First impressions of dolphin

[Juan Carlos Torres]

On Monday 08 October 2007 5:14:19 pm Peter Lewis wrote:
> Hmm... this is the decision I think I may end up coming to. Either that, or
> else I have to change the way I've got used to managing files. IMO tabs for
> file browsing is one of the best features of konqueror, although yeah, the
> split view is quite nice too. But, I tend to have several tabs open at
> once, so I guess this won't transfer easily.

Yeah. A file manager with tabs quickly made me fall in love with Konqueror.

> I really don't get this idea of removing functionality from software and
> claiming that it improves usability

Dolphin never had tabs to begin with. Nothing was removed.

> Surely this is only true if everyone uses it in the same way?!? Why isolate 
people?

The fact is that not everybody uses or would like to use Konqueror the same 
way. In fact, quite a number of users feel isolated because they want 
something simpler, more robust and focused on file management than Konqueror. 
It was a major complaint for a long time actually. Dolphin was created 
because of that need, but initially as a 3rd-party application. KDE saw it 
and liked it and decided to adopt it and help develop it.

> but I don't get why this couldn't have just been implemented into
> konqueror, or else just isolate the file manager part of konqueror 

Because 1) Dolphin was started as a 3rd party application with different goals 
from Konqueror, by a different developer, outside of the main KDE project and 
2) Konqueror doesn't exactly have a  clean, tidy source code base.

> much as how kmail is with kontact.

the analogy/comparison doesn't really apply. KMail has always been a 
standalone app, never a part of any bigger app. Kontact isn't really 
something like Konqueror. It's just a house that glues together separate 
independent KDE PIM apps.

> I'm just worried now though that all the dev time will go into dolphin and
> konqueror as a browser, but konqueror as a file manager will suffer. Of
> course, the parts technology means that some of it will transfer, but it's
> still a worry. konqueror's the best app I've ever used IMO, and this move
> is likely to kill it (or at least turn it into only a browser).

We share the same worries... Hopefully, it won't happen... I hope.