The topic of KDE Plasma 6.7 finally fixes a 21-year-old multi-monitor headache is currently the subject of lively debate — readers and analysts are keeping a close eye on developments.
This is taking place in a dynamic environment: companies’ decisions and competitors’ reactions can quickly change the picture.
Generally, I agree with the saying “Better late than never,” especially when it comes to software fixes. Having a bug or annoying behavior hang around in the code forever is a lot more irritating than the fix arriving late. However, sometimes a tweak comes so late that it makes me wonder if there’s perhaps an upper limit on using that phrase.
for example, KDE Plasma 6.7 is going to receive an update to how its virtual desktops work. It seems like a simple enough fix on paper, with the update adjusting an annoying behavior that people have reported. The only thing is that the issue was reported all the way back in 2005, meaning the bug report is old enough to become a full legal adult.
As announced over on This Week in Plasma, version 6.7 will bring a nice little fix to virtual desktop behavior. The fix links to this KDE Bugs post, where someone details how they’d prefer the virtual desktop to act:
In Xinerama mode, it seems that you get one virtual desktop for one screen combination, so if you switch desktop, both screens switch. I now run without Xinerama mode, in which case I get two rather independent Desktops, they have a Kicker each and everything. I think the ideal is somewhere in the middle:
What would be really nice if there were a common set of virtual desktops for both screens, but that you could choose quite easily which screen would display the windows of which virtual desktop.
The good news is, KDE Plasma has a fix scheduled that lets you swap virtual desktops on either monitor without having them both change at the same time. The bad news is that the bug report was made all the way back in 2005. There’s a good chance the original poster no longer even cares. Still, it does sound like a useful behavior tweak, so, yeah…better late than never. There are plenty more features in the works, so be sure to check out This Week in Plasma for all the details.
Why it matters
News like this often changes audience expectations and competitors’ plans.
When one player makes a move, others usually react — it is worth reading the event in context.
What to look out for next
The full picture will become clear in time, but the headline already shows the dynamics of the industry.
Further statements and user reactions will add to the story.