Kubuntu Beaver

Best KDE/Plasma distro of 2018

Let us Plasma. A few days ago, we talked about the bestest Xfce distro of 2018. It was an interesting but also somewhat predictable experiment, as things haven’t changed that much on the Xfce scene, with most distros slowly moving along, well set in their grooves, some oiled, some rusty. Now, we need to examine…

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KDE neon

KDE apps – Any good?

What is the one big advantage that Linux distributions have over Windows? If you ask me, that would be the fact that distributions come as complete bundles containing the kernel (i.e. operating system), the drivers, the desktop environment, and on top of that, a stack of applications that allow users to be productive from the…

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Writing LaTeX Using Kile

Last month, I reviewed Kile, a KDE editor for LaTeX. This month, I am going to show the basics of formatting a document in Kile. Once you know the basic structure of LaTeX, writing documents in it is even less complicated than manually coding HTML. Whether you use unmodified Kile’s templates for document structure, write…

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Semi-Automatic LaTeX: KDE’s Kile

One reason that I appreciate KDE is that I am always discovering new applications. In fact, I make a point of regularly searching for them. My most recent discovery is Kile, a graphic editor for LaTeX. Kile is not the first of its kind, but, unlike the better known LyX, whose interface resembles a word…

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KDE neon, upgraded

Plasma 5.13 – Amazing Tux, How Sweet Plasma

Two years ago, the Plasma desktop was just another offering in the Linux pool, with a modern but overly complicated interface, bereft of enthusiasm and brimming with problems. Then, suddenly, it changed. Like a primordial being crawling out of a mineral soup, it started morphing into a slick, fast, elegant desktop. And now, it’s become…

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8 KDE Plasma Irritations

KDE’s Plasma has been my chief desktop for over a decade. My work-flow depends on Activities, and I appreciate how much I can customize in Plasma and how Plasma 5 has improved former weaknesses in interface design. While I frequently use other desktop environments to keep in touch, every one of them feels feels clumsy…

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Plasma Mobile: So far, so adequate

Ever since Plasma Active was released in 2012, I’ve been waiting for KDE to release another desktop environment for mobile devices. Last week, that wait was finally over with the first alpha release of Plasma Mobile, Active’s successor. However, delay may have raised my expectations too high. While Active was full of innovations, so far,…

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Plasma 5.12 – Long Term Sweetness?

Roughly a year ago, I wrote my fairly lengthy State of Plasma article, which examined the KDE’s fifth major desktop environment incarnation in great detail, focusing on the many facets of goodness and badness that imbue it. Fast forward, there’s a new LTS coming, with final touches being added to a largely baked beta release.…

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Cataloging Collections with Tellico

KDE has such a rich ecosystem of applications that I am constantly discovering new ones. The best of these applications are simple and exhaustively thorough, with every feature you can imagine for a task. Occasionally, I like to cruise the KDE sites to find new ones. My latest discovery is Tellico, an app for cataloging…

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Featured

Best KDE/Plasma distro of 2017

Plasma me, Plasma you, a-ha, there was nothing we could do. But wait! Yes we can. Let us glimpse back upon Year 2017, and try to figure out which Linux distribution delivered the best overall user experience whilst adorned with the Plasma desktop environment. Continuing what we did with Gnome, we will now focus on the…

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