Download KDE 4.4.0 RC1

KDE is a popular desktop environment for GNU/Linux, FreeBSD and Solaris, among others. It comes with a standard desktop, including fifteen packages of applications such as a pim, multimedia playback programs, network management tools, and various games. The developers have released the first release candidate of KDE 4.4 and expect to release the final in February 2010. The announcement of this release looks like this:

KDE Ships First Release Candidate of New 4.4 Desktop, Applications and Development Platform

January 8th, 2010. Today, KDE has released the first release candidate of the next version of the KDE Software Compilation (KDE SC). KDE SC 4.4 Release Candidate 1 provides a testing base for identifying bugs in the upcoming KDE Software Compilation 4.4, with its components the KDE Plasma Workspaces, the Applications powered by KDE, and the KDE Development Platform.
The list of changes between 4.3 and 4.4 is especially long. Important changes can be observed all over the place:

• the Nepomuk Semantic Search framework has made leaps: A new storage backend makes it a lot faster. New user interfaces to interact with the Nepomuk database are first delivered with KDE 4.4.0. A timeline view of your files makes finding files used in the past easier.
• the Plasma Desktop has been further polished. Many user interface elements have received attention by developers and designers. The new widget explorer provides a richer experience for managing desktop widgets. Plasma widgets can now be shared with other users over the network and the handling of storage devices in the desktop shell has been streamlined. Also, in 4.4 Plasma’s little sibling, the Netbook shell debuts as a technology preview.
• New applications on the horizon range from Blogilo, a rich-client blogging tool to cantor and Rocs, two scientific applications for advanced math and graph theory needs. Many other applications, such as the Gwenview image viewer and the Dolpin file manager have been further improved.
• The KDE Development Platform adds the new KAuth authorization framework for easy and secure privilege escalation, printing of odd and even pages, scanner support for the Windows platform and the first pieces of integration of the popular webkit rendering engine.

These are only some of the new features one can expect from the new KDE Software Compilation 4.4, there is also a longer list of the changes. The long list of changes also comes with an even longer list of smaller and bigger bug fixes and performance enhancements which lead to a noticable improvement of the user experience.

The release is named after Cornelius Schumacher, who is and continues to be one of the cornerstones of the KDE community.

To find out more about the KDE 4.4 desktop and applications, please also refer to the KDE 4.3.0, KDE 4.2.0, KDE 4.1.0 and KDE 4.0.0 release notes, as KDE SC 4.4 is the next evolutionary step on top of these releases. KDE SC 4.4 RC1 is not stable software, as such, it is not suitable for everyday or production use. KDE SC 4.4 RC1 is aimed at testers and those who would like to have an early look at the next KDE SC release.
This release candidate will be followed up by another release candidate (RC2) on January 20th and the first stable version of the KDE SC 4.4 series, 4.4.0 on February, 9th 2010. After that, KDE will supply the usual monthly bugfix and translation updates to provide further polish and fixes.

KDE, including all its libraries and its applications, is available for free under Open Source licenses. KDE can be obtained in source and various binary formats from and can also be obtained on CD-ROM or with any of the major GNU/Linux and UNIX systems shipping today.

Installing KDE SC 4.4 RC1 Binary Packages

packagers. Some Linux/UNIX OS vendors have kindly provided binary packages of KDE SC 4.4 RC1 for some versions of their distribution, and in other cases community volunteers have done so. Some of these binary packages are available for free download from KDE’s . Additional binary packages, as well as updates to the packages now available, may become available over the coming weeks.

Package Locations. For a current list of available binary packages of which the KDE Project has been informed, please visit the KDE SC 4.4 RC1 Info Page.

Compiling KDE SC 4.4 RC1 (aka 4.3.90)

The complete source code for KDE SC 4.4 RC1 may be freely downloaded. Instructions on compiling and installing KDE SC 4.4 RC1 are available from the KDE SC 4.3.90 Info Page.