Your Linux Adventure: Introducing KDE

GNU/Linux users often emphasize extensive customization options as one of the greatest advantages of their OS – and rightly so. On Windows, you would usually have to install several third-party applications to customize the essential parts of the system. While sometimes it might be necessary on Linux as well, in most cases you get everything you need (and more) by default.

This is especially true for KDE – the most customizable, and I'm sure many will agree, the most beautiful desktop environment. KDE is an all-round, professional, free and open source solution available in more than 60 languages, and today you'll learn that you can even install it on Windows.

What is a desktop environment?

To readers unfamiliar with the concept of the desktop environment (DE), some explaining is in order. Desktop environment is an implementation of a graphical user interface that enables the interaction of the user and the computer. In other words, the items you see and click on the screen – windows, icons, toolbars, folders, wallpaper, widgets – together form the desktop environment. A special kind of software called the window manager is usually employed to display those elements, and you can modify some of its parameters to change their appearance.

Most modern operating systems have a desktop environment. The names you often hear in connection with Linux, such as Gnome, Xfce or LXDE, are all DEs. Windows also has its own desktop environment called Aero (Windows 7); previously it used Luna (on Windows XP).

Desktop environments usually come with a set of default applications for basic tasks. Of course, most of them can later be replaced. On KDE, the default window manager is called KWin. Dolphin is the file manager, Okular is the PDF viewer, Kate is the text editor and Konsole the terminal application. 

A bit of history

Consistency and ease of use were among the main reasons why KDE was created in the first place. The idea arose in 1996, when KDE was founded by a German student Matthias Ettrich. Two years later, the first version of K Desktop Environment (as it was then called), was released. For its time, it looked modern, and as you can see, it was similar to old Windows versions.

The second series, KDE 2.0, followed in 2000 and brought many visible improvements, along with a number of new applications. However, KDE 3.0, which was released in 2002, proved to be an even bigger advancement. It introduced better printing support, a new system for permission management, even more new applications and improved integration of its components; primarily of communication tools such as e-mail and instant messaging clients.

KDE 3.5 was revolutionary because it provided support for desktop widgets, further extending KDE's wide array of customization options. This release was extremely popular among the users and seen as a complete, polished and reliable product that many continued to use even after KDE 4 came out. A proof of this is the Trinity Desktop Environment, a project which continues to develop, promote and add new features and fixes to KDE 3.5 despite its development being officially discontinued by KDE.

In 2008, KDE 4 was released with the majority of its components written from scratch, at the same time introducing new tools and technologies. The desktop was completely redesigned and renamed to Plasma. New frameworks were added – Phonon for multimedia, Solid for network and portable devices, Decibel for integrated communication, Strigi and Nepomuk as part of the semantic desktop – something KDE is actively pushing and making breakthrough progress in.

Image source: thinkmoult.comNot everyone appreciated these changes. The release was deemed “unfinished” and criticized for being unstable. Many users decided to stay on the previous version or leave KDE altogether because they didn't like the drastic changes that happened to their favorite DE. Still, KDE developers continued to improve and fix their product, and in 2009 presented KDE 4.2, which was the first release since 3.5 to be welcomed as a stable, suitable replacement. Current release is 4.10, most notably characterized by speed, responsiveness and better system resources management, so unlike some of the previous versions, KDE 4.10 runs flawlessly on older computers.

Name change and rebranding

Correspondingly to the refreshed product, a major name change occurred prior to the release of KDE 4.4. The name “K Desktop Environment” is no longer used, and KDE now stands either for the community which creates the software or for the whole brand. What used to be known as K Desktop Environment is now called KDE Software Compilation (KDE SC), and it comprises KDE Workspaces, KDE Platform and KDE Applications. Thus, the current release should be referred to as KDE SC 4.10 instead of just KDE 4.10.

Konqi, the mascot of the KDE community was recently redesigned as well. The redesign contest was published in the official KDE forums and lasted until the end of January 2013. Konqi is not lonely anymore – now he has Katie, who symbolizes and represents women in the KDE community.

Image source: tutorfreebr.blogspot.com

KDE is universally recognized by the blue tones it uses in all branded materials, from the logo and official wallpapers to website, wiki and forums. Another characteristic are the application names which used to start with the letter K (Konsole, KMail, Kopete, Konqueror...), either in place of letters C and Q or just as a prefix. However, since KDE 4 this practice is not as common, and now there are applications such as Dolphin and Okular which are essential parts of KDE but don't have that “trademark” K in the name.

KDE Structure

So far you've learned that the desktop environment is actually called KDE SC and that it consists of three main parts: Applications, Workspaces and Platform. Let's take a closer look at what they are made of.

Obviously, applications are various software products that can be used to perform specific functions. KDE SC contains many applications by default, and many others can be installed additionally. Updates are released every six months. Applications that don't follow this schedule, but are still part of the KDE project, can be found in the Extragear compilation and are released independently. For example, Amarok, K3b, Ktorrent and digiKam are all part of the Extragear.

If you like KDE applications but don't want to change your DE, you can freely install them, as they will work on any desktop environment. You might need to install some dependencies, but this is usually done automatically by your package manager, so there is no need to worry.

KDE Applications are built on top of the KDE Platform, another component of KDE SC. Platform provides frameworks such as Phonon, Solid, Nepomuk, Policykit, Akonadi, Kparts and KIO. They enable integration of various applications with the Workspace.

Finally, we come to KDE Plasma Workspaces, which cover all graphical environments developed by KDE: Plasma Desktop, Plasma Netbook and Plasma Active (for mobile devices).

Plasma NetbookThe main part of Plasma Workspaces are the widgets, because Plasma is a modular subsystem, and widgets are used to add different types of functionality to the desktop environment. Apart from native Plasma widgets, KDE supports Google Gadgets, Enlightenment 17 widgets and some OS X Dashboard widgets.

An integral part of Plasma Workspaces is KRunner, a tool with support for plugins, thanks to which it can be used as an application launcher, calculator, unit converter and much more. Simply run it by pressing Alt+F2 and configure it to suit your needs.

Did you know you can install KDE on Windows?

Since this is only an introduction, I haven't even begun to cover the exciting options that KDE offers. The best way to learn about them is to explore this desktop environment on your computer. To do this, it is not necessary to “switch to Linux” immediately – you can simply download the Live CD or DVD of a distribution that ships with KDE and try it without installing the distribution itself. Kubuntu, Fedora, openSUSE, Sabayon and Mageia use KDE as their main desktop environment, and many others, like Linux Mint, provide a KDE version.

If you're feeling adventurous, you can install a Linux distribution alongside Windows and play with KDE and its rich options. Or you could try installing KDE on Windows, which is made possible thanks to the KDE on Windows Initiative, an ongoing project to port the KDE applications to MS Windows.

Image source: arstechnica.comTrue, this is still an unstable project and the version it currently supports is KDE 4.8, so you would be a bit behind the official version. Also, it does not support Windows 8, but if you have XP, Vista or 7 you should be able to install it without any trouble. Download the installer from the official project website and follow the installation instructions. During the installation process you will be able to choose the applications you want to install. After this is complete, you can start using those applications or even completely replace the Windows desktop by Plasma and its widgets.

I hope this little experiment, if you choose to proceed with it, will show you how attractive, powerful and refined KDE is. Maybe it will even motivate you to become a Linux user. :)

Ivana Isadora Devcic is a freelance writer, copyeditor and translator fluent in English, Swedish, Croatian and Norwegian. She's a Linux user and KDE fan interested in web design, productivity and personal branding. Ivana tweets about the world around her as @skadinna.