Planet Lowyat

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KDE 4.1 packages are available for Kubuntu and several other popular distributions. If there are no prebuilt binaries yet for your distro of choice, you can compile the software from the available source packages. A live CD image is also available should you wish to try the new desktop without altering your existing installation.

The introduction of KDE 4 marked the introduction of the new Plasma desktop, which provides not only the panel that you interact with, but also widgets (or “plasmoids”) that extended the desktop further. In KDE 4.1, one of the most welcome changes to Plasma is the return of multiple and resizable panels from KDE 3. Now you can configure your panels by clicking on the Plasma icon (by default it’s on the right edge of the panel), which brings up a series of sliders for adjusting the panel’s height and position. Also within this configuration control is the return of a way to reposition panel contents by simply grabbing objects with your mouse and pulling them to where you’d like them.

One of the most controversial announcements during the KDE 4.1 development cycle was the reported removal of icons for the desktop. In actuality, desktop icons are not missing from the new version, they’re just handled differently. This version introduces a Folder View plasmoid, which is a container you can place on the desktop that can show the contents of any directory. Most distributions set one up in the default configuration to show the contents of the desktop folder, but you are no longer limited to having the contents of just the desktop folder displayed on your desktop — you can add several instances of Folder View, each showing a different directory.

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A new desktop computers will be hitting the shelves today as the Dell Studio Hybrid is unleashed onto the market to compete with the likes of the Asus Eee Box for sleek, space-saving mini machines for the modern home.

Dell claims that it consumes 71% less energy than a typical mini-tower and is Energy Star 4.0 Certified.

Physically, it is very small: 7.08”(h) x 8.26”(d) x 2.75”(w), which is comparable to an external drive – cool huh? Official Specifications:

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HP have announced their latest touchscreen desktop computer, the TouchSmart PC, with a 22-inch widescreen display, DVD burner and optional TV tuner. Specs include Intels Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB of RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 9300 M GS HD graphics card, ATSC Tuner, Bluetooth 2.0, Firewire, wireless networking and memory card slots, together with a webcam and microphone.

The screen of the Touchsmart isn’t touch sensitive; it’s actually a beam of light in front of the screen that recognizes where your finger is when you break the plane of the light beam. The interface, which is all developed within Vista, can be customized in many ways, allowing you to pick from a variety of content to be displayed on the home screen. There’s also a finger painting app, photo browsing and editing app, music player, movie player, RSS aggregator and calendar.

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Finally Asus Eee Desktop have an official name EBOX.

The system is due to be unveiled at the major Computex show on June 3rd and will buck the Eee PC’s past use of flash memory for storage: the stock model will carry a 160GB hard drive that provides it six times as much capacity as the 20GB Eee PC 900. The EBOX will also hold 2GB of RAM, or twice as much as the newer Eee notebooks.

The company has previously mentioned that it plans to price the computer between $200 and $300, and in leaks is known to be selling the system in black and white colors. No mention has yet been made of offering a Windows version.

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