Data Show Microsoft 'Bloodbath'
- 'Bloodbath' is the term insiders use
- Links 06/07/2026: At Least 20% Staff Reduction in XBox (Microsoft), Taiwan Sees Uptick in Chinese Aggression/Provocation, Senator Rodante Marcoleta Arrested
- Links for the day
- In Praise of the UK's Stance on Free Speech (but Some Reservations)
- At the moment there is a healthy discussion going on with the objective of disrupting attacks on British press
- Exposing Corruption at the European Patent Office (EPO), a Call for More Whistleblowers
- We predict that, provided enough whistleblowers speak out, António "the unready" won't even finish his current term
- Leaving Our Pets for Several Days
- This week our pets will be worried that "mommy and daddy" are away
- Dating Trees and Dating 'Apps'
- several high-profile stories in the news about scandals in "dating apps"
- DW Documentary About Julian Assange Turns 2
- It was released just days after Assange had turned 53 and about two weeks after he had left the UK
- Independent Media is the Only Form of Legitimate Media
- Independent media is, indeed, what we need to demand more of
- The Story of the European Patent Office (EPO) Wagging the Dog (EU)
- The aim of the series is to properly inform the world - not just Europeans - how Europe's second-largest institution is run [...] How did a corporate hub of monopolies become so detached from the Rule of Law?
- GNU/Linux Up to New High in Libya, Windows Down to All-Time Low
- GNU/Linux touches 5% there, based on statCounter
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 129 Out of 200: Iranian Tactics
- Hunger for revenge compels people to do overzealous, irrational things
- Quiet Week
- Many in the US are still enjoying an extended weekend
- IBM's Fall
- IBM's fate is closely connected to that of the Free software movement because of the salaries
- Social Dialogue at the European Patent Office (EPO) is Dead, the Strikes and Work Stoppage-Like Actions Carry on
- What next for the EPO?
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 05, 2026
- IRC logs for Sunday, July 05, 2026
- Links 05/07/2026: Shadows of the Upper Peninsula and 2026 Old Computer Challenge
- Links for the day
- Not Everything Should be Electric
- technology has become detrimental to society
- Gemini Links 05/07/2026: Eye of the Beholder and Baldur’s Gate 3 and Alhena 5.6.5
- Links for the day
- GNU/Linux Market Share is Already High
- GNU/Linux has fast become and is still becoming mainstream in recent years
- The 9-Step IBM Algorithm: Gaming Wall Street While Shedding Off Staff and Bribing the Mainstream Media to Play Along
- Any time IBM preaches manners (e.g. CoC) to the community remember that IBM works closely with and flatters the dictator
- XBox is Practically 'Dead Man Walking' at This Point
- writings on the wall
- They Could Never Kill the Ideas of Richard Stallman (RMS), But They Are Still Trying
- Killing an idea is harder than killing a person and killing a person is illegal
- Only Germany Objected to Salary Adjustment (Reduction) Procedure of "Team Campinos"
- "flash report on the Administrative Council of 30 June and 1 July 2026"
- A "Never Slop" Policy in Quibble
- "every change in the repository must be made by a human"
- Series on GNU/Linux in Japan
- This series can last a week or longer
- 75% of All the Patents Last Year Were Software
- The corporate media has more or less ceased to discuss this matter
- At Microsoft "the Morale of Developers is at an All-time Low"
- Numerous reports today say that after at least 5 studios got marked for shutdown (mothballing) by Microsoft there are rumours about Obsidian as well
- Links 05/07/2026: Data Breaches, Heat Waves, and Weinstein Rape Conviction Upheld
- Links for the day
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- People who continue to cheer for slop aren't just misguided fanbis and fangurls
- False Narratives of Slop "Efficiency" as Debt Climbs
- false stories about slop
- July 8 as "D-Day" for Microsoft, Mass Layoffs Planned
- Microsoft's grip on the market has slipped for a long time
- GNU/Linux Leaps to 6% in Thailand
- Can we expect 10% by year's end?
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 128 Out of 200: Making Laws Work for Britain, Not Oversensitive Americans Looking for 'Revenge' by Lawfare
- The SLAPPs are intended to protect corporations (employers like Microsoft)
- EC Looking for Input on Digital Networks Act Until Next Month
- New initiative
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Saturday, July 04, 2026
- IRC logs for Saturday, July 04, 2026
- Gemini Links 05/07/2026: Ragebaited and Removing Lines in Emacs
- Links for the day
- Links 05/07/2026: "Tesla Slams Into Crowded Cafe" and "ChatGPT [Turned] Into a Sociopath"
- Links for the day
- BRICS and Windows: All-Time Lows
- Expect many more Microsoft layoffs in years to come
- Do No Evil, Do Not DDoS
- Sites that attract DDoS attacks because of their message are sites that are difficult to debunk or debate
- France is Winning the Race Against Windows
- France instructs, then orders, government agencies to adopt GNU/Linux
- Not 2.5% and Not 2.5 Billion Dollars for "Hey Hi"; 2 Waves of Microsoft Layoffs Rumoured This Month, July 8th, Then July 22nd (Just Before 'Results')
- People there join unions, knowing they will be terminated silently or otherwise
- Microsoft Double Trouble With Slop
- What does Microsoft even sell at this point?
- Based on US Government Sites, GNU/Linux Has Reached About 8% "Market Share" in Desktops/Laptops
- Culled to exclude mobile platforms, GNU/Linux would likely be above 8%
- TheLayoff.com is Deleting Comments About IBM Offshoring
- Meanwhile, rage-baiting Internet trolls and sometimes trolls who paste in LLM slop are immune from censorship
- American Independence Needs Independent Media
- The American regime's hostility towards media is an international problem
- Techrights Was Always a Community Platform
- Techrights is about whistleblowers
- Phenomenal Growth for GNU/Linux in Afghanistan
- This is impressive because for many years it was registered at near 0%
- Daniel Pocock Pursuing Complaint in the United States Against Software in the Public Interest (SPI) et al
- It seems like the only people who don't support him are those whom he criticises
- Gemini Links 04/07/2026: Busy Squirrel, Independence Day Celebrations, PalmOS Programming
- Links for the day
- Canonical/Ubuntu is Breaking CP (cp) to Help Microsoft Turn Coreutils Into Proprietary Software for Windows
- What we could do reliably in the 1970s (before GNU) we cannot do in 2026?
- Brett Wilson LLP is Downsizing, Apparently Closing Down the Oversized and Overpriced Office
- Address changed 13 hours ago
- Free Software Has No Kings or CEOs
- The kingdom is a cross-border phenomenon, so national flags and other such symbolism overlook the core problem [...] Free Software can help lead us out of the current imbalances
- The United States Lost Freedom of Speech
- independence refers to a condition, not an activity
- IBM Replacing the People Who Built IBM With Cheaper and Younger Staff, According to IBM Insiders
- This is a very common sentiment in IBM
- For USA 250 Microsoft is Messing With Our Minds (2.50%) to Distract From Mass Layoffs
- The slopfarms contribute to this noise
- "Defective by Design" Turns 20
- DBD is still as relevant as ever (probably more relevant than ever before)
- A Bicycle for the Feeble Mind, or How Computers Got Worse for Productivity (Intentionally)
- Many of us still adopt and champion the "workstation" mentality
- Links 04/07/2026: Microsoft Tax Haven (Evasion) Tactics, Tobacco Bans, and More
- Links for the day
- Links 04/07/2026: 2026 Old Computer Challenge and Trying Gopher
- Links for the day
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 127 Out of 200: Lawsuits by Americans Filed in the UK a Burden on British Taxpayers, No Way to Recover the Funds When Americans Lose Their Cases
- Are Garrett and Graveley 'pulling a 4Chan'?
- Links 04/07/2026: USMCA (Covering Software Patents) Might Not be Renewed, Slop Bros Try to Pay Weird Al to Endorse Their Scheme
- Links for the day
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Friday, July 03, 2026
- IRC logs for Friday, July 03, 2026