Pressemitteilung
Announcing KDE 3.2
February 3, 2004 (The Internet) - The KDE Project is pleased to announce the immediate availability of KDE 3.2, the third major release of the award-winning KDE3 desktop platform. KDE 3.2 is the result of a combined year-long effort by hundreds of individuals and corporations from around the globe. This diverse team has been working successfully together since 1997 to make KDE the leading Open Source desktop software for Linux and UNIX.
As with previous KDE releases, version 3.2 provides an integrated desktop and a comprehensive set of applications that combine to create an environment that is usable for a wide variety of tasks right out of the box. In addition to the many new applications making their debut in KDE 3.2, the veteran applications have been refined and augmented generously. By installing some or all of these applications common desktop tasks such as web browsing, file management, email, personal information management, instant messaging, software and web development, multimedia, education and entertainment can be accomplished quickly and easily. This impressive collection of software is complemented by a recent update to the KOffice integrated office suite.
Reflecting its international team and focus, KDE 3.2 is currently available in 42 different languages. Partial translations into 32 other languages are also available, many of which are expected to be completed during the KDE 3.2 life cycle. With 74 different languages and full localization support, no other desktop is as ready to serve the needs of today's global community.
KDE 3.2 also provides improvements in usability and performance. Noticeable speed boosts in application start up times and webpage rendering together with many interface refinements make KDE 3.2 the most usable and performant KDE ever. Attention was also paid to ensuring that KDE is accessible to those with disabilities. Several accessibility related applications are included with 3.2 and work on integrating accessibility technologies directly into KDE's foundations is ongoing.
KDE has earned a reputation for quality and a comprehensive feature set among its global user base that is estimated to number in the millions. KDE is also proud to be the default user interface for several operating systems including Ark Linux, Conectiva, Knoppix, Lindows, Lycoris, Mandrake Linux, SUSE Linux, TurboLinux and Xandros. KDE is also available as a part of Debian, Free/Open/NetBSD, Gentoo, Libranet, Red Hat Linux, Slackware and Solaris, among others. In addition to these operating system vendors, more and more companies are offering commercial support for KDE, some of which are listed in the business directory of the KDE::Enterprise website. With the release of KDE 3.2, the KDE Project looks to enhance and grow this ecosystem of users and supporters.
Highlights At A Glance
Increased performance and standards compliance
Lowered start up times for applications and hundreds of optimizations make KDE 3.2 the fastest KDE ever!
Working in concert with Apple Computer Inc.'s Safari web browser team, KDE's web support has seen huge performance boosts as well as increased compliance with widely accepted web standards
Increased support for FreeDesktop.org standards in KDE 3.2 strengthens interoperability with other Linux and UNIX software.
New applications
JuK: a jukebox-style music player
Kopete: an instant messenger with support for AOL Instant Messenger, MSN, Yahoo Messenger, ICQ, Gadu-Gadu, Jabber, IRC, SMS and WinPopup
KWallet: providing integrated, secure storage of passwords and web form data
Kontact: a unified interface that draws KDE's email, calendaring, address book, notes and other PIM features together into a familiar configuration
KGpg: providing an easy-to-use KDE interface to industry-standard encryption tools
KIG: an interactive geometry program
KSVG: a viewer for SVG files
KMag, KMouseTool and KMouth: accessibility tools for KDE
KGoldRunner: a new riff on a classic game
Getting KDE 3.2
KDE 3.2 can be downloaded over the Internet by visiting
download.kde.org. Source code and vendor supplied and supported binary packages are available. KDE 3.2 will also be featured in upcoming releases of various Linux and UNIX operating systems and can be purchased separately on
CD-ROM. For additional information on package availability and to read further release notes, please visit the
KDE 3.2 information page.
KDE is available at no cost and all source code, art and documentation is freely available under Open Source licenses. Additional third-party KDE applications can be downloaded from
kde-apps.org. KDE 3.2 is also compatible with other Linux and UNIX software packages including popular Open Source applications such as Open Office and the Mozilla web browser.