Between radical changes and limited functionality, the KDE 4 series got off to a rough start. However, with each release, KDE 4 has improved steadily and silenced more critics. Now, with the KDE 4.4 release, the series has reached first maturity. Those who expect everything to behave exactly as it did in the KDE 3 series may still struggle with 4.4. But, for those willing to accept change, 4.4 has no shortage of new features to offer, ranging from the implementation of several long-term directions to enhanced usability on the desktop -- including Plasma Netbook, a new interface designed specifically for netbook computers. Released a week ago, KDE 4.4 is rapidly finding its way into distributions. Packages have already found their way into the Debian testing and unstable repositories, and guides are available for installing the new version in many major distributions, including Fedora, openSuse, and Ubuntu.