KDE is an international free software community that develops free and open-source software. As a central development hub, it provides tools and resources that enable collaborative work on its projects. Its products include the Plasma Desktop, KDE Frameworks, and a range of applications such as Kate, digiKam, and Krita. Many KDE applications are cross-platform and can run on Unix and Unix-like operating systems, Microsoft Windows, and Android. KDE is legally represented by KDE e.V. based in Germany, who also own the KDE trademarks and fund the project.
Origins
KDE was founded in 1996 by Matthias Ettrich, a student at the University of Tübingen. At the time, he was troubled by certain aspects of the Unix desktop. Among his concerns was that none of the applications looked or behaved alike. In his opinion, desktop applications of the time were too complicated for end users. In order to solve the issue, he proposed the creation of a desktop environment in which users could expect the applications to be consistent and easy to use. His initial Usenet post spurred significant interest, and the KDE project...
Chris Wiegman
All GNU social JP content and data are available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license.