I know it is not so nice to complain and bash a project when you don't contribute to it. And yes until now, I did not contributed to the KDE4 desktop as I wished. I compiled it regularly and used the libraries, but did not run the KDE4 desktop or KDE4 version of the applications except KDevelop and Quanta.

With 4.0's release, the technology of KDE4 isn't the only thing we find ourselves at the starting line of. As many of you have probably noticed, a theme for our KDE4 promotion campaigns was also unveiled using the slogan "Be Free".

Ubuntu Tweak is a utility created to make it easier for users to configure and change a variety of system settings. You can use it to quickly adjust settings for GNOME Panel, Compiz, and Nautilus, along with some more advanced security settings.

In Ubuntu 8.04 if you want to configure compiz manually we have a new tool called Simple Compizconfig settings manager.The OpenCompositing Project brings 3D desktop visual effects that improve usability of the X Window System and provide increased productivity.

I've found myself falling in love all over again with various KDE apps as I use their KDE4 incarnations. One of those apps is Gwenview, by Aurélien Gâteau. In KDE4 one of the common goals shared by various development teams was to improve the look, feel and usability of our apps. Did Aurélien succeed? Now it certainly looks better. But is it as functional? As easy to use?

KDE's window-specific settings feature gives you a fine level of control over the way windows behave. It lets you change settings such as minimum/maximum size, position, overlay, and transparency. The GIMP uses multiple windows to select tools, tool options, and other items used in the process of image editing.

I installed KDE4 on my desktop today so I could finally try out KWin in all its glory. If you haven't tried it yet I highly recommend it. KDE4 with desktop effects enabled is simply gorgeous. It's fast, responsive, and comes with a nice array of effects options.

Firefox lets you tinker with many of its internal settings by entering about:config in the address bar. The preference settings exposed on that page let you make many changes, but the tabular interface is not exactly user-friendly. One alternative, the Preferential extension improves matters only slightly.

Check it out - preview KDE4.0 in the gallery. Looks great.