KDE 4.1 was released at the end of July and you can add it to any Ubuntu installation with a simple repository update. Add is the operative word here. It's basically a no-risk operation since 4.1 will happily co-exist with your current version of KDE or Gnome(or Enlightenment, or Fluxbox, or Openbox, or ...). It's simply a matter of switching display managers at the login screen.

The initial result was a sumptuous graphical feast ...

The graphics are rich, transparency looks great, and Compiz -- which I'd set up in KDE 3 -- transferred across flawlessly. To get an idea of the integration, compare these two views of the Dolphin file manager. The KDE 3 version looks positvely old-fashioned in comparison ...

But I won't bore you with talk of all the new features. Instead, let's talk about the problems.