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A summarised(!) version of the main changes between 2.2.2 and 3.0 is
given below.
Other things to note are.
- NetBSD/a.out support done by me (again).
- All workarounds are as for KDE-2 and probably need revisiting.
- only partially compiled tested against 3.3.6.
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Printing.
One of the most exciting additions to KDE 3 is the new printing framework,
KDEPrint. Its modular design makes it easy to support different printing
engines, such as CUPS, LPRng, LPR, LPD or other servers or programs.
Browser. Konqueror is KDE's fifth-generation web browser, file manager and
document viewer. The standards-compliant Konqueror has a component-based
architecture which combines the features and functionality of Internet
Explorer/Netscape Communicator and Windows Explorer.
Konqueror uses KHTML as its rendering engine. KHTML supports the full gamut
of current Internet technologies. It supports the scripting language
ECMAScript ("JavaScript") as well as Java; the XML 1.0 and HTML 4.0 markup
languages; cascading style sheets (CSS-1 and -2); secure communications with
SSL; Netscape Communicator plug-ins, including Flash and RealAudio and
RealVideo; and, in conjunction with some commercial add-ons, Windows
Netscape plugins, including Macromedia Shockwave Player, the QuickTime and
Windows Media Player 6.5 multimedia players, and various MS Office document
viewers.
"One of the major improvements brought by KDE 3.0 over KDE 2.2 is the
JavaScript/DHTML support in Konqueror," stated Dirk Mueller, a KHTML
developer and the KDE 3 release coordinator. "The implementation of the DOM
model, used for rendering XML and well designed HTML pages, has been much
improved. The CSS 1 rendering module support is considered complete. The
JavaScript bindings and support is almost complete, faster and more stable
than in KDE 2. The resulting improvements in the speed and rendering quality
of state of the art web pages is something users will appreciate
immediately."
Konqueror's improved JavaScript support is nicely demontrated by the added
support for Heirmenus, a sophisticated JavaScript pop-up and drop-down menu
system. This release also adds comprehensive SSL certificate and CA
management tools, as well as new configuration options for image management
and a reimplemented zooming functionality.
File manager. Konqueror is also KDE's file manager. In KDE 3.0, Konqueror
can display additional file information - file size, permissions and
mimetype-specific information such as ID3 tags for MP3s or comments for JPG
images - in a tooltip, and, in appropriate cases, edit this information.
Moreover, Konqueror provides audio file "previews" by hovering the mouse
over the file's icon. In addition, Konqueror's sidebar now features a media
player, to which one can drag audio/video files for quick play.
Email. KMail is KDE's full-featured and user-friendly e-mail client. KMail
supports both the popular IMAP and POP3 mail standards. Users can have
multiple accounts and multiple identities. Its address book is based on the
vCard address book standard, and is shared with the rest of KDE.
PIM. Calendaring / Group Scheduling. KOrganizer is KDE's calendaring and
scheduling program for organizing appointments, todo lists, projects and
more. It is an integral part of the KDE PIM suite, which aims to be a
complete solution for organizing your personal data. KOrganizer supports the
two dominant standards for storing and exchanging calendar data, vCalendar
and iCalendar.
Multimedia. KDE 3 provides a rich set of multimedia tools, from a CD player
to a themeable media player for .WAV, .MP3 and OggVorbis audio files and
MPEG-1 and DivX video files (Noatun). Noatun features audio effects, a
six-band graphic equalizer, a full plugin architecture, network transparency
and several skins. With KDE 3.0, Noatun for the first time offers support
for Icecast and SHOUTcast digital audio streaming.
KDE 3 also ships aKtion!, a video player for a large number of video
formats.
Edutainment. A package with "Edutainment" applications has been added to
KDE. It is maintained by the KDE Edutainment Project, which aims to create
educational software based around KDE.
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