KDE is a desktop which aims to bring a free, modern and complete desktop to the average and enterprise user. We will discuss the KDE product and the KDE Global Community which is its source. We will begin by introducing the KDE Vision, describing the components and foundations that helped shape the KDE concept of the Desktop of the Future, with an overview of the KDE development tools, which made possible their extraordinary evolution of the last 2 years.
The second part of the presentation will be a thorough guided demo of KDE 4.4, the next release, now in development, and scheduled for release January 2010. We will see how KDE‘s emphasis on usability, matching architecture and implementation to user needs, drives KDE development, and give special attention to:
- the PIM suite and Akonadi, to show the capabilities of KDE in an enterprise environment.
- the new Authorization framework, based on PolicyKit, and its capabilities in a multiuser environment, its future development, and Kiosk.
- the plasma workspace, which is intended to be shaped to the user‘s needs and to increase productivity.
We will see how KDE adapts easily to a wide range of user requirements and environments, how this is linked to its global community, and provide some hints of possible future direction and features.
