A few minutes ago, the wonderful developers behind the KDE project announced the final and stable release of the highly anticipated KDE Software Compilation (KDE SC) 4.4.0. Dubbed Caikaku, KDE SC 4.4.0 is the next major release with over 7,000 bugs squashed, over 1,400 new features, new applications, new effects, and much more! KDE SC 4.4.0 is composed of the KDE Plasma Workspace, the KDE Applications and the KDE Development Platform. It introduces window tabbing, netbook interface, authentication framework and social networking support. We've listed below some of the most important features of this brand-new release!

"9th February, 2010. Today KDE announces the immediate availability of the KDE Software Compilation 4.4, 'Caikaku,' bringing an innovative collection of applications to Free Software users. Major new technologies have been introduced, including social networking and online collaboration features, a new netbook-oriented interface and infrastructural innovations such as the KAuth authentication framework. According to KDE's bug-tracking system, 7,293 bugs have been fixed and 1,433 new feature requests were implemented. The KDE community would like to thank everybody who has helped to make this release possible." - was stated in the official announcement.

Highlights of KDE SC 4.4.0:

· Plasma netbook;
· Social desktop;
· Windows grouping;
· Desktop search integration in Dolphin;
· Improved GetHotNewStuff interface;
· Nepomuk improvements;
· KAuth secure authentication;
· KAuth seamless cross-desktop integration;
· Improved Akonadi;
· Addressbook and groupware servers support for KAddressbook;
· Digital signature checking support in KGet;
· Downloading from multiple sources with KGet;
· Photo import tool in Gwenview;
· The Palapeli puzzle game;
· Cantor, an interface for R, Maxima and SAGE;
· Blogilo, a new blogging app;
· ...and many more other awesome features!

Desktop Search integrated Dolphin - Image courtesy of the KDE Project

For a detailed list of the features brought by KDE SC 4.4.0, please check the official release notes.

Currently, KDE SC 4.4.0 ships with many packages, including web-development applications, educational tools, administrative programs, and more, all of which are available in over 50 languages.

We also provide an in-depth tutorial about How to Install KDE SC 4.4 on your Ubuntu 9.10 in the tutorials section.

Those of you who prefer compiling KDE SC 4.4.0 from sources can grab them right now from Softpedia.