For what it's worth, there's the Upcycling Android project by the #FSFE.
I’m taking about KDE the project.
No you are not. Or you weren't. Allow me to quote your own post:
I’m talking about the “DE” part of KDE in general;
As the DE is Plasma, that is the part I am addressing. Now you are moving the goalposts. That said, I do not know what you mean when you refer to "the KDE project", as KDE encompasses many projects.
In any case, I don’t doubt that KDE can’t run at all under the specs you mentioned
So you don't doubt it is light. Of course if we pile on a bunch of apps, like we could throw in Blender open 50 times rendering 4K animations and I'm sure it will make the laptop run slow. But that would be because of Blender, not the DE.
However, for the sake of argument, I did try the three examples you quoted, Dolphin, Konsole and Kate, and as you can see in the aforementioned video, they are all also very light and worked perfectly simultaneously on the 2008 machine. I do not have Konqueror installed on that machine, as it is not considered an essential part of Plasma anymore and is not widely used.
I'm afraid you are definitely out of the loop: Plasma is the DE. That is what it's called: Plasma, not KDE. KDE refers to the organisation, the community and all the software the community produces, which includes Plasma (the DE), but also all the apps, frameworks, widgets, etc.
I find it a bit ironic for KDE to be pushing this message, when it’s a heavy DE (relatively speaking)
You didn't seem to read my message. Allow me to repeat the gist here: Plasma (the DE) works fluidly on a machine bought in 2008 which comes with an Intel Core 2 Duo running at 1.8GHz. This machine has an onboard Intel GMA X3100 GPU and 2GB Memory. I doubt a heavy/bloated environment like you are imagining would even be able to display the log in screen on that.
I would advise you stop repeating third-hand FUD, as it is not true, and you tried the software out for yourself. I am sure you will be surprised at how light Plasma (the DE) is.
Edit: Video proving that what you are saying is not correct:
https://tube.kockatoo.org/w/g9p72nNRHi6bArN4ABtSQM
I think that what you are calling "KDE" may be "Plasma", since you are comparing with another desktop environment.
To answer your question, yes, and the process started some years ago. It sounds like you may be a bit out of the loop, as Plasma now weighs more or less the same as XFCE, or thereabouts (these things are harder to measure than one may assume). I personally installed Plasma 6 on a Dell XPS PP25L from 2008 and it works flawlessly.
Are you sure you were not seeing only notifications from your phone mirrored onto your desktop and not actual downloads? Bear in mind that is one of KDE Connect's features, showing notifications on the desktop of stuff happening on the phone. It doesn't mean that what the notification is telling you is happening on the desktop.
KDE has an office in Germany for administrative purposes, but its base is worldwide. As a non-profit charity, we have rivalries with no-one.
I’m looking for an up-to-date Plasma 6 tutorial for making plasmoids. Just a simple “Hello world” done correctly for Plasma 6.
Good point. Let's see if we can find someone to update that.
In the meantime, you may want to visit this page , as it contains dozens of link to resources, chatrooms, and mailing list that will put you in touch with the people that can help with your effort.
We have made ads... ironically. With tongues stuck firmly in cheeks, we tried to imagine how one would go about making ads for things as unmarketable as Konsole, Elisa, Okular, some minor Plasma features, etc.
We definitely posted this with promotional purposes 😬 . Word-of-mouth is great, but it sometimes needs a shove to reach new people. We hope you folks don't mind.
No ads, no spyware, no demos, as all software is fully functional and free. Also no subscriptions, no license fees, no unwanted communications.
A KDE-based system includes lots of customisation possibilities (i.e. you can change practically everything in you system and desktop environment), but is also perfectly functional as is, even if you do not change a thing.
KDE software will work on most hardware, even on older computers.
Note that a KDE system is a different experience from Windows. There are different apps -- instead of Microsoft Office, you would use LibreOffice, for example; instead of Photoshop, you would use Krita or GIMP, etc.. This requires you approach KDE system and its Plasma desktop with an open mind.
On the other hand, KDE brings you lots of interesting features you probably did not think possible, like near perfect integration between your phone and your desktop, plenty of tools to control your system, and easy and safe management of all the apps on your system.
Also, bear in mind that it is created by a community of users, not a company. We are not in it to make money off of you. In fact the community has organised itself as a non-profit charity. It is worth pointing out there is a strong community of teachers within the KDE community, as we produce quite a lot of educational software, including GCompris:
If you would like to learn more, start here:
Or just ask. We will be happy to guide you in your discovery of KDE, will be happy to answer your questions, and will appreciate your feedback and thoughts.
Probably. I would imagine they look to help you do that, though.