On 03/07/2011 06:47 PM, Darrell Anderson wrote: > I realize everybody involved here is busy in one way or another. I appreciate all efforts. > > Despite my recent impatience, Trinity is my hope for a usable desktop environment in free/libre software. > > For the past several days I have been exploring Xfce and KDE4 as desktop alternatives. (I never have been a Gnome person.) I have used (and still use) just about all desktops: twm, wm2, blackbox, fluxbox, openbox, lxde, enlightenment (both e16 and e17), gnome, sawfish, kde3 and kde4. If I want to be frustrated and spend all my time filing bug reports, I use kde4 (over 200+ bugs and counting with kde.org) If I just want to use a quick fast lightweight desktop, I prefer fluxbox or e16. If I just want to do word processing or browse without distractions, I use gnome. But, if I just want to get work done (any kind of work) in the cleanest most efficient manner, I use kde3 (now Trinity). You simply cannot beat the default tool set provided by kde3/Trinity. The other lightweight desktops are great -- as long as I have kde3 installed to provide kate, knoqueror (file management), all the tools (kcolorchooser, ksnapshot, kteatime, etc...) Just exploring the option because I never used either in any meaningful fashion. > > I find myself repeatedly agitated and frustrated by both desktops. A desktop should never get in the user's way. Ever. > > Xfce is impotent. Simple configuration options such as setting the menu to include descriptions or disabling tool tip popups are either impossible or must be performed with a text editor. > > KDE4 is a nightmare of complexity that a significant number of everyday users never will need or even fathom. > > Trinity has an opportunity to be a splendid desktop for the masses. +1. When we look back at the greatest gaffs made in OpenSource it will be the meeting in (I forget the year) where the powers that be in KDE got together and decided to re-write kde to look like vista. Not fork kde mind you -- a wholesale abandonment of kde3 to chase widgets and plasma. There was a wholesale shift in the approach to the desktop when the 'new kde'ers' took over the development. Where kde3 had been designed to be the most efficient, cleanest desktop based on efficient layout (what inputs go where to minimize mouse-scroll distance) and doing more with the absolute minimum of keystrokes or button clicks - kde4 threw efficiency out the window chasing gee-whiz transparency, plasma and widgets that had nothing at all to do with 'getting work done.' It appeared that the old kde developers had fled and been replaced by kids with crayons. Everyone who gives their time and talents to Trinity does the opensource community a great service. Helping preserve an opensource 'choice' that insures most efficient Linux desktop ever created remains available for new users in the future. (Just imaging new users who tried to switch to opensource in the past 3 years and were introduced to Linux with kde4 being the first desktop they try to run.. scary really :) > > I realize much work remains to port the Trinity build process to cmake. There also is a large list of bugs that need quashing. > > I will do what I can to build and test packages. > > I will continue waddling along the next few months until the cmake transition is complete and a major bug quashing effort occurs. Yet I hope in a few month's time I find myself tickled pink from using Trinity 3.5.13. With the major effort in cmake, Trinity should remain usable and buildable for a long time. > > I hope Trinity becomes successful. > > To those of you involved in this process, please keep up the good work! :) > > And thank you! > > Darrell > +10 -- David C. Rankin, J.D.,P.E.