FESCo meeting summary for 2009-06-26

[Orcan Ogetbil]

On Sat, Jun 27, 2009 at 10:21 AM, Rahul Sundaram wrote:
> On 06/27/2009 09:13 AM, Kevin Kofler wrote:
>
>> As for integration, we offer a perfectly integrated KDE spin, thank you very
>> much... We're working really hard on distro integration. For example, why
>> do you think I wrote that KDM ConsoleKit patch back in F7 times (a modified
>> version of which got merged upstream in KDE 4.2)? Where are we lacking
>> integration?
>
> I don't disagree that the current team is doing a good job but there
> isn't enough resources to handle everything correctly and the current
> status is far from perfect. There are a number of things currently
> lacking compared to the GNOME experience driven by GNOME developers
> within Fedora:
>
> * Proper integration of NetworkManager. KDE currently is using
> NetworkManager-gnome which doesn't integrate well with KDE
>
> * KPackageKit doesn't do mime, font or codec integration like
> gpk-application does and is generally in a more broken state. Clicking
> on a downloaded RPM used to fail in Fedora 11 GA.  No support for
> creating service packs either in KPackageKit
>
> * For good codec integration, you need gstreamer to be the default.
> Phonon gstreamer backend doesn't seem to be as mature as the Xine
> backend yet.
>
> * Solid needs a proper DeviceKit backend and that needs to be followed
> up with integration of libatasmart et all.
>
> * GDM integrates better with Plymouth via plymouth-gdm-hooks package
>
> * No support for fingerprint readers in KDM
>
> This is not a comprehensive list. Merely things I can think of, top of
> my head.
>

Thanks for the list. This list came up on every Gnome/KDE discussion
since I've been in in fedora-devel.

But I don't think such comparisons will lead us anywhere. Gnome also
lacks crucial features, such as a plasma alternative, a TeX editor, a
comprehensive media collection suite/player, a non-ugly theme, overall
visual configurability. I don't want to dig up Gnome and find more
missing features that are a *must have* for many people. In fact, it
is these missing features that make people prefer KDE.

Every DE has its positives and negatives. Personally I find KDE more
feature complete, whereas you find Gnome... The fact is, these are the
top DE's and they are both massive and comparable in userbase size.
Hence we believe that Fedora shall not ignore this fact.

Best,
Orcan