KDE Developers Have Been Working On Improved Windows Support

[phoronix]

Phoronix: KDE Developers Have Been Working On Improved Windows Support

KDE developers this week at Randa have ben working on improvements for KDE applications on Windows...

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=KDE-Windows-Improvements

[Hi-Angel]

Nice idea. The more popular apps, the more users, the more contributors.

[Azrael5]

How to install kde over XP? thanks.

[M1kkko]

How to install kde over XP? thanks.

I don't think this is a forum for KDE technical support, but I can tell you that you shouldn't be using Windows XP to begin with.

[bug77]

At the top of my list would be Amarok, but that's not even ported to KDE5 yet

[Trevelyan]

Why is a multitude of installers better than one? I really like the old installer, it was almost like a package manager. It let you pick and chose what you want from a single interface.
If I understand the article correctly, I will now have to go hunt down multiple installers each on their own projects website...

Okular for example is a great alternative to Agro-bat Reader. It can annotate, fill in forms (as well as saving your form answers), print, etc... All with no nag-ware, banners, "Pro" upgrades, etc.

[Nille]

Nice idea. The more popular apps, the more users, the more contributors.

Unfortunately not from the Windows side. Many FOSS Application try the same but get only Users, but thats nice too. If the KDE Application get some attention from the Users a switch to Linux is easier.

[Hi-Angel]

Unfortunately not from the Windows side. Many FOSS Application try the same but get only Users, but thats nice too. If the KDE Application get some attention from the Users a switch to Linux is easier.

I actually think the problem is a lack of promotion. I.e. try to ask random acquaintances with Windows OS, what PDF viewer are they using. Almost definitely everyone would answer «Adobe PDF». But why aren't they using Evince or Okular — Adobe Viewer has no support for many other popular formats, like djvu, fb2, epub, etc. Also it leaves a strange process in the system autostart — why would a viewer ever need to autostart…? I'm not even mention that it is closed-source. But they just don't know any better alternatives, that's the reason.

And developers doesn't appear from nowhere. I think, for ≈1000 users of a general-purpose app, there appears just one user which might be interested in digging a bit deeper, e.g., perhaps, making a new theme for an app, or perhaps reporting a bug or a feature request, or even, indeed, fixing by themselves something.

Lack of promotion, that's the problem.

[starshipeleven]

I actually think the problem is a lack of promotion.

No, it's the different target. On windows there are mostly dumb and lazy users that barely know what application they are running is (or what is an "application" at all). Users that see the computer as a electronic typewriter and TV and nothing more.
It's not necessarily a bad thing per-se, especially for linux and Android.

From these kinds of usebase, the only way to get in is come preinstalled (Android hint hint), so that when the user taps/doubleclickes on the "whatever" your program opens it and the user does not need to think about looking for an application.

And the only reliable way to get something in return is asking money or spamming ads.

I think, for ≈1000 users of a general-purpose app

It would be totally awesome if we had that level of community in Linux, but numbers are far worse (if we bunch together all usebase, of course on Arch/Gentoo it's a bit better than on Ubuntu or Mint)

On Windows it's worse, unbelievably worse. I'm not talking of developers, of course there are developers in appropriate amounts.

It's the "community-aware user" that is almost unheard of.

[cj.wijtmans]

If you are still on XP might as well upgrade to linux.