KDE ships version 5.2 of plasma next workspace

[Ph1b3r0pt1c]

I don't know what it is, But I cannot get used to KDE or Gnome now, I don't know if its to flashy or what. I guess ill stick with openbox+tint2 :/

 

Edit: THANK YOU For that wallpaper

 

Edit2: I actually may download this when its released.

[patseguin Global Moderator]

Looks really nice. I always loved KDE.

[Aergan]

Still looks like a "Kluttered mess" to me.

[simonlang]

One of the reasons I strongly prefer KDE on my *Nix systems.. always finding new hidden tricks in it.  Where most other desktops are trying to minimalize everything to the point of absurdity (looking at you, Gnome), KDE isn't happy until it not only has every possible tweak/trick/feature you can think of, but has at least 15 different ways of activating it. 

 

makes it more impressive if you think its free and how much work it probably is to code, design and bugfixing it.

[bluetree]

Looks very nice to me.

[nvllsvm]

The default KF5 theme is likely to be like this: http://wstaw.org/m/2014/04/14/sample1.png :pinch:

[xxxxxx.xxxxxx]

I have never been a fan of KDE desktop environments from as far back as i can remember, they generally feel "clunky" and too much eye-candy.

 

Everyone is different however and this is where GNU/Linux prevails, there is a choice for everyone's preference, hopefully this version once final will be more refined than previous releases :)

[.Ruby]

KDE needs a new designers, pronto! Looks just awful as all previous KDE releases, both icons and shell.

I was about to say most of those pictures look noticably the same compared to '4.2'. The last picture though is really nice, it captures the sense of a mature UI that doesn't get in the way,

[patseguin Global Moderator]

Kind of makes me want to ditch Windows. I play games on my One and use the computer only for browsing, some image processing, nothing overly intensive with the exception of some games I'm addicted to like Simcity and Diablo 3 with the xpac. I have 2 SSD's and 2 HD's (in RAID 0). I use the 1 st SSD for my OS obviously and my 2nd one for programs that I just want to load fast. Would it be better for me to install on that drive or just mess with the live CD? I know the live CD can be slow.

[Max Norris]

Would it be better for me to install on that drive or just mess with the live CD? I know the live CD can be slow.

Personally, if you got the room, set up it's own partition and do a real install. Even if it's an external USB drive or something.. it'll give you a much better feel for how it'll run on your hardware, plus you can better check compatibility with Wine with those games of yours (it's hit or miss), etc etc.. make sure it's something you're really ready to do before you commit. If it works out, go nuts and go for it.. if it doesn't, it's a relatively easy thing to undo, especially if you went with an external drive, in which case there's really nothing to do. Same goes if you're undecided on which desktop to go for.. I personally like KDE but everybody's got their own opinion, some prefer that lightweight stuff, some prefer that Gnome.. thing, etc. Find the one that fits.

[Duffydemon]

It looks like straight from Vista days. Like a Frankenstein of UIs. GNOME feels more elegant than KDE.

[patseguin Global Moderator]

Personally, if you got the room, set up it's own partition and do a real install. Even if it's an external USB drive or something.. it'll give you a much better feel for how it'll run on your hardware, plus you can better check compatibility with Wine with those games of yours (it's hit or miss), etc etc.. make sure it's something you're really ready to do before you commit. If it works out, go nuts and go for it.. if it doesn't, it's a relatively easy thing to undo, especially if you went with an external drive, in which case there's really nothing to do. Same goes if you're undecided on which desktop to go for.. I personally like KDE but everybody's got their own opinion, some prefer that lightweight stuff, some prefer that Gnome.. thing, etc. Find the one that fits.

Good idea, I have an external USB 3.0 HD. Will that work?

[Max Norris]

Good idea, I have an external USB 3.0 HD. Will that work?

As long as your motherboard lets you boot off of a USB device (and I'd bet good money it does), sure. If you don't want it to install the bootloader on top of the one Windows is using tell whatever distro to install GRUB to whichever device the USB drive is on instead of your main hard drive. During bootup you'll need to hit whatever hotkey it is to select the boot device.. usually it's either escape or F12 but it varies depending on who made it. Pick the USB to boot from Linux on the USB, do nothing and it'll boot Windows just like before. One extra step, but it won't affect your primary OS at all plus hey, it's just testing anyways right? It's the safest way to get a real feel for how it'll perform, obviously loading a tad slower as it's off the USB but otherwise it'll be the real thing, and if it doesn't pan out, nothing lost.

If you're really digging it you can install it to your primary HDD normally (after backing stuff up of course), and if it doesn't pan out, just reboot into Windows, grab another ISO and try again.

[.stan]

Looks pretty cheap, imo :(

[cigamrorrim]

I used to like KDE when I first starting using linux. I'll have to give the beta a worl. I hated gnome3 in the RHEL7 beta and ended up going to fluxbox just to get it off my screen.

[Yogurth]

I was about to say most of those pictures look noticably the same compared to '4.2'. The last picture though is really nice, it captures the sense of a mature UI that doesn't get in the way,

Indeed that last picture looks much better, but I think that is only a concept...unfortunately.

[patseguin Global Moderator]

Well it won't run off a live disc for me. It just freezes. I guess I'll just not mess around and stay with Windows.

[patseguin Global Moderator]

Anyone know why it won't run? I've tried Ubuntu before but I want Kubuntu.

[Shiranui]

So, just a new skin, then...

[Hussam Al-tayeb]

So, just a new skin, then...

Not just a new skin. It has been ported from Qt4 to Qt5 and the whole interface is in QML now. Also kdelibs and kde-workspace were split into dozens of smaller components.

[Osiris]

Calendar and notifications look really cool.  The fact that it still has a start menu is cute.

[4CxbqFxVnstmA Veteran]

I have been happy in the past with Gnome 2 and Gnome 3 and Unity and XFCE but I'm new to KDE and just love its flexibility and cool looks! Its my desktop (with added Ubuntu Studio packages) and I've got it looking just the way I want (for today at least as I enjoy tweaking it and finding new things that it can do).

 

The new version looks great though I agree its taking the flat look other OSes are using. If you want to go back to basics there's the CDE theme that looks like early *nix windowed environments. It's sort of flat as well.

 

I quite like some of the widgets and there's lots of emphasis on making things look good and consistent. You can obviously mix some elements in ways that look strange but you can also get everything looking good.

 

I am excited about the new moves the KDE developers are making. I will use the new versions. Right now I'm very happy with what I've got. :)

[The_Decryptor Veteran]

Not just a new skin. It has been ported from Qt4 to Qt5 and the whole interface is in QML now. Also kdelibs and kde-workspace were split into dozens of smaller components.

Also a bunch of work to support Wayland, even if that is a more internal thing.

I'm waiting for the day Kwin becomes a Wayand compositor, it already runs under Wayland so you can slot it under a system compositor, but apps still speak X11.

[patseguin Global Moderator]

Do you have to download Kubuntu in order to try this? Because that distro won't even run on my computer now unlike regular Ubuntu.

[HawkMan]

Well it won't run off a live disc for me. It just freezes. I guess I'll just not mess around and stay with Windows.

Why bother with dual boots and all live distros and all this mess.

Use a VM there virtually zero performance loss today.