As I wrote at the beginning of this review, this isn't your paternal unit's KDE. Today's KDE is bigger, more complicated, longer to download, and slower to build than any previous version. It is also significantly faster, easier to use, more consistently implemented, and easier on the eyes than any previous version.

As readers of my previous reviews in this space might recall, I'm a minimalist: less is more, and I'll trade eye candy for performance almost every time. KDE 3.2 hasn't made me change my mind on this point; I'm still a minimalist. I honestly don't need the level of integration and interoperability that KDE provides. Moreover, the ease-of-use features and familiar interface that make KDE so compelling to the growing number of converts from Windows are irrelevant to me.

But, and this is a big but, it is precisely integration, interoperability, ease-of-use, and a familiar user interface that will give Linux a wedge onto the Windows-dominated desktop. These qualities, combined with improved performance, stability, and usability, make KDE 3.2 a terrific product.

Kurt Wall is an all-around Linux geek. He has written all or parts of eight books about Linux and UNIX programming and system administration and is the technical editor for over a dozen other Linux- and UNIX-related titles. Currently, Kurt works for TimeSys Corporation in Pittsburgh and lives in South Park, Pennsylvania. He receives entirely too much email at kwall@kurtwerks.com.

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