kde netbook plasma

The folks behind the KDE desktop environment for Linux are working on optimizing KDE 4’s Plasma user interface to play well with netbooks. That means applications and widgets have to look good on low resolution displays, and graphical effects can’t be too resource intensive.

So far, it looks like things are off to a good start. According to a recently released photo and video, it looks like the netbook version of KDE 4 will take a cue from the Ubuntu Netbook Remix user interface, which basically shows a single window at a time on the display. But the Plasma interface is much prettier to look at than the mostly utilitarian Ubuntu Netbook Remix interface which is based on the GNOME desktop environment.

KDE 4 lets you switch between open programs using an Apple Exposé-like view that shows thumbnail versions of running applications. Individual programs open in full screen mode by default, and there’s a single taskbar at the top of the screen to provide system information, a program menu, and a list of running apps.

You can check out a video demo of KDE Plasma for netbooks after the break.

via Netbook News.de


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10 replies on “KDE Linux desktop to offer netbook optimizations – Video”

  1. This is great. It is MUCH more useful as a primary interface than Ubuntu Netbook Remix (UNR), but it needs a name . . . Searching for:
    kde netbook plasma
    gives waayyyy too many other hits and little of this.

    As for names, how about a contest, please? My initial suggestions:
    KNR (KDE Netbook Remix)
    mini-plasma (it can scale down further than just netbooks)
    mini-KDE
    Plasmette
    Plasmalet (has a nice “tablet” ring to it)
    …

  2. Speaking of copying Apple, whats up with the top taskbar?

    KDE has always been a bottom taskbar desktop.

    When 90% of the planet uses the bottom taskbar, why switch to the top?

    Mac envy?

    If I wanted a GNOME/OS10 desktop, Id get one.
    I dont need text telling me Applications.

    2. Yeah, you’ve been able to put the menubar where you want for a long time. I’ve always put mine at the top.

  3. Why do people like huge icons on small screens? (Duh… the screen would hold more small icons.) Surely you can change their size. It reminds me of those giant pencils they used to give first graders, who have small hands–I never liked them 🙂

    1. > Why do people like huge icons on small screens?

      Haven’t you heard of Fitts’s Law? Try looking it up and understand why the science supports these kinds of UI choices.

      1. Thanks, I’d never heard of it. As you can tell, I’m a layman in this field (one reason I hang out here trying to learn more). Fitts’s law is interesting but personally I still prefer the choices offered by a lot of small icons. Icon selection has never been a problem for me.

        I wish GUI designers would apply this law more to the drop-down menus which disappear if your cursor strays only a millimeter or so before you reach your target, as in Windows Outlook.

  4. INCREDIBLY jumpy — glad I’m not epileptic! Distracting AND annoying — an indirect testament to Apple’s UI design masquerading as a copy of it.

  5. Nice. Now somebody please add this to a version of linux that will work on my Sammy without a bunch of hacking.

Comments are closed.