The latest series of the K Desktop Environment now utilizes Plasma, a new desktop and panel user interface tool that aims for a more functional, user-friendly, and sleek KDE desktop. Plasma also supports Dashboard-like widgets called plasmoids.If you want to further enhance the look of your KDE 4 desktop, I have here a list of some of the most beautiful Plasma themes available:

The concept of activities is a new feature introduced with KDE 4. In the old desktop model of KDE 3, the desktop was a program called “kdesktop”, which gave users the ability to have a number of virtual desktops.

KDE 4 features a new desktop shell named Plasma. Part of Plasma is support for desktop widgets, known as "Plasmoids", which can include a clock, a notepad and more.
Kubuntu users (and possibly other distros) have access to a package called extragear-plasma. This package, when installed, offers several additional Plasmoids, one of which is KDE Twitter.

With virtual desktops you have many alternatives – you can use the Pager widget, desktop effects, keyboard shortcuts, switch desktop on screen edges etc. But what about activities? I counted the methods that I know and ended up with 7 different ways to switch activities (depending on how you count), all of which I’ll share in this post. Who knows, maybe you’ll find a new favorite?

Desktop Activities is a desktop usability concept that allows you to have multiple style and other settings for your desktop or desktops. There you have it, my attempt at a one sentence definition.

KDE Desktop Activities help to create an incredibly efficient and organized desktop. Jack Wallen introduces this new feature to Linux desktop users longing to take KDE 4 to new heights.

For a long time desktop widgets have been a way to provide useful, although usually simple, applications that sit on the desktop and out of the way. KDE has taken these desktop widgets to a whole new level with Plasma. In this tutorial we will look at how to get a simple Plasmoid created using Python.

Last week, the third Plasma developers meeting was held in the Swiss Alps. 15 developers from 3 continents came to Randa, Canton Wallis to work on Plasma's code, design new ideas and concepts and to strengthen their bonds as a sub-community within KDE.

KDE 4.5 brings to the table plenty of useful, functional, innovative features. One of those very features is the Desktop Activity. The KDE Desktop Activities feature is a great new desktop metaphor that takes the Linux desktop to new levels of organization.