With openSUSE 11.0 just a few days away, it’s time to look at one of the stars of the show: KDE. In openSUSE 11.0, you get two KDEs for the price of one. Here we’ll take a look at what’s coming in KDE, and talk to one of openSUSE’s KDE contributors, Stephan Binner.

Looking at KDE in openSUSE 11.0

KDE 4.0.4

KDE 4.0.4 is the version of KDE shipping with openSUSE 11.0. It’s radically different from KDE 3.5 on the surface, as well as the technology behind the scenes. Dolphin is the default file manager, a new and simpler utility for users to manage their files. (Don’t worry, Konqueror is still available for your Web browsing and advanced file management needs!)

Systemsettings is a more usable replacement for KControl, to make system configuration much easier. KWin, the KDE window manager now supports desktop effects with KDE, easy to enable and use without loss of window manager integration or functionality.

The desktop shell and panels have been completely rewritten. The first thing KDE users will notice in KDE 4 is Oxygen, a new approach to artwork on KDE that brings a unified and attractive look to all KDE 4 interfaces, applications, icons, and themes.

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