Hi,
I feel like dinosaur posting like this, but nevertheless it is something I am still thinking of. I am unable to work with KDE 4.x - simply it doesn't meet my requirements. There are many reasons for that. But what worries me much is that a mainstream development in Slackware is aimed at KDE 4.x users. No space left for people like me. I was using slack 13.1 but when I started to do serious work I easily realized that none of present deskotps/windows mangers suit me. So I quickly decided to downgrade to slack 12.2. Only for the reason to use KDE 3.5.10. And I don't regret my decision. But that situation cannot last for ever. In the future I will have to upgrade a kernel. Or upgrade some applications. But this may be impossible staying with slack 12.2. So it seems to me for now that I may have no choice but to look for a still maintained distribution which also supports KDE 3.5.10 or Trinity. I am not happy of this - Slackware was my first Linux distribution - and still it is the main distribution I am using. But maybe I am a true dinosaur. The time to die?

Slackware 12.2 is still maintained. Pat still releases security updates for it. And if you install software from source (e.g. SlackBuild scripts) rather than binary packages, then you should be able to get just about anything to work with 12.2.

That is of course not true. When KDE 3.x stopped being maintained Slackware moved to KDE 4.x, there is no secret agenda or dinosaur eradication program involved.

If you do not like the KDE4 desktop you could consider switching to XFCE instead. You can still run KDE4 applications without issues, even in XFCE.

If the KDE 3.5.x fork Trinity appeals more to you, you can join its further development and make sure it keeps its compatibility with new Slackware releases. This is the benefit of open source software.

Eric

I think it is wrong to presume that your distro should have to support the software that you want.

If you don't like Slackware's direction or it doesn't meet your requirements, then yes it is definitely time to move on.

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I suggest you find and install another DE/WM that suits you, because KDE3 is no longer being developed, AFAIK.

It is not that I don't like KDE 4.x.x. It is visually appealing but I don't find it so functional as KDE 3.5.10. And, of course my opinion, in design KDE 4.x.x is a bit cold and say ... unhuman. As I posted before none of desktops or window managers present in recent Slackware releases offer as much as KDE 3.5.x. You maybe surprised but I was running KDE 3.5.10 on Pentium 150 MHz processor with 256 MB RAM. For Xfce it was not enough.

I'd never give up on my favourite distro (Slackware or any other) because of its DE. It's not a DE that makes a distro. KDE4.x / XFCE / Fluxbox, etc. are probably the least important factors why I like/stay with Slackware.
Btw, I've been using i3 for the last 2 months. I3 is not even shipped with Slackware.

I will stay with KDE 3.5.10 as long as I can. Maybe in time will appear a good substitution. Or KDE 4.x.x developers will change their minds. At this moment KDE 3.5.10 for me works excellent. There is no possibility for other desktops/window managers to work the way KDE 3.5.10 works. It is something in a design concept.

Are you sure ? Because there is a great deal of customization possible with other WMs. I mean for example, I have fluxbox as a WM, ROX-Filer as file manager (includes programs for extracting archives, thumbnails, and can mount/unmount on command), Terminal (from XFCE), and other programs. You can choose what programs you want to be a part of the DE, so you can get things to pretty much exactly the way you want them. I really do question whether the KDE devs really guessed exactly what you were looking for in every single program. Well, just know that KDE3's time is up, you have to make some decisions about what to do in the future.

Slackware is one of 'base' Linux distribution. So it should support good applications.

Now I don't like that Slackware is trying to be "on bleeding edge". I prefer the earlier concept of Slackware as stable and reliable distribution with a good choice of applications. There is no need to be in a hurry. Slackware is for me OK! but I need to do my work a really good desktop environment. I used to work in a standard offered by KDE 3.5.10. And I am not talking about glasses, icons, some nice set of widgets or other such things (or blowing up windows).

What he said

I hope you're not typing that with a straight face.

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I agree that fluxbox is nice. But you cannot compare it with KDE 3.5.10. It is not only a desktop but an integrated desktop environment. Is a difference? Yes - applications have common interface, communications protocols and many other stuff. Is it important? Yes. This enables Konqueror to embed previewers. Not to open an external application to preview.

Slackware should do whatever the maintainer(s) of Slackware want it to do. He/They decided that KDE 4 is the way for Slackware. Users who disagree can move to another distro if they don't like the "new concept".

I always find it strange to read complaints that using KDE 4 goes against Slackware's principles, as if people know better than Pat what his disto should be. It's like the people who booed Bob Dylan when he went on stage and played an electric guitar instead of an acoustic. Well, sort-of...

Sorry but my knowledge of English is not as good to understand idioms like 'straight face'. But
perhaps it is my fault using "bleeding edge".