Filed under: OS Updates, Windows, Linux
Windows 7 or KDE 4?
But you know what? Windows 7 isn't the only operating system with a flashy new desktop interface. The KDE 4 desktop environment for Linux also offers some pretty nifty features like enhanced support for widgets, a new menu, and animations.
So the folks at ZDNet Australia decided to see what people thought of KDE4. Only taking a cue from Microsoft's Mojave campaign, they didn't tell anyone that they were looking at a Linux desktop. Instead they said it was Windows 7. And people seemed to be impressed. Of course, they also only got to look at it for a few moments and didn't know that it wouldn't run MS Office, Outlook, or Adobe Photoshop. But hey, first impressions matter, right?
[via Slashdot]
So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do.
Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game.
The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Bryant said 2:58PM on 2-06-2009
This could be illegal.
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Mason said 8:41AM on 2-14-2009
Me standing naked in front of a window is illegal. They weren't selling anything. Just, showing it off at a mall.
knoopx said 3:23PM on 2-06-2009
gnome! Why the hell people need useless stupid eyecandy?
stability, speed and customization are the key features of an OS!
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Bufsabre said 10:17PM on 2-06-2009
you put gnome in front of someone who doesnt know linux usually they assume its mac because of the default top bar. kde 4 has a very windows like look with its bottom taskbar. and dont get into the whole "well you can make it look like windows blah blah blah" its a default kde4.2 desktop so althings need to be equal
Koselara said 7:21AM on 2-28-2009
First, I'm writing this as someone that prefers GNOME, lighter window/desktop managers, and loved KDE 3.59. I'm not a fan of KDE 4 simply because I'm not into how it looks, and I don't relish the idea of having to customize it simply so it works my way when other DM/WMs already do. :)
When it comes to attracting Windows/Mac-using newbies, eye-candy is huge leverage. They're happy with what they have, they've invested time & money into it, and frankly, the one thing Linux does offer is more eye-candy at lower resource thresholds. FLOSS doesn't matter much to them: they can't read or modify the code anyway, and what controls their sharing habits isn't the law as much as how hard it is to crack the app.
What matters is getting the person to use Linux, however it's done... *Then* is the time to show them how to improve performance, how they can help with FLOSS simply by giving feedback or using superior writing skills to edit documents, how much their local/state government would save in taxes if it switched to free software, and all that. Telling them "here, use this old-looking thing, it's faster than that cool looking one your friends envy" or "you should use this, then you can read all of this geek stuff that makes no sense to you" won't work.
David said 3:24PM on 2-06-2009
Not in Australia! haha...
yeah it may be...
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Monte said 3:45PM on 2-06-2009
I'd be really impressed if they did some kind of blind test with a new OS, but instead of revealing that the OS wasn't what I assumed it was, surprise me by running it on cheap hardware. "So you say you're enjoying this experience with our new operating system... well what if I told you that this PC running it is only a Pentium 3?" That'd be cool.
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j.w.obbink said 1:31PM on 2-14-2009
In fact gnome runs very well on my old MSI 840Mhz P3 with 512mB memory ;-D
alex1jam said 4:51PM on 2-06-2009
Neat! I am waiting when m$ will no longer be around.
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Quikboy said 8:29AM on 2-07-2009
$?
Microsoft is a company that makes profits. So do a bunch of other tech companies, but you don't see the point in putting currency symbols in their names, do you? If you have a problem with capitalism, move somewhere else.
This obsession on hating Microsoft will always be ridiculous.
whiskey said 6:10PM on 2-06-2009
BRAD! OMG! It doesn't run Outlook? yes! but Office and Photoshop? Come on!
It does run them using Wine!
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hazard said 6:10PM on 2-06-2009
ah the good ol' vox pop interview .. the staple of trash journalism and comedians .. doesn't matter what the subject is you'll always end up with completely banal results.
My favourite vox pop of recent times is when The Chaser did one in NY about September 11.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx7CfSCTpgU
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Richard said 11:12AM on 2-07-2009
Don't you hate it when someone says something won't run on Linux, they always bring up WINE? How about running something natively in Linux instead of using a go-between to make it run. If Linux was really a viable alternative to the home desktop user, wouldn't you think the major software makers would be writing for it?
This is a fluff piece by ZDNet Aussie, not true journalism. It even looks like the people are just watching the demonstrators and don't actually get to touch it and use it. They seem to also pick the people that said something about Vista. Nobody said they hated Vista, they said they were "getting used to it". There is a difference. Any new OS requires some getting used to.
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JC said 8:29AM on 2-07-2009
WINE is NOT an emulator! The programs do run natively. It's as much as a go-between as one that allows you to run 32-bit programs to run in 64-bit Windows/Linux (dynamic recompiler + libraries).
Linux itself is a testament to why you don't need major software makers to have good software. Besides, if there were major software makers on Linux, there wouldn't be an incentive for programmers to write alternatives (that are FREE and can be ported to other OSes).
Romesh said 5:00PM on 2-07-2009
@JC
Don't be ridiculous. If there were major software makers on Linux, there would be much much more software available for the platform, including more freeware. You make it sound as though there is little freeware available for Windows because there are major software makers on it- that's just not true.
And yes, we all get that Wine Is Not an Emulator, but whatever, its compatibility and reliability is significantly inferior to software that can be compiled and run properly, it is not a true long-term replacement, merely a go-between as Richard puts it. If you want proof, go to the WineHQ website. You'll find that of the set of programs in the database (by no means every program you might want), less than 30% have a platinum rating. So it is more likely than not that running a program with WINE will have issues- this is NOT a proper replacement
Søren Hartmann Kristensen said 8:01AM on 2-09-2009
I think that Win7 needs more getting used to than Vista did. But once you get used to it, its great.
Quikboy said 8:30AM on 2-07-2009
These types of campaigning (including Mojave) aren't reliable. How are we to know that someone who claimed they didn't like "Windows 7" wasn't shown in the video? Or that these really are random people? I don't think anyone can be assured.
Also, what's the point? Just as you can make KDE 4 emulate Windows or OS X, or whatever you want, you can pretty much do the same for Windows. If you want more functionality, then search it on the web and download it. It's not hard.
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RED_404 said 8:30AM on 2-07-2009
Nether I'm running Windows 7 x64 with bbLean 1.17 and Arch Linux 64 with Openbox and I love them both.
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Terry Wang said 11:04PM on 2-07-2009
Unfortunately the guys didn't go to North Ryde or North Sydney. How come that people didn't notice that was actually KDE logo rather than bloody Windows...:) Too hot, maybe.
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Sonic said 10:53PM on 2-09-2009
I'm sure somebody probably figured that out. However that wouldn't prove KDE's point, so its easier to remove them and make it look like everyone thinks its 7.