Reviving my blog, using OpenSUSE, and trying out the latest iteration of KDE...

Well, the title says it all. After rummaging through some old stuff, I came across my little blog and decided to revive the damn thing. As I'm sorting out my personal life, it's nice to have this blog as distraction and a way to keep my writing skills sharp. (If I make any mistakes, please correct me. And will someone teach me to use a damn semi-colon!)

So, after short introductions, let's get down to business! Like I stated before, I'm using OpenSUSE (11.2 to be exact). It's not my primary distro as I switch between it and Ubuntu 9.10 (netbook) religiously. I definitely like it. It is a mature and modern distribution. I'm not going to compare distros, but I like how powerful it feels. OpenSUSE gives me an overwhelming amount of options without ever feeling, well, overwhelming. I remember using a previous version of OpenSUSE and Yast, the administrative tool, it was slightly complicated. This has been largely taken care of with the introduction of Yast2. The second version is more organized and easier to use. I installed SUSE on a laptop with fairly industry-standard hardware it works 100%. Sound, wireless, sleep, fans, all work out of the box. It's fantastic! To be honest, if I were to recommend a distro for a newcomer to try out, it would definitely be OpenSUSE. It is very apparent that the OpenSUSE devs take great pride in their software.

So, on to my favorite part. This is the thing I'm currently digging the most. While many were burned with early part of the KDE 4.x series, KDE is now the tough kid making his comeback tour on the block! KDE SC 4.3 was an amazing release. Simply put. Why? 3 reasons - past, present, and future:

1. It shut the naysayers up. Every since KDE 4.0 came out, I have always seen the potential in the series. The KDE devs had big plans for their desktop environment and you have to start somewhere. It was disheartening for me to hear and read people bad-mouthing an open source project. What good does that do? KDE SC 4.3 is a solid release. It is stable, beautiful, and thoughtful. Although, it is slightly gimped (features missing), it showed the world what KDE devs had in mind for their baby.
2. It currently serves as the platform for the modern Linux desktop. I like Gnome. I like the simplicity, yet powerful environment it gives its user. But, its look and lack of features are starting to look tired and old. It's 2010. Shouldn't we start getting with the times?
   
3. Gives way for an exciting future. Qt 4.6.x with features like Kinetic? Oxygen? Phonon? Nepomuk? Plasma-desktop? Yes, I'll have all of that please. KDE devs have already proven that they can provide a stable desktop for their users, but now, they're proving they improve the quality of the Linux desktop. KDE SC 4.3 provides all the basic features any user would expect from a desktop environment and KDE SC 4.4 simply pours on the gravy. 4.4 not only has more features, but the devs are starting to work on the organics and beauty of the desktop. One can only imagine what they have up their sleeves for KDE SC 4.5...

Okay, I'm starting to sound like a fanboy here, I know. But, I'm really impressed with KDE. I love using 4.4 RC2 on my laptop and I'm eagerly awaiting its full release. In the subsequent weeks, I plan on writing a series of articles with tips easing new users into KDE. Also, look for an post in a couple days about the current state of SC 4.4. It's going to be a pretty cool year.