Edit: I’m sorry if the previous wallpaper contained in my second activity was somewhat offensive for any reader of this blog; I’ve changed it to a more appropriate “hacking” wallpaper.
Last week I decided to start using activities in a productive way: until then, I have just used them last year, for having the desktop configured for office work (read: with a quiet wallpaper), but I dismissed them when my office time ended.
Activities have been criticized here and there, with that useless button circle in the corner of your desktop; there even existed (and maybe still exists) a plasmoid which removes that circle.
I am between those people who think it is a useful thing (like lots of plasma features), and now I want to get accustomed with using it, and here there are my two current activities:
Default activity
This one is configured for standard PC usage: my desktop and temp folder, email, weather, ktorrents…
Programming activity
This is the programming activity: my two current projects’ folders (GSoC and Master Thesis), plus CPU load and Kate sessions…
So: I think activities are useful, and I’m starting to productively use them, and for those of you who don’t (yet): try them!
Syvo3 
Can you remove the Not Safe for Work picture, or maybe turn it into a link with a warning? Thanks 🙂
Can you post a link to the wallpaper you use for your programming activity please? I loved it!
If it only was easier to switch activities… these nasty zoom out zoom in thingies are getting on my nerves.
you can switch with keyboard shortcuts or with the “activity bar” plasmoid (put it on an autohiding panel somewhere -> taskbar for activities! 🙂
@Anon – the GNOME logo in the top right isn’t safe for work? 😛 Just kidding of course 🙂
taskbar for activities sounds fun for sure 🙂
That’s a man with long hair in pants? 😀
@ Nr. 3 (Anon):
You might be interested in the following Idea on KDE brainstorm:
http://forum.kde.org/mouse-wheel-on-cashew-to-change-activity-t-61607.html
I think the URL says what it is about 😉
she looks like a guy
🙂 🙂
@pano: my soc project will make that idea easy to implement 🙂
Activities might actually be useful, if showing the plasma dashboard wouldn’t take several seconds… 😦
can you please post link for wallpaper on your programing activity
2. post also required link…
post it please!
can you please post link for wallpaper on your programing activity
2. post also required link…
post it please 🙂
First of all: sorry if that wallpaper has offended any of you in any way… I’ve changed it now.
Anyway, the old wallpaper is here: http://www.gnome-look.org/content/show.php/girl_by_wolf?content=35794 (sorry if it’s gnome-look.org 🙂
Activities are a good idea, but are not still usable on a real enviroments due to performance, stability and “configuration” issues, moreover activities and multiple monitor scenarios are not yet managed.
I’d like very much to see activities implemented soon.
A big thanks to everyone who is working on KDE! I’ve tried for a couple of days MacOSX, but now I’m using again KDE4: much better 🙂
Now, You have 6 desktops, why do you need activities? Or, other way around, you have two activities, why do you need 6 desktops?
It of course depends from person to person, yet I’ll as it: How many desktops+activities are required for non-fancy usage?
forgot to add one more parameter to this optimization problem – suppose you have a dual monitor setup in twinview, now how many activities+desktop?
Hi,
Ideally, a short step-by-step tutorial on setting up activities would be helpful. With each iteration of KDE 4.2 and 4.3, I have tried but always end up with naught.
A config dialog to setup activities (preferably in systemsettings) would be perfect!
@KenP:
In KDE 4.3, setting up activities is simple:
use the cashew to zoom out,
choose ‘configure plasma’, select ‘different activity for each desktop’ and you’re done. It’s the easiest way – each desktop can now be configured independently.
@kap4lin: in my opinion, virtual desktops and activities are different: the things that change from an activity to another are the wallpaper and the plasmoids, different in relation of what you want to do/know from them.
I use many desktops because I’d like to have no more than 3 apps for each one, so I can switch via keyboard with as few key combinations as possible.
Yesterday, for example, I was recording some audio, and I had Firefox alone in a desktop, qjackctl and mixer in another, ardour in another, dolphin and some text files in another…
What the hell.
Just because one person was a bit annoyed because of you second wallpaper, you instantly altered that blogpost and removed it? Why? You did neither show any form of pr0n or something which is inappropriate. So why do you not use your freedom to show what is on your desktop? I thing it would have been enough to display a little warning of what is to come – and that enough.
I’m still offended by wallpaper. Please replace it!
Things that offend me and you should avoid:
censorship
religion
stupidity
You can put porn I don’t mind!
Hi! Bruce Byfield has written a very good explanation of KDE’s implementation of activities compared to Gnome and the Sugar interface.
http://lwn.net/Articles/334911/
It was this artical that made me understand the concept and the difference between activities and virtual desktops. This type of documentation should be in kde userbase imho.
Thanks
Wish the cashew could be moved to the panel, or that there was a nice and small plasmoid usable in panels to switch between activities; the existent one is huge. I want something more like quickaccess, click and get list of activities 😛 because the cashew is really awful, coved up most of the time, not cool.
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