什么是 KDE

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于是，你头一次安装好了Linux并选择了KDE工作空间。或许可能你是在其他地方长期漂泊后重返KDE软件。或许可能你正计划使用KDE工作区和应用程序但是想先知道更多关于他的信息。那这个从你电脑里凝视你的耀眼东西是什么哪？

一个国际社区

KDE已经不单单是个软件. 它是一个由全世界的编程人员，翻译人员，贡献人员，艺术家，作者，经销商和使用者所组成的社区。我们的国际化技术团队致力于创造最好的桌面自由软件。同时不但是贡献人员，KDE软件的使用者和fans们同样遍布全球，他们帮助其他使用者，传播新闻消息，或仅仅只是享受体验。

(Image courtesy of Wade Olson)

一个崭新，耀眼的工作空间

KDE started life as a desktop environment. As activities have grown, KDE is now an international team that creates Free and Open Source Software.

What this means in practice is that the many programs from the KDE community work together to give you the best possible computing experience. Does that mean you can't use a KDE application if you don't use the KDE desktop? Not at all. With the help of one or two extra libraries the applications can be used on almost any desktop. What's more, some of that software no longer runs only on Linux - some of the new tiny devices, smartphones and internet tablets, have KDE applications!

There are a variety of programs to suit any user's needs, from simple yet powerful text editors, to rocking audio and video players, to the most sophisticated integrated development environment. Plus, KDE applications follow a consistent look and feel across the desktop, giving you a comfortable and familiar experience when using any KDE program. Every six months a new, updated version of a huge number of applications is released - and that's known as the Software Compilation (SC). Some other applications don't update at the same time, but release new versions independently.

KDE software has several other features that makes it a top-class working environment, such as:

A beautiful and modern desktop
A flexible and configurable system, letting you customize applications without too much editing of text files
Network transparency allows you to easily access files on other networks and computers as if they were on your own computer
A software ecosystem of hundreds, even thousands, of programs
Availability in over 60 languages

Free Software

KDE software isn't just any software. It is Free Software. As a user, this is an important fact, even without getting deep into technical or legal considerations. Why? Because as free software, you are free to use KDE wherever you want and in whatever manner you want, no activation keys and no installation limits. And you're free to share it with others as well! So not only do you have in your hands great and powerful software, but you can also give your family and friends the opportunity to enjoy it, too.

Information

Curious about Free Software? Read more about it on the Free Software Foundation's website.

Components

KDE is a huge community of people who create software. As such, there are many aspects to the KDE Platform. Some of the more fundamental pieces of the platform are:

the Plasma workspace - the user interface element, customized for different devices such as PCs, notebooks, or mobile devices
elements of the KDE Platform - exposes common functionality to applications
KDE Applications - software programs that are written to utilize the platform

There's more!

And it doesn't stop there! The KDE community has lots more to offer!

Other Platforms - Some KDE applications are available for Windows, Mac OS X, and portable devices such as Nokia N810.
Office and Productivity Suite - KDE is not only fun, it can help you get productive and organized as well.
Application Development Framework - Dreaming of writing the next killer app? KDE software and community support can help you with that.

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