Hi Everyone,
In recent weeks I have been observing very “strange” things happening in KDE development. I wander if anyone of you have noticed, or payed attention.
The problem:
KDE persistently removes open source formats from KDE while promoting non-free software.
First we got the removal of formats fro AOL (Allience for Open Media) and now Xiph.org formats (Vorbis, aka ogg named after its container). All libre and free as in freedom, whout any patents from trolls like Microsof ( “Linux is a cancer”) or Apple which both hold patents on HEVC an AAC.
In the first case somoene had to go extra mile to remove avif (AVC1 encoding) support from “kimageformats”. But the subbotager did not remove avif.so from the system. Avif.so is the very library that supports avif and all avif.so file where intact in multiple subfolders; they were still there. But the system was stripped from this open source support (KDE was very reluctantd to add the support in the first place…). This all resulted in KDE total fail:
- Wallpaper rendering broken
- Lock screen background missing
- SDDM avif rendering gone
- Dolphin missing thumbnails
- Gwenview missing thumbnails
- Gwenview not displaying photos
Someone had literally stripped avif.so library from the very single format that it was to support, while leaving KDE with support for proprietary/patent-encumbered formats like HEVC/HEIF.
In the second case KDE subbotagers stripped Elisa Music Players (KDE’s default music player) from Xhip.org format Vorbis. This is libre open source library (vorbis-tools → oggenc) to play and create license free, high quality music (better than AAC). Yet while opening Elisa, which scans Music folder by default upon opening, all Vorbis .ogg files were missing from Elisa library, while all AAC were there (I had to make them to check, I don’t use non-free, non-libre software). Giving the fact that FFMPEG and GSTREAMER (gst-good/base) support playback of vorbis, someone had to strip the default KDE music player from this free and open source format. Someone had to literally delete the code.
On the other hand we also observe that KDE copies Microsoft Windows. For example: useless and multiple-click and very confusing “Icons Only Task Manager” (is it a luncher of an app, or is it an already opened app, what happeens when I click it? Will I minimize an app or open a sencond instance/window?), which Microsoft copied from other useless product called Apple OS. Other things are copy of confusing shortcuts from Microsoft and removal of others. Example being removal of universal (as inc ctrl+c or ctrl+v or ctrl+x) shortcut for Konsole- ctrl+alt+t or copying Microsoft shortcut for Dolphin- Meta+E. In Windows its “E” because they have this “Explorer.exe”. Universal shortcut (everywhere else, users using other DE’s an WM know) is Meta+F. “F” stands from “File” Manager (could be Dolphin, could be Krusader or Thunar, etc). Yet they insist on copying stupidly Microsoft.
There’s another issue: after 20 years of freedom, KDE introduces … spyware (ehm. telemetry, aka K-User Feedback). All data regardless of settings is gathered. CPU, RAM and HDD is used without posibility to uninstall the packages. "Trust us, we gather info, but you see: we don’t send it anywhere. So why are you insisting of it being there in the first place and using my HDD, my CPU, my RAM if you don’t send in anyway and why I cannot uninstall it? One HAS TO RECOMPLIE WHOLE KDE from scratch in order to remove it. It cannot be uninstalled. IT IS THE VERY DEFINITION OF SPYWARE.
There’s of course the issue of programming. KDE seems to shift toward making apps for Windows and paying (!) Microsoft for that (one has to pay MS in order to supress virus warning, so the app has to be registered with MS keys, otherwise users will see virus prompt/warning). So if you donate to KDE e.v. money will go to Microsoft. Another issue is that a lot of times, KDE devs say “we couldn’t do it/go foreward because it wouldn’t work on Windows”- for example KDE Wallet (now you know why its crappy).
This whole behaviour makes me really sceptical. If you go extra mile doing all those things, no wander the user will not trust KDE and its developers, Like Nate Graham or Antonio Rojas. Something has to be done, otherwise KDE is doomed by ever constantly more bold sabbotagers.
