Due to some fortunate events, I got my hands on a small (miniITX) all-in-one board based on AMD Geode, which you can see in the picture. It is a low-power thing without any coolers (not even passive ones).
My job was to install Linux on it. And I did just that - Debian GNU/Linux with KDE 4.1 beta which is in Debian’s experimental repositories. I hooked the system to my screen so that you can see what it looks like (although it was a bit odd to hook something like this to a 19" screen). It behaves surprisingly well - the system is responsive and works very well (with all fancy Plasma animations)
The ultimate goal is to create an environment for systems that will have the ability to run only a limited set of predefined applications (for example a web browser, mail client and office suite). For this, there will be some changes to the screen you have in the screenshot, but I’ll talk about that a bit later.
Well, this is one of the Aaron-style “explain to the unbelievers why they are wrong”. This is in response to http://blog.kov.eti.br/?p=19 (or you can see the translated version)
Disclaimer: I have nothing against Gnome, I am mentioning it since it was used as a comparison in the original post.
Well, as all trolls on the internet, you have a couple of things obviously not clear to you.
Delusion 1. KDE is vapourware because Lancelot is not finished
First of all, Lancelot is project in the late phase of development (like amarok2) - usable but not finished. See the definition of vapourware if you don’t see where you are mistaken.
And, not to mention, that Lancelot was not intended to be a part of KDE’s base packages. It’s like saying that Gnome is vapourware because Gimmie is not finished.
Delusion 2. KDE is copying Windows (again, example is Lancelot)
Well, as I see it, you either haven’t used the Windows’ menu, or you haven’t used Lancelot (I bet on the later). Apart from being a /menu/, what are the similarities? Comparing Lancelot to Kickoff or Gimmie (for Gnome) would be more accurate… although still incorrect.
Besides Lancelot’s “copying” Windows what arguments do you have that other parts of KDE’s desktop are copying it?
Delusion 3. KDE stopped focussing on the desktop, and went to develop frameworks
Developing a complete desktop environment (with a lot more high quality applications than Gnome has for instance) have to begin with building a solid set of frameworks so that later development of actual applications would be easier, and that applications reach new levels of integration. (compare the so called Gnome Office with KOffice)
KDE 4.0 had most of the frameworks finished, and 4.1 is being built on that. If you are saying that KDE is still ignoring the desktop after the improvements in Plasma that will be in 4.1, than you’re either blind or just don’t want to see.
Conclusion: I was hoping that Aaron will be the only one that has to deal with persons like you, but, apparently (and unfortunately), I was not right.
It is time to admit it - Lancelot will not be ready for 4.1. (like you didn’t see that coming)
I know I promised that it will be in a working shape by 4.o, and finished for 4.1, but there were a couple of obstacles for that goal.
First, there is the fact that Decibel and Akonadi are not finished yet so Lancelot is not able to show the Contacts section. This was the main reason L was not released for 4.o, and still is a show-stopper. Unfortunately it is not the only one.
Another thing are the problems introduced by the migration to WoC. It took me a lot of time to port everything to /new Plasma/ and there still are some glitches (mostly in the applet, not in the application) that I’m trying to fix.
Well, that is really all…
So, where are we?
The current state of L is not at all that bad when I come to think of it. I have started using it as my main ALI again, and I even use it instead of KRunner for most of the time. Most of the things that worked before WoC transition, work now as well - the application browser, system and documents sections and the KRunner integration.
(Currently) Known issues
It crashes sometimes when browsing through the applications - currently under investigation
It is uglier than before (lowest priority problem at the moment)
It is not configurable (except for applet)
Contacts section doesn’t work - under construction
I had encountered a blog on Troll’s website (can not recall where exactly it was, and who posted it… if you find it, please notify me) about creating Java objects from C++. More precisely, creating Qt Jambi widgets and using them in a C++ program.
It gave me an idea. How about a Java-based Plasmoid? We have Python, JavaScript (ECMAScript) and what not, but no Java.
There still are no Java bindings for Plasma, but that doesn’t mean that there can not be Java Plasmoids. If you think that I’m talking gibberish, just look at the following screenshot. As you can see, there are a couple of plasmoids that say Java (to be exact, there are 4 of them).
No, they are not C++ plasmoids that just write ‘Java’ to fool you, those are applets written in Java. You have the code in Plasma’s playground (/trunk/playground/base/plasma/applets/java).
The main problem is setting up the environment.
First you have to install Java SDK (tested with SUN’s, it should also work with IcedTea),
then, you have to install (or compile) Qt Jambi which is a bit pain in the neck if you have Qt with debug symbols included.
And, once it is all installed, you need to set the environment variables both for compiling the applet, and running it in Plasma afterwards. You can use the environment.sh that is included with the source, and modify it to your needs. You also need to change the Jambi’s path in CMakeLists.txt.
Well, that should be all. When I find the time to try to generate Plasma bindings for Java, you will be notified :) (To be honest, I hope that someone will beat me to it)
Although my intention was not to make the Contacts section for 4.1 (that is to disable it) and to wait for Telepathy and Akonadi to be integrated into KDE PIM, I just couldn’t wait.
Lancelot now shows on-line contacts from Kopete, altogether with contact pictures. Unfortunately, the D-Bus interface to Kopete is underpowered so the list updating is pooling-based. Alternative would be to make a Lancelot plug-in for Kopete, but that will have to wait for post-4.1 period (if the need for that remains).
No other IM applications are going to be supported for the time being. I intend to make the IM connections pluggable… but it will not be done for 4.1.
The next step will be to populate the left side of the window with e-mail related stuff such as unread messages from KMail.