The developers were criticized for KDE 4.0. At the time, they pointed to KDE 4.1 – and it turns out they were right. The new version is far more stable and mature.

Version 2.23.5 of the Gnome Linux desktop gives a preview of version 2.24, which is scheduled for release in September.

At first, plans for Gtk+ 3 were considered unnecessary – the developers themselves considered the 2.x version mature enough – now, some developers are toying with the idea of developing Gtk+ 3. Gnome founder Miguel de Icaza comments on and criticizes the developments in his blog.

KDE e.V. and the GNOME Foundation will be holding their annual Akademy and GUADEC conferences jointly next year in Gran Canaria.

The developers of the Gnome desktop environment have denied the necessity of Gnome version 3.0, but now things are happening. Initial plans for a 3.0 release were revealed at the Gnome developer conference, Guadec, along with details of Gtk+ 3.0.

The Lightning add-on lets users upgrade their Mozilla Thunderbird email client and turn it into a convenient, versatile groupware product.

The new Gnome appeared in March and includes improvements for both users and developers. We'll tell you about network-transparent filesystem access, improved usability, and new programs in the latest Gnome.