Alien Pastures

My thoughts on Slackware, life and everything

Tag: kde (Page 17 of 28)

Two rebuilt KDE packages.

October 16, 2013 / / 1 Comment

kde44For your information:

I had to rebuild two packages for users of my KDE 4.11.2 on Slackware-current.Both are packages that are being used by a lot of people so I did not want to wait for the next release of KDE (scheduled for November 5th).

  1. ark: this package was broken after the update of the ‘libarchive’ package in Slackware-current
  2. calligra: actually I did not have calligra as part of my KDE 4.11.2 set. However it turns out that the new ‘marble’ package of KDE 4.11.2 breaks Calligra Words! Therefore I have added a rebuilt Calligra 2.7.3 to my KDE 4.11.2 set (the same package as you’ll find in Slackware-current… only this time with a working Calligra Words).

Get them from any of my ‘ktown’ mirrors:

Enjoy!

KDE SC 4.11.2 and new networkmanagement applet for testing

October 2, 2013 / / 19 Comments

As part of the 4.11 development cycle, the KDE Software Compilation 4.11.2 has been released yesterday.

I built the packages but (no) thanks to not feeling well, I was not able to get them ready in parallel with the source code release. Not a big deal really, since this is a minor bugfix release. The upgrade will be straightforward.

There is one thing I want to mention however. A Redhat team (as far as I know at least) is working on a replacement for the networkmanagement widget (which you can use in KDE to manage the Network Manager connections). The new  Plasma applet is written in QML/C++ and is meant to be a drop-in replacement for the older widget-based networkmanagement applet. The new applet is optimized for Plasma active (the touch interface of KDE) but should also work well with the Plasma desktop UI.

To this purpose, I have added three new packages to the kde/ directory: libmm-qt, libnm-qt and plasma-nm. If you install these, you will be able to add a new networkmanagement widget and remove the old NM widget. I have only tested this briefly on my own desktop with wired network (without issues), but I have no idea how it behaves on a laptop with wireless. Apparently this applet will be the way forward, so I added the packages for preliminary testing.

How to upgrade to KDE 4.11.2 ?

Note: you have to be running Slackware-current! These packages are not suited for Slackware 14.0.

You will find all the installation/upgrade instructions that you need in the accompanying README file. That README also contains basic information for KDE recompilation using the provided SlackBuild script You are strongly advised to read and follow these installation/upgrade instructions!

Where to find packages for KDE 4.11.2 ?

Download locations are listed below (you will find the sources in ./source/4.11.2/ and packages in /current/4.11.2/ subdirectories). Using a mirror is preferred because you get more bandwidth from a mirror and it’s friendlier to the owners of the master server!

Have fun! Eric

KDE SC 4.11.1

September 3, 2013 / / 40 Comments

KDE Software Compilation 4.11.1 has been released today. The first incremental improvement in the 4.11 release offers more than 70 bugfixes, most importantly: “improvements to the Window Manager KWin, the file manager Dolphin, and others“. Startup times of the Plasma Desktop and scrolling in Dolphin have been improved, and the memory requirements of various applications have been lowered. All in all, a more pleasant experience can be expected after upgrading your current KDE.

Compiling KDE was easy as usual, and between one increment and the other there is not so much to see as perhaps there is to “feel” in terms of responsiveness of the desktop. So I have been thinking how to spice up the experience. I came up with a potential candidate which I may or may not add to the ‘ktown’ set because I doubt that Pat will add it to Slackware eventually. That added spice could be the Plasma Media Center. It looks like an intriguing piece of software with a good chance to end up on tablet computers (it supports the Plasma Active desktop). I still feel that I should buy the new Nexus 7 tablet if it finally hits the stores here in the Netherlands, and if it is indeed possible to install a common Linux on it, Slackware should get its share on the device.

If I do decide to package the Plasma Media Center without adding it to the main ‘ktown’ repository, I might just create a ‘ktown-media’ repository for it. That would allow me to also create some rebuilt KDE packages for everything that will profit from stuff Slackware does not ship with, like FFmpeg or VLC. Not decided yet on this, but it sounds like a useful addition.

How to upgrade to KDE 4.11.1 ?

Note: you have to be running Slackware-current! These packages are not suited for Slackware 14.0.

You will find all the installation/upgrade instructions that you need in the accompanying README file. That README also contains basic information for KDE recompilation using the provided SlackBuild script You are strongly advised to read and follow these installation/upgrade instructions!

Where to find packages for KDE 4.11.1 ?

Download locations are listed below (you will find the sources in ./source/4.11.1/ and packages in /current/4.11.1/ subdirectories). Using a mirror is preferred because you get more bandwidth from a mirror and it’s friendlier to the owners of the master server!

Have fun! Eric

KDE 4.11 is out

August 14, 2013 / / 72 Comments

Folks, get it while it is hot!

KDE Software Compilation 4.11 has been released – the major components being Plasma Workspaces, KDE Applications, and the basis on which those are built, the KDE Platform. The new KDE SC 4.11 is more of an intermediate release cycle while the developers concentrate on the technical transition to “KDE Frameworks 5” (the evolution of the current KDE Platform).

The release of KDE Platform 4.11 has a focus on stability, bugfixes and performance improvements. Basically, the platform libraries have been feature-frozen since 4.9 already. New features are being implemented for the future KDE Frameworks 5.0. (with an exception made for further optimizations to the Nepomuk framework which went into the stable release).

From a packaging point of view, the most prominent change is a further splitting of the big packages into multiple smaller individual program packages. This time, the affected “meta packages” are kdeadmin, kdetoys, kdesdk and kdenetwork.

It looks like Slackware-current (and therefore Slackware 14.1) is sticking with KDE 4.10.5 because that is rock stable and an upgrade to 4.11.0 may introduce compatibility issues we do not want when Slackware 14.1 is somewhat visible on the horizon already. This means that those of you who feel adventurous and want to run the latest KDE always, will need to visit this blog on a regular basis to stay informed about updates in the KDE 4.11 series for Slackware 14.1/current. What are you waiting for? Plan an upgrade from your trusted Slackware 14.0 to -current (and eventually to 14.1) right now!

And since “The Plasma Workspaces 4.11 will receive long term support as the team focuses on the technical transition to Frameworks 5. This then presents the last combined release of the Workspaces, Applications and Platform under the same version number” (quote from the release announcement) I can’t really tell you how future versions of KDE are going to be numbered. For now, the KDE 4.12 roadmap is available at the usual place, telling us that KDE 4.12 should be released in December of this year.

announce-4.11-beta1

New KWalletManager user interface; changes to Okular

What’s new in KDE 4.11?

For those interested in the in-depth information, my tip is to check out the feature plan page for the KDE 4.11 series. Highlighted changes are the expansion of the use of Qt Quick (the application framework which includes the interpreter language QML), faster Nepomuk indexing (many people keep complaining about Nepomuk… but really guys, give the “evil triplet” of Nepomuk/Akonadi/Strigi the change they deserve), many Kontact improvements, and the start of support for the Wayland compositor in KWin (the window manager of KDE) as well as OpenGL improvements.

Speaking of Wayland support. I feel compelled to mention this interesting article explaining how the next release of X.Org could become a real alternative to Wayland by implementing the new DRI3 and Present extensions – it shows that X.Org development is very much alive!

How to upgrade to KDE 4.11 ?

You will find all the installation/upgrade instructions that you need in the accompanying README file. That README also contains basic information for KDE recompilation using the provided SlackBuild script. Earlier blog posts have more information on rebuilding from source and upgrading from Slackware’s own KDE. Another post explains the inner workings of KDE.SlackBuild for all you re-compilers.

You are strongly advised to read and follow these installation/upgrade instructions!

Where to find packages for KDE 4.11 ?

Download locations are listed below (you will find the sources in ./source/4.11.0/ and packages in /current/4.11.0/ subdirectories). Using a mirror is preferred because you get more bandwidth from a mirror and it’s friendlier to the owners of the master server!

Have fun! Eric

On a personal note: the FOSS Force site is running a “best personal Linux or FOSS blog competition” and one of the condenders is my very own blog (no idea how I got on the list). I’d feel honoured if you would take the time and vote for my blog if you appreciate my writings: http://fossforce.com/2013/08/who-will-be-best-personal-linux-or-foss-blog/

Thank you!

KDE 4.11 – first release candidate available for Slackware-current

July 20, 2013 / / 56 Comments

A few days ago, the first release candidate of KDE 4.11 was made public – in source format of course. The source version is “4.10.95”. I had an updated KDE.SlackBuild framework ready since the first beta. A re-work was needed because KDE 4.11 splits another four of the big packages in a lot of smaller individual program packags: kdeadmin, kdetoys, kdesdk and kdenetwork.

I took the bait and built KDE 4.11 RC1 on Slackware-current. Uneventful as always if you have the proper KDE.SlackBuild ; I added the new Calligra 2.7.0 (still waiting for the official release announcement but I decided that I have waited long enough) and proposed the new build to Pat. I needed to know if he had plans for Slackware-current. We agreed on Slackware-current sticking with KDE 4.10 for now, and I would upload the package set to my ‘ktown‘ repository.

So here we are, and I can offer you KDE 4.11 RC1 for Slackware-current. Note that this is not going to work on Slackware 14.0 ! If you are eager to try out what’s going to become KDE 4.11 I encourage you to upgrade your Slackware to what will become 14.1 🙂

announce-4.11-beta1

New KWalletManager user interface; changes to Okular

What’s new in KDE 4.11 RC1 ?

It is recommended to read the feature plan for the new 4.11 series. Most notable changes are the expansion of the use of Qt Quick (the application framework which includes the interpreter language QML), faster Nepomuk indexing (many people keep complaining about Nepomuk), many Kontact improvements, and the start of support for the Wayland compositor in KWin (the window manager of KDE) as well as OpenGL improvements. Overheard during Akademy 2013 (held in Bilbao, ended yesterday) was the fact that KWin may depend on SystemD in future. Bad move, kDE!

How to upgrade to KDE 4.11 RC1 ?

You will find all the installation/upgrade instructions that you need in the accompanying README file. That README also contains basic information for KDE recompilation using the provided SlackBuild script. Earlier blog posts have more information on rebuilding from source and upgrading from Slackware’s own KDE.

You are strongly advised to read and follow these installation/upgrade instructions!

Where to find packages?

Download locations are listed below (you will find the sources in ./source/4.10.95/ and packages in /current/4.10.95/ subdirectories). Using a mirror is preferred because you get more bandwidth from a mirror and it’s friendlier to the owners of the master server!

Have fun! Eric

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