Kate SQL Client – The popular all-in-one text editor for KDE now has basic SQL client functionality, thanks to the new SQL Query plugin.

App Enhancements – Many other applications have been enhanced. Gwenview and KSnapshot now have social media sharing buttons. Marble has a route planning tool with MarbleToGo for mobile devices, and KStars now has OpenGL rendering support. A few games also received upgrades.

New Activities Design – KDE Workspaces activities allow the user to truly have multiple desktops, with each one having its own purpose, its own set of widgets, unique wallpaper, and even its own applications. Each activity additionally has its own set of virtual desktops, giving you maximum power and flexibility. This is an improvement over the last version, which was pretty confusing. The one feature I would still like to see is the ability to give each activity a more distinct icon.

KWin Improvements – One of the areas where KDE lagged behind was compositing window management. In previous versions, Compiz has always outperformed KWin, even though it was not a KDE window manager. In 4.6, KWin has been optimized, adding a significant performance boost. KWin also has support for more graphics adapters and better detection. The improvements were noticeable as soon as I started it.

New Notification Features – You can now detach notification popups from the tray icon and drag them anywhere you want, and expanded notification popups have a new meter telling you how fast a download is coming.

Docking Taskbar – The KDE panel has always had launcher capabilities, but now you can pin tasks in the taskbar, turning them into smart launchers. This worked fairly well, but it has some ways to go before users would be able to use the panel like a true dock. That may not even be the intentions of the developers, but it is a nice option to have, nonetheless.

Speed – In general Plasma feels snappy and fast. Even on my desktop computer, I used to notice a slight lag in effects such as the shelf widget icon highlighting. Those are now lightning fast. The same applies to just about every other plasma and KWin effect.

Oxygen-GTK – One of the big improvements in KDE 4.6 is the new Oxygen-GTK engine that finally makes GTK apps look pretty much identical to KDE apps, even with window color gradients in place. The screenshots on the KDE website confirm that it works, but I was not able to get it to work out of the box. First, it did not even come with my install of Kubuntu, so I had to download it from the project’s website. Even then, I could not get it to work right without manually editing the .gtkrc-2.0 file. After that, it worked as expected. On my test user account, which had received less tweaking, it worked without any problems.

Overall Impressions

KDE 4.6 is the fastest and most polished release of KDE in the 4.x series. It is truly smooth, and the added features just make it that much more solid and remind me why I chose KDE as my desktop. It will be interesting to see where they go from here, as they move closer to the inevitable KDE 5. As long as they stay on the path they are currently on, the future looks very bright.

However, being the default browser doesn’t mean it is the best Android browser. There are other options out ther. Depending on how you use your Android device, you may need a more feature-rich web browser. If you are running a version of the Android OS below 2.2 or have a device that doesn’t support on-page video, you may want to try a browser that can fix that.

Standard Android Browser

The standard browser is a pretty decent browser that is both lightweight and works out of the box. Whether you have 2.1 or 2.2 installed on your device, the browser is pretty much the same.

Unlike other operating systems (Blackberry 5.0), the Android web experience is more like a desktop app. You can have multiple windows (not tabs) open (4 with Eclair, 8 with Froyo).

Another thing I personally like is how your browsing history carries over from desktop to phone when you are signed into Google.

SkyFire

Skyfire is a fantastic browser for the social web. It is well integrated with Facebook and several other social networks. By using the Fireplace and popular sites features, you can see what your friends find interesting enough to share via Facebook.

The main selling point of Skyfire is that it supports Flash out of the box. I was able to play videos from several sites which I wasn’t able to before. The quality might differ from a desktop experience, but at least it works where others failed.

If you do not like the look of a site’s mobile page, you can toggle to the desktop version easily using the page load button. If you prefer one way over the other, there is an option to set your choice as the default.

What I did not like about Skyfire was the screen seemed cluttered with a lot of icons and other stuff.

Appbrain link

Opera Mini 5

Opera Mini is one of the best all round browser no matter the platform. While it isn’t the most feature-rich browser on the list, Opera has a few things the others do not. For starters, Opera was fastest loading of the browsers tested.

If you are a fan of the Opera desktop application, you will love Opera Mini. Much of your information like speed dials and bookmarks will sync with your Android.

A feature I used a lot on my Blackberry was being able to copy and paste from the web. Opera lets you do just that and also adds in an on-page text search.

While the single touch zoom in on non-mobile web pages is nice, pinch to zoom would be better.

Appbrain link

Dolphin

Dolphin has several versions: Dolphin Mini, Dolphin and Dolphin HD. The differences between them let you choose the amount of features and personalization you need. Dolphin HD is by far the most customizable browser on the list.

Dolphin Mini

Dolphin Mini is a no-frills browser with the emphasis on speed. You get everything you need and nothing you don’t. Mini would be a great choice if you are looking for a speed demon. You will gain Speed dials as well as being able to open as many tabs as you feel you need.

Appbrain link

Dolphin

When you choose the middle tier of the Dolphin Browser line, you gain a lot. Bookmarks from your standard Android browser as well as your Google bookmarks can be synced with Dolphin.

Dolphin lets you gestures to open a URL, reload the page or go forward or back. This will greatly speed up your web surfing.

I don’t think there is a real need to have a middle of the road browser. Most people seem to want all the bells and whistles or a minimalist browser.

Appbrain link

Dolphin HD

The big bad daddy of this group, is Dolphin HD. What you gain is a whole lot of customizing choices. Most of this is done via plug-ins, much like you would use in Google Chrome. Some examples of the plug-ins are: Lastpass, screen capture, Xmarks, speed dial, read later, ad blocker, rss readers, Last.fm, Delicious, Twitter. Many others are available with a quick search in the market.

Other features to set Dolphin HD ahead of the pack include pinch to zoom, unexpected tab recovery and the support of multiple languages.

If you use your phone to surf the web a lot, you may get bored with the look and need a change. Change the look of your Dolphin HD browser with different themes.

Appbrain link

Firefox Mobile

Of all the browsers, Firefox has the most stringent requirement as it only works in Android 2.0 and above devices and requires 32MB internal storage, plus 12MB SD storage. Nevertheless, it does comes with several useful features that make it stand out from the rest.

Mozilla has been working hard to make the mobile experience similar to the desktop version. One very good feature is the ability to sync between the desktop and the mobile version. The Firefox sync is in-built in the mobile browser and you can easily configure it to sync with your desktop browser. It also supports the awesome bar, tabs, session restore, addons (not the same addons as the desktop Firefox’s extension) etc.

Appbrain link

Now that you have seen our choice of browsers, tell us what is your favorite browser and why?

image credit: Johan Larsson

Locations

The most traditional way of accessing files in KDE is to go directly to the location of the file. The most obvious approach for direct location access is to use the file manager – Dolphin. By clicking on the breadcrumb location bar anywhere after the last letter, Dolphin will give you the option to edit the location manually by typing it into the location bar. You can also do this in all KDE file dialogs.

All KDE location bars support traditional Unix paths, including “~” for the home folder. By using the “.”, it is also an easy way to access hidden folders. If you type in the full path of a file, KDE will open the file with the appropriate helper application.

KDE’s kio-slave protocols are also accepted in the location bar. For example, if you type, “remote:/” you will see the available networks and network folders you have created. If you type “programs:/”, you will see the categories for all applications in your menu.

Places

“Places” in KDE are a set of shortcuts to folders and removable media on your computer. By default, the Places panel is found on the left-hand side of Dolphin. You can add folders to Places by dragging them over to the panel or by right clicking and then clicking “Add Entry”.

In addition to Dolphin, KDE file dialogs also use the same Places, making it easy to access the files you want to open or save. The Kickoff and Lancelot menus also display the same places, and the shelf widget can be configured to show them as well.

Like the rest of KDE, Places support shortcuts to kio-slaves. Therefore, you can have quick access to network folders, the trash, Nepomuk searches, and much more.

Bookmarks

One of the file access features that is not immediately apparent in KDE is the “bookmark” tool. With it, you can easily create additional shortcuts to locations you frequently use in addition to those listed in Places.

Bookmarks is primarily available in KDE file dialogs, allowing you to configure quick access bookmark folders for specific applications. Like a web browser, you can bookmark any location in the KDE file dialog by clicking the star icon and “Add Bookmark”, or by pressing Ctrl+B. From then on, anytime you want to quickly access a frequently used location not listed in Places, you can click on the star and bring up your list of bookmarks.

Just as Locations and Places can make use of kio-slaves, Bookmarks can use them too. This means you can quickly save to remote network locations, something particularly useful for using applications like Kate to edit remote scripts and websites.

Other Tools

With the breadcrumbs feature enabled in Dolphin, you can drag and drop files into any one of the breadcrumb spots to easily copy or move files. If you drag and drop into a text editor, it will display the full path to the location in text form.

Another helpful way to easily copy files is to right click on any file and move your mouse pointer to “Copy to”. This will open a sub-menu, giving you the ability to choose the location you want. When you find the folder you want, click “Copy Here”. If this feature is not enabled by default, simply open the Dolphin preferences, click “General”, choose the “Context Menu” tab, and then tick the “Show ‘Copy To’…” checkbox.

With any location, you can access it with Krunner by pressing Alt+F2 and then typing in the location. This includes remote network locations and even website URLs.

KDE supports dragging and dropping of files, folders, and even remote locations across its own applications and even works with some non-KDE applications. With full control over how you access your files and folders, you should be able to use KDE exactly the way you want.

A highly anticipated release, KDE 4.4 has taken necessary steps to solidify the underlying Plasma technology of KDE 4 and add polish to the already shiny surface. This week, MakeTechEasier will take you on a preview of the upcoming KDE 4.4 release, scheduled for February 9. I recently installed Release Candidate 1 on my desktop computer and took it for a spin. I was not disappointed.

The following is a preview, not a review. KDE 4.4 is still under development and should not be used on production systems, nor should stability be expected. Having said that, I am typing this article within KDE 4.4 and loving all of it, especially the tabbed windows.

Default Interface

The default KDE interface continues to be the Oxygen Air Plasma theme. It has changed slightly, and I am not sure if what I viewed was the final incarnation or just a stepping stone. The colors and overall look are the same, but the circle art is not as prominent. Like most KDE visual features, however, the theme is fully customizable, and I am currently using a darker theme for my desktop.

The KWin (window manager) buttons are slightly different, smaller and rounder, but the most impressive improvement with the default Oxygen window manager theme is the incorporation of many of the features that were found in the Nitrogen spin-off. One of the features I have been waiting for is the ability to once again control drop-shadow color and size. I prefer slightly more prominent shadows of a darker color than the default. The Oxygen theme also includes “Window-Specific Overrides” right in its configuration.

The “Style” settings in KDE System Settings has a new tab for “Workspace” which has replaced the theme settings previously found in the “Desktop” section. This is where you can select and download Plasma themes.

KDE includes many animated graphical effects, many of which make use of the X.org composite feature. The “Fine Tuning” section in “Style” allows you set the level of graphical effects right for your system.

Plasma

Plasma is definitely slicker, and operates very smoothly. The “Add Widgets” dialog has been complete redone. Clicking “Add Widgets” now brings down a horizontal menu that encourages you to search before you decide to scroll. It is all very easy, and the search works as you type without any delay.

When you drag a widget to the desktop, it flashes a nice effect and looks very natural and smooth. Most of the widget resize and configuration tools are the same. The Dashboard widget layer is now fully configurable through the graphical interface and works much better than previous versions, although it still gets a bit confused on dual screens.

One FolderView improvement is that more Dolphin-like features are now supported, include the handy selection button that appears when you hover your mouse pointer over a folder.

The System Tray now supports widget integration so that certain system widgets can be placed within it. You can also configure jobs and notifications for any application running in the system tray.

The device notifier has added internal dialogs providing you with options on how to proceed when a device is inserted. Among the improvements is the ability to mount a drive without opening it in Dolphin.

Krunner and Dolphin

Krunner now drops down from the top of the screen, almost like a Quake console. This was a surprise to me, but it works very well and is an improvement over the previous versions, which popped up in the middle of the screen. When you search for commands or documents with Krunner, it will display appropriate icons next to the search results that you can use to configure the execution. With commands, it opens an internal dialog that allows you to run as another user. Selecting a document allows you to choose what application to use to open it.

Dolphin has added some new linking capabilities to its options menu, integrated searching, and a “timeline view” that allows you to view files by modification date (enter timeline:/ in the location bar).

Window Tabbing

I saved the best for last. I have long believed that applications like OpenOffice.org should have support for tabbed word processing. It just makes sense. Why should tabs be limited to web browsers or file managers? With KDE, you no longer have to wait on individual application developers. The KWin window manager itself supports tabbing.

Simply right click on a window’s title bar and select “Move to window group”. Then, select the window you want to group with it. Almost like magic, the two windows will become one, and there will be two or more tabs in the title bar. But this feature is not only limited within applications. You can group any application with any other. You could group a Firefox window with a Konqueror one and compare website rendering, which is useful for web design. KDE’s window specific features also now give you the ability to set how you want new windows of an application to group. For example, my OpenOffice.org documents now automatically open in new tabs rather than new windows.

Overall, KDE 4.4 looks very stable and promising. You can read a complete list of scheduled release goals at the KDE TechBase website. To install KDE 4.4, visit KDE.org.

Copy/Move

KDE is a typical graphical interface, and lends itself to dragging and dropping.  If you want to copy or move a file quickly, just drag it from one folder to another. With Dolphin, press F3 to bring up a split window, Control-N to open a whole new window, or Control-T to open a new tab. You can also drag files to any point in Dolphin’s breadcrumbs, to a folder on the Places panel, or to a Folderview on your desktop.You can also drag images from your web browser to a folder, if your browser supports it (both Konqueror and the latest Firefox do).

When you let go of the button after dragging, KDE gives you an options window: Move here, Copy here, Link here, Cancel.  You will also notice shortcut keys listed beside each.  If you hold the shortcut key while dragging a file, it will automatically choose the corresponding action.  “Link here” creates a symbollic link to your file, rather than copying or moving it.

Another way to copy or move is to use shortcut keys. Simply select the files you want to copy and press Control-C, or select the files you want to move and press Control-X. Then, paste them in the new location, just like pasting text in a word processor, by pressing Control-V.

Another feature that many found useful in KDE 3 is the “Copy to…” context menu.  To enable this:

1. Click “Settings” and “Configure Dolphin”
2. Click “General”
3. Click “Context Menu”
4. Check “Show ‘Copy To’ and ‘Move To’ commands.

Now, when you right click on a file, you will notice the “Copy To” option in the menu. Navigate through the menu to the place where you want to copy the file and click “copy here”. The same method will work for “Move To”.

Rename

There are three easy ways to rename a file:

1. Select the file and then click “File” and “Rename…”.
2. Right click on the file and click “Rename…”
3. Selet the file and press F2.

Batch Rename

There are times when you might need to rename multiple files at once. KDE makes it easy.

1. Select all the files you want to rename.
2. Press F2.
3. It will ask for a new name:  “New name # (# will be replaced by ascending numbers).
4. Leave the “#” and enter the prefix you want for each filename.

Archives

To create an archive in KDE:

1. Select the files you want to archive.
2. Right click and click “Compress”.
3. Select the type of archive:  ZIP, RAR, or  ZIP/TAR

By default, when you click on an archive, Dolphin will open it in Ark archive manager. In previous versions of KDE, you could navigate into the archive as if it were a folder. To enable this feature:

1. Click “Settings” and “Configure Dolphin”.
2. Click “Navigation”.
3. Check “Open archives as folder”.

To extract an archive:

Right click and click either “Extract Archive Here – Autodetect Subfolder, Extract Archive To, or Extract Archive Here.”

The “autodetect subfolder” will create a subfolder for the archive if one is not already present inside of it.  This will keep your archived files from mixing in with your other files.

As you can see, KDE makes it easy to manipulate your files, and there are many methods to get work done. If there are any methods that I missed, feel free to add them to the comments section.

Dolphin is intended to be a simplified file manager, stripping away some of the common Konqueror file management features. Many of the features can be re-enabled, and some new features are unique to Dolphin. Here is a basic guide to all things Dolphin.

Breadcrumbs vs. Location Bar

Konqueror has a web-browser-style location bar that allows you to type in the file path you want to reach. Dolphin introduced a feature to KDE called breadcrumbs. Each folder in a path hierarchy is a button that you can use to navigate back any number of steps. If you prefer the location bar method or ever need to type a path in directly, move your mouse to the end of the path until the mouse pointer turns into a cursor selection. Then, just click.  To revert back, click the check. You can also turn the location bar on by default in the settings. To toggle back and forth, you can also use Ctrl+L.

View Modes

There are three view modes in Dolphin, just like Konqueror: icons, details, and columns.  Use shortcuts to switch between them:  Ctrl+1, Ctrl+2, and Ctrl+3, or click “View” and choose the view mode you want.

Panels

A new feature introduced in Dolphin is the panel.  There are four possible panels: Places, Folders, Information, and Terminal. There are three settings, and you can display all three, two, one, or even none of them. You can also drag the  panel to either side of the window or stack two on top of each other. To add all three to the same panel, right click and check the ones you want to appear.  Tabs will appear allowing you to cycle through them.

The Places panel gives you clickable links to the folders you specify. To add a folder, just drag it over to the Places panel. Once it is there, you can edit it or remove it. Alternatively, to add a folder, right click on it and click “Add to Places“. Dolphin is integrated with other KDE applications, and the “places” you set in Dolphin will be available in file open and save dialogs in other applications.

Press F4 to bring up a terminal panel at the bottom of the window. It will automatically be set at the point where you currently are in Dolphin. Anytime you navigate to a different location within dolphin, the terminal will change to that directory. This is very useful if you have navigated through several folders and need to do some terminal work there.  Instead of having to type in the full path, it will take you there.

File Associations

When you click on a file, does it open the application you want? In a previous post, I explained how to change file associations in KDE, but Dolphin also allows you to do this on the fly. For example, suppose you have three video players installed, and VLC is set to default. But when you click on Quicktime files, you want SMplayer to open instead. Simply right click on the file, click properties, and then click the wrench icon to the far right of the current file type description. This will open up the normal file associations dialog that you would get through the longer process of going through System Settings, but the changes will still be applied to all files of that type.

Ultimately Dolphin is a preference, and some will still prefer the more powerful Konqueror. Others will appreciate have a file manager separate from their browser.  There are many other features to try with Dolphin. Experiment and try new things. You might be pleasantly surprised.

One of the many ways KDE makes our lives easier is by providing graphical interfaces for many of the  tasks that computer users want to perform. Web browsers typically accept certain protocols that connect them to resources, such as http, https, and ftp. In KDE, these are called KIO slaves, and nearly all KDE applications can interact with them.

What makes KDE unique is that there are over 50 KIO slaves available for use. These include everything from basic file management (file:/directoryname) to remote network management (remote:/). I have selected a few notable KIO slaves to demonstrate how they are used and have also included a list of useful ones at the end of this post.

1. applications:/ and programs:/

Both of these KIO slaves show a user the available applications on a computer. They are arranged in categories just like the K-menu, and you can navigate through the hierarchy simply by clicking on category icons until you reach the program you want to start. This is handy for people who have trouble with menus or prefer not to use them.  It is also convenient when you want to start multiple programs from the same category. You can use this protocol in both Konqueror and Dolphin file manager.

2. fish:/

Fish is a powerful network tool that allows you to connect to a remote computer via SSH. In order to connect, enter a string like the following into the navigation bar of Konqueror or Dolphin:

fish://username@hostname

It will prompt you for a password and even give you the option to save it. You can then manipulate, copy, and delete files on that computer as if it were a folder in your own file system. If you frequently connect to the same remote computers, however, KDE offers an even more powerful protocol called remote:/.

3. remote:/

With the remote KIO, you can setup multiple network connections and save them for later use. To start a new connection:

1. Enter remote:/ into the navigation bar in Dolphin or Konqueror.
2. Click “Add Network Folder”
3. You then have a choice of webdav, ftp, Microsoft Windows network drive, or ssh. Choose the one you want.
4. Enter the connection name, server, username, and password information as requested.
5. Click “Save & Connect”.

By default, it will create an icon with the connection name you chose. Anytime you want to connect to that remote computer again, just click on the icon.

4. man:/

Linux and other Unix-like operating systems have hundreds of commands with very complex settings that can be manually applied from the command line. A beginner will probably not need most of them, but if you find yourself needing to enter a command line string but are not sure how, you will need to read the command’s “man” (manual) page.

If you want to see the manual for the “fsck” command, you would normally open a terminal and type:

man fsck

With KDE, you can get a nice browser interface to the man page without searching for it online. In the Konqueror navigation bar, just type

man:/fsck

5. bookmarks:/

If you are like me, you do not like having to navigate through the menus of your huge collection of website bookmarks. Konqueror provides a nice interface for viewing your bookmarks. Just type:

bookmarks:/

The only drawback with this is that it assumes you use Konqueror as your browser.

KIO slaves not only work with Dolphin and Konqueror. For example, if you want to edit a PHP file on a remote server, you can enter the fish:/string directly into the “open file” dialog of Kate. It also works indirectly. You can open a remote connection in Dolphin, right click on a remote file, and open in a live editing window. When you are finished, click Save, and the remote file is changed. You can also initiate many KIO slaves through krunner (Alt-F2) The possibilities are numerous and rewarding.

Here are some other useful KIO slaves:

• tar:/, zip:/, gzip:/, bzip:/, bzip2:/ all allow you to navigate into archives like they are folders.
• fonts:/ shows installed fonts
• cgi:/ runs cgi programs without a webserver
• finger:/ provides information about a host name where “finger” is enabled.
• settings:/ is similar to applications:/ providing an alternative method of accessing system settings.
• smb:/ accesses and browses Samba shares.  This is also available through remote:/
• sftp:/ is a secure file transfer over SSH.
• desktop:/ shows the files inside the desktop folder.
• trash:/ shows the contents of the trash can.

A full list of working KIO slaves and some still under development is available by starting KInfoCenter in KDE.