Follow Slashdot blog updates by subscribing to our blog RSS feed

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
KDE GUI

Mosfet Contributes Code To KDE (Again) 193

Posted by timothy from the good-news-for-a-new-year dept.
davidsmind writes "Former KDE hacker and creator of the much acclaimed Liquid theme, Mosfet(AKA Daniel M. Duley ) is back in the spotlight. The Dot was the first one with the story. 'Many in the KDE community are aware of some rocky history between KDE hacker Mosfet and other KDE developers. Fortunately, it looks like things have taken a great turn for the better: Mosfet wrote in to tell us that "I've decided to donate 20 effects I ported to KDE/Qt for PixiePlus to KDE3." Waldo Bastian promptly added them to CVS.'" The list of effects is long, impressive, and under a BSD-style license. Mosfet has done a lot of the work that makes my desktop pretty, so I'm very happy to hear about this.
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

Mosfet Contributes Code To KDE (Again) More

Mosfet Contributes Code To KDE (Again)

Comments Filter:

  • Wonderful news (Score:2, Informative)

    by i_am_nitrogen ( 524475 )
    I for one am looking forward to installing KDE3 when it's all good and ready. Both KDE and Gnome have made incredible progress in the last few years. I think that the Open Source desktop systems are advancing much more quickly than any proprietary system. It's only a matter of time before KDE and Gnome surpass (if they haven't already) all proprietary GUI systems as far as appearance and usability go. My only complaint about KDE is that it's all C++, and it takes forever to load on an older computer. As I recall that's a problem with the dynamic C++ linker, and not KDE itself, though.

    It would seem that "The Dot" is already fallen under the Slashdot effect.

    • Re:Wonderful news (Score:2, Informative)

      by bero-rh ( 98815 )
      My only complaint about KDE is that it's all C++

      A matter of perspective - my only major gripe with gnome is that its API re-invents the wheel over and over (C is not an object-oriented language, and gtk's attempt at emulating an object oriented language just isn't as good as the real thing, IMO).

      It would seem that "The Dot" is already fallen under the Slashdot effect.

      Currently working on it... The machine's load was temporarily up at 33.8, it's starting
      to enter acceptable values (10.33 ATM) now, after some tweaking.
      • I gave Zope a slap up the head too, so it should be more responsive now. Now that I'm back, I'll have some time to figure out a more robust solution for the dot.

        -N.
      • C is not an object-oriented language

        Object Orientation is a programming style, not a set of language features. Some languages (e.g. C++ and Java) attempt to encourage object-oriented programming, but the world is full of non-object-oriented programs that use this languages.

        Using object oriented programming techniques in C is not a sign of delusion, it's an attempt to do more with less.

        • Using object oriented programming techniques in C is not a sign of delusion, it's an attempt to do more with less.

          You can always do more with less. So why not write your OO program in assember? Just because I can build a house armed with only a screwdriver does not mean that's the way it should be done. I have only myself to blame if my neighbors think me delusional for hammering, sawing and spackling with only a screwdriver, especially when my toolbox includes hammers, saws and putty knives.

          There are some OO like things you can do in C easily. But most of them are very difficult. It's not worth the effort when you can do the very same thing, and more, with a real OO language. C++ may not be the perfect OO language, but I would rather hammer in nails with an imperfect hammer than with an elegant screwdriver.
      • A matter of perspective - my only major gripe with gnome is that its API re-invents the wheel over and over (C is not an object-oriented language, and gtk's attempt at emulating an object oriented language just isn't as good as the real thing, IMO).

        Exactly. The biggest problem, I think, is that calling a method is done differently depending on whether that method is virtual. If object Z has standard method A and virtual method B, then to invoke A you must say A(Z), but to invoke B you must say Z->B(Z). This disparity is ugly and would be solved by using C++ which they should have done in the first place.

    • Re:Wonderful news (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      dot.kde.org would fall down in a slight breeze - nevermind the slashdot effect. It is apparently hosted on a vacuum cleaner.
  • An old carpenter I worked with almost 30 years ago told me "if it don't come out in the wash, it comes out in the rinsin'".

    All of us that use and enjoy KDE owe thanks to those that contribute, regardless of whatever went on before they bring code to the table for us to share.

  • What's the story? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Gogo Dodo ( 129808 )
    Many in the KDE community are aware of some rocky history between KDE hacker Mosfet and other KDE developers.

    For those of us not in the know, what's the rocky history?

    dot.kde.org is totally /.'ed.

  • I propose a Mosfet section on Slashdot (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 01, 2002 @04:29PM (#2771139)
    But the icon [mosfet.org] may frighten off the readers :-)
    • If you think that one's bad, check out mosfet2.jpg [mosfet.org].

      And the weird thing is, the dude's got m4d skillzZz, but he claims he likes these images!
    • Could someone PLEASE answer this for me? I am confused.

      Is this what Mosfet looks like? Is this him in drag? Who is that in the picture!?

      I mean, if Mosfet wants to dress in drag, that is cool I don't care (heck, I live in San Francisco). I just want to find out what the deal is!

      Is this just something the is into? Men dressing like crazy aggressive women?

      There are some more pictures in his PixiePlus screenshots [mosfet.org].

      Anyway...

      Kevin
      • "Is this what Mosfet looks like? Is this him in drag? Who is that in the picture!?"

        I heard on a numerous occations that Mosfet actually is a woman, so if that is true, no it isn't mosfet in "drag". ;) She looks abit kinky, though.

        .. Or someone might be pulling my leg or something. :)
      • Is this what Mosfet looks like? Is this him in drag? Who is that in the picture!?

        Yes, that's him.

        There are some more pictures in his PixiePlus screenshots.

        The pictures of the blonde woman in a dress? That's his girlfriend, IIRC. So if you single guys out there were wondering what you're doing wrong, you might want to consider long green hair, green lipstick and periodic feuding with the core KDE developers. Apparently there's more to know than just what's in Eric Raymond's sex tips HOWTO...

  • Not just a large contribution (Score:5, Informative)

    by jonathan_ingram ( 30440 ) on Tuesday January 01, 2002 @04:31PM (#2771150) Homepage
    Mosfet writes some good code, but don't go away thinking that KDE is lost without him (particularly not because of this recent contributution of some effects ripped from imagemagick). This is so far away from the truth as to be laughable.

    One of the biggest things to happen to KDE in last year has been the rewrite of KDE's printing support [slashdot.org], by Michael Goffioul. No-one goes around proclaiming Michael as a coding god, because he just got on with it and produced something very impressive (and that has got even more impressive in KDE 3).

    Similarly for the developer(s) [kde.org] of Kate [sourceforge.net], KDE's text editor. Or the developers of Konqueror [konqueror.org], who have equalled Mozilla with a twentieth of the personnel and a thousandth of the money.

    Similarly for all the people that don't code, but instead translate KDE into 15 million languages.

    KDE is a true team effort and can do without coding primadonnas.

    • Or the developers of Konqueror [konqueror.org], who have equalled Mozilla with a twentieth of the personnel and a thousandth of the money.

      Without belittling Konqueror, as it is truly an excellent browser, it is not in the same league as Mozilla.

      • Without belittling Mozilla, as it is truly an excellent browser, it is not in the same league as Konqueror.

      • Well, that's curious. Konqueror renders twice the pages correctly in half the time that Mozilla does. And loads faster. And has a more appealing default interface. And browses the web, as opposed to reading mail and news, providing an IRC client, and making my morning coffee.

        • From what i've heard Konqueror also doesn't support PNG transparency. And if your comparing the UI try to compare it to Galeon which is mozilla embeded into a Gtk+ interface.

          • Re:Not just a large contribution (Score:1, Insightful)

            by Anonymous Coward
            Actually, Konqueror does support PNG transparency.

            try looking at the offcial PNG transparency test page using Konqueror:
            http://www.libpng.org/pub/png/pngs.html [libpng.org]

            You can't really compare Konqueror and Galeon because they have different scopes. Konqueror is a file manager that doubles as a web browser. Konqueror, Nautilus, and Internet Explorer have the same scope (although Nautilus's web functions are a bit weak).
        • Konqueror renders twice the pages correctly in half the time that Mozilla does

          Twice the pages? Really? Do you have any examples? Else this is probably mostly wish-thinking, as every other person I've met will testify that Mozilla renders more pages correctly. Nothing personal against Konqueror, it's just that the Mozilla people have had more time to spend developing their engine.

          And browses the web, as opposed to reading mail and news, providing an IRC client, and making my morning coffee.

          I hope you know that you don't have to install those parts if you do not want to.

        • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

          by account_deleted ( 4530225 )
          Comment removed based on user account deletion
          • In addition to all the comments the above poster made, Mozilla is designed to be a web-browser, and excels at it. Konqueror tries to be a file manager too...and fails miserably as an overly bloated piece of elephant dung (please, let me tell you how I really feel :). I wish they would have stayed with where KFM was headed, but they scrapped it all for the konqueror crap.

            Thank goodness I discovered ROX-Filer.

      • Why have I been moderated as flamebait not just once, but twice? Konqueror is an excellent browser (KDE is my default desktop and Konqueror is my normal web browser) but I'm not naive enough to believe it's achieving the same scope as Mozilla.

        Is this more proof that the anti-anti-KDE league is now much more vocal than the anti-KDE league? Both of them seem to be more vocal than the pro-KDE league! It seems they're flaming the people who support KDE (eg, myself) for daring to be objective!

    • Re:Not just a large contribution (Score:5, Insightful)

      by anfloga ( 139529 ) on Tuesday January 01, 2002 @05:43PM (#2771374)
      I work professionally as a GUI developer, and can add one more reason why it's probable that Mosfet is getting so much attention, relative to the other equally worthy programmers out there.

      You can see what he's done. It's obvious, it just jumps right out at you, because it's GUI work. For better or worse, GUI programmers have this extra responsibility.

      Erik

    • Re:Not just a large contribution (Score:4, Insightful)

      by krogoth ( 134320 ) <slashdot.garandnet@net> on Tuesday January 01, 2002 @06:42PM (#2771610) Homepage
      "particularly not because of this recent contributution of some effects ripped from imagemagick"

      Are you saying that he used Open-Source code in an Open-Source project? *gasp*

      If he didn't credit the source that's understandable, but if this is brought to his attention and he fixes it, it could be a mistake (although since I'm sure you've never made any, you wouldn't understand).

    • Re:Not just a large contribution (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Zapman ( 2662 ) on Tuesday January 01, 2002 @10:02PM (#2772211)
      Or the developers of Konqueror [konqueror.org], who have equalled Mozilla with a twentieth of the personnel and a thousandth of the money.

      All preferences asside, both are fantastic browsers, however, saying konq has equaled mozilla is like saying a pear has equaled an orange because they are both fruit. Konq has a goal of being a fantastic browser for kde. This it has done. Mozilla has a goal of being a fantastic CROSS-PLATFORM browser. This it has done. It's quite accurate to say that they arn't in the same league, so long as you realize the leagues you're talking about are the NBA and the NFL, for example
    • Sorry, you loose, there's way too many shortcomings in konqueror to call it equal to mozilla. It's ahead of ie6, but that's about it.
      Konqueror's biggest fault is 0 javascript. I have made really clean javascript code that spans from ns 3.0-mozilla 0.9.7, and it doesn't even start to run on konqueror.

      If you really don't like the bloat in mozilla, check out skipstone, it's like galeon, but it actually delivers.

  • No, it cannot (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 01, 2002 @05:31PM (#2771337)
    Another /.er said:
    "KDE can do without coding primadonnas".

    Sorry, I think I disagree.

    Primadonnas are a pain in the ass, ok.

    But in the final count, you must kneel and ask them to come back on stage (hear the fine music about primadonnas from Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera").

    Some primaddonnas have a contribution, a good contribution for that matter -- and *we* cannot afford being egocentric -- even and mainly if they are!

    In the famous Lee Iacocca autobiographic book, he tells about having colleagues who complained about hardtimes with other people. He used to say, jokingly I guess, "Too bad, this company doesn't hire monkeys, or gorillas or tigers, we just got people!"

    And that's it, to put it simply.

    KDE is not just about technology. Ok, it is a very advanced project and what I like in the Linux world is that we progress faster than most other alternatives, be it commercial or not.

    But KDE _is_ about people, too. Don't throw away competent people. Instead, put some buffer around their idiosyncrasies.

    Heck, keep them in an asylum if you need, but don't disregard their work. We lost too many geniuses because they were gay, and now we regret it.

    So, get two people, the primadonna and someone who can interface him/her to the world.

    Now, to Mosfet and Rasterman, you can sing very well -- but what is a singer without an audience.

    Have patience with those who must have patience with you.

    From a friend.
    • Interesting!
    • Where do you get the idea that they're self-assigned stars? All I see is a couple geeks doing things they enjoy - writing code, participating in an online community, etc. I really don't see where you get this primadonna idea from. AFIK, neither Mosfet nor Rasterman have proclaimed their own superiority. You, and other people like you, seem to have done a good even job.

    • Off topic but interesting:

      The one of the largest contributors to the Oxford English Dictionary was locked away in an asylum.

      http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi1358.htm [uh.edu]

    • Another /.er said:
      "KDE can do without coding primadonnas".

      Sorry, I think I disagree.

      Primadonnas are a pain in the ass, ok.

      They are not only a pain in the ass but if you've been in open projects for any amount of time you know that they're huge time wasters as well. They're contributions are mitigated by the fact that they're such high maintenance and they eat up other ppl's valuable time.

      In the famous Lee Iacocca autobiographic book, he tells about having colleagues who complained about hardtimes with other people. He used to say, jokingly I guess, "Too bad, this company doesn't hire monkeys, or gorillas or tigers, we just got people!"

      And that's it, to put it simply.

      That quote you're using... It was Iocacca arguing why prima donnas aren't tolerated. He also goes on to say that if the prima dona is sufficiently talented he might be tolerated for a time but eventually their inability to get along with people will do them in. I don't understand your use of the quote as it just undermines your position.

      But KDE _is_ about people, too. Don't throw away competent people. Instead, put some buffer around their idiosyncrasies.

      Heck, keep them in an asylum if you need, but don't disregard their work. We lost too many geniuses because they were gay, and now we regret it.

      Ummm... Being gay and being a prima donna are two very different things. Its a fatally flawed analogy.

      So, get two people, the primadonna and someone who can interface him/her to the world.

      You mean get them a babysitter? Good luck finding one willing to babysit egos during their free time. =)

      That said it appears that Mosfet is playing nicely with everyone in the sandbox now. =)
    • Heck, keep them in an asylum if you need, but don't disregard their work. We lost too many geniuses because they were gay, and now we regret it.

      There's a difference between being gay and being an insufferable asshole. If you need Primadonnas, use them. But their usefulness should not be used to rationalize derogatory behavior toward others.

      And no, I am not referring to Mosfet. I know nothing about him or the Mosfet/KDE thing.

  • would someone mind copying the list of contributions he has recently made here? (the article is nicely /.ed)

    thanks!

  • The Odd Thing About Open Source (Score:5, Insightful)

    by quakeaddict ( 94195 ) on Tuesday January 01, 2002 @06:06PM (#2771480)
    The odd thing about open source is that the few who get paid doing it can be just as unreliable as a corporation. Its amazing to me watching how people fall over guys like Mosfet, in gratitude, after he basically walked out on the project a few months earlier saying "its my ball and i'm going home."

  • Let us not forget ... (Score:4, Funny)

    by ez76 ( 322080 ) <slashdot@@@e76...us> on Tuesday January 01, 2002 @06:30PM (#2771568) Homepage
    Nobody doubts the impact Mosfet has had on KDE, but we would be remiss if we neglected the many contributions of Bipolar and Jfet as well.

    They too have played a big role in making KDE what it is today.

  • Hurrah! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by sgage ( 109086 ) on Tuesday January 01, 2002 @07:23PM (#2771739)
    Everybody's carrying on as if this is some sort of important event in the history of KDE. The Liquid theme is pretty, but jaysus, it's a friggin' theme! Let's get some perspective.
    • Everybody's carrying on as if this is some sort of important event in the history of KDE. The Liquid theme is pretty, but jaysus, it's a friggin' theme! Let's get some perspective.

      Right. Let's also not ignore the fact that it's a clear clone of Apple's "Aqua" theme, right down to the (IMNSHO annoying) horizontal line pattern in window backgrounds.
  • Mosfet Contributes Code to KDE (Again)
    [Graphics and Art] Posted by Dre on Monday December 31, @08:34AM
    from the one-big-happy-family dept.
    Many in the KDE community are aware of some rocky history between KDE hacker Mosfet and other KDE developers. Fortunately, it looks like things have taken a great turn for the better: Mosfet wrote in to tell us that "I've decided to donate 20 effects I ported to KDE/Qt for PixiePlus to KDE3". Waldo Bastian promptly added them to CVS. The new effects include normalize, equalize, solarize, threshold, emboss, despeckle, charcoal, rotate, sample, addNoise, blur, edge, implode, oil paint, sharpen, spread, shade, swirl, wave, and contrastHSV. All will be available under a BSD-type license in the KImageEffect class in kdelibs. According to Mosfet, these effects will be useful not only for image viewers and editors, but also for things like style engines. Except for the simple rotate, Mosfet ported the effects from ImageMagick to work directly on QImages and Qt scanlines. Nice job, Mosfet! (For those who have not yet heard the news, PixiePlus is the successor to Pixie; more information is available here.)

  • My Opinion.. (Score:2, Interesting)

    by JasonKB ( 237788 )
    I would appreciate it if people would read my opinion on freekde.org [freekde.org]... thanks!
  • Someone help me out here... This article brought up the point that the code was under the BSD license. However, I don't understand how the BSD and GPL could possibly be compatible. The BSD license states that copyright info must be kept intact, and the GPL has no such stipulation, so it would obviously be illegial to use BSD licensed software under the GPL. Alternatively, the GPL says no software may be released with GPLed code if it imposes additional restrictions beyond those imposed by the GPL itself, so BSD licensed software may not be used in a GPLed program under it's original license.

    Did I get something wrong there?
  • ...about this guy's sexuality sorted out. How the hell am I supposed to make an intelligent decision about open source GUIs and themes without this information?
    • ...about this guy's sexuality sorted out. How the hell am I supposed to make an intelligent decision about open source GUIs and themes without this information?

      Yeah, if Sendmail would not be somewhat hard to configure, I'd use it instead of Postfix. Then I'd have less software in the computer written by those straight people... at least they should wash hands before coding - every time I send E-mail from my own machine I momentarily think of cars and beer and TV and bowling and stuff. Ack! Don't force me to use software that makes me lose Kinsey points! I never know when they come back!

      Well, seriously - who cares. =) I don't pick my programs based on author's sexual orientation - I have more important things to worry about when making that decision.

  • I can't find Mandrake RPMS on the site and am having problems building the source. Anyone know if there are any Mandrake packages somewhere?

    Ciryon

Slashdot Top Deals

He has not acquired a fortune; the fortune has acquired him. -- Bion

Close