Trying KDE 4.2

[albinootje]

Been a few years since I tried Kubuntu (instead of Ubuntu).

I wondered how the state of art for KDE 4.2 is in Kubuntu ?
Which repositories do you recommend ?
Or is there another Linux distribution you would recommend for testing KDE 4.2 ?
I'm mainly interested to know what I'm talking about in general Linux advocacy terms, and if it could make life easier for my Linux users at work, then that would be cool.

I'm also curious how much KDE 4.2 is better compared to KDE 4.0, I tried a Debian based KDE 4.0 live cd some time ago, and it was incredibly slow on my machine (compared to other live cds) and I was disappointed about the big change in KDE 4.0 vs. KDE 3.x

[taurus]

I guess you can always install the kubuntu-desktop on your machine and have a test run yourself. If you don't like it, you can always remove it. Otherwise, you can try the OpenSUSE since there is a LiveDVD so you don't have to install it on your machine to test it out.

[AlanR8]

Have been using Kubuntu for over two years now and upgraded to 8.1 when it was available. Have also been running KDE 4.2 since before Christmas and it keeps getting better and better!

Have a look here to download 4.2

http://www.kubuntu.org/news/kde-4.2

[albinootje]

I guess you can always install the kubuntu-desktop on your machine and have a test run yourself. If you don't like it, you can always remove it. Otherwise, you can try the OpenSUSE since there is a LiveDVD so you don't have to install it on your machine to test it out.

Okay, thanks. I would prefer a real installation, I have 3 free partitions to have a quad boot Linux (Now Ubuntu 8.04 and Debian Lenny).

I'd like to add that I'm totally not interested in desktop effects for my users, I just want them to have an appealing desktop which does their job, which is basically word processing, surfing the web, listening to audio, watching videos, editing pdf files, printing files to a network printer, using samba shares.

[albinootje]

Have been using Kubuntu for over two years now and upgraded to 8.1 when it was available. Have also been running KDE 4.2 since before Christmas and it keeps getting better and better!

Have a look here to download 4.2

http://www.kubuntu.org/news/kde-4.2
Thank you for the feedback on KDE 4.2 and the link.

[SunnyRabbiera]

Trying KDE 4.2 is pretty easy, I got it by using the ppa repository as described on this page:
http://www.kubuntu.org/news/kde-4.2-rc1

Even though the page is more related to the RC1 release of KDE 4.2 it does have the final version in the repo that it lists.
As for how 4.2 compares to 4.0, we are talking about a real quantum leap ahead here, KDE 4.0 was a old jalopy but 4.2 is more like a indy car...

[AlanR8]

albinootje


I'd like to add that I'm totally not interested in desktop effects for my users

Well said!

If I run glxgears in "normal" mode I get about 5.5K fps. If I apply desktop effects it DROPS to about 2.5 fps.

Effects are eye candy. What I want is a machine that's responsive and fast!

[skullmunky]

I haven't tried 4.2 yet, but I've been using 4.1 heavily for about 4 months now for those same applications (except the Samba printing, haven't needed to do that), plus 3D modeling and coding. 4.1 has already been a very enjoyable and smooth experience for me, and much better than 4.0. The emphasis in 4.2 is, I think, on stability and a polished user experience, so I'd say this'd be a good release to try out.

[Crafty Kisses]

Trying KDE 4.2 is pretty easy, I got it by using the ppa repository as described on this page:
http://www.kubuntu.org/news/kde-4.2-rc1

Even though the page is more related to the RC1 release of KDE 4.2 it does have the final version in the repo that it lists.
As for how 4.2 compares to 4.0, we are talking about a real quantum leap ahead here, KDE 4.0 was a old jalopy but 4.2 is more like a indy car...

Haha nice analogy, I'm going to install KDE 4.2 tomorrow, can't wait!