Some questions about using KDE with Ubuntu

[weasel fierce]

Sorry if this is a stupid question.

I have done a fair bit of reading and have come across plenty of people stating that adding the KDE desktop to ubuntu is the same as just starting with Kubuntu (other than the fact that the former option will give you Gnome as well, of course)

Whereas others state that Kubuntu is slightly different and will work better.

And some people saying Ubuntu is a bad choice for KDE, because it was written for Gnome originally.


I am not really interested in gnome vs kde stuff, and Im not super interested in moving to another distro, so can anyone shed some light for me ?

[JP121]

I use Kubuntu.

Starting with Kubuntu starts you out with apps written specifically with KDE apps. Kubuntu comes with with a different default CD burner, bluetooth manager, etc all designed to look right and work with KDE perfectly.

If you start with Ubuntu and add KDE, you still will have all the default GNOME apps. While these will still work, they won't look as nice, nor will they necessarily use all the of the features of KDE.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that you can always add the KDE apps later.

[aysiu]

The Ubuntu KDE in Kubuntu isn't really that different from KDE in other distros except the defaults. You can always change the configuration and artwork around to your liking.

More importantly, you can just try out the Kubuntu live CD to see if you like it or not before tainting your Ubuntu installation with an additional desktop environment (which may clutter up your app menus, among other things).

[weasel fierce]

well, I managed to hose my system last night so I think I'll be doing a clean install anyways :)

[3Miro]

Sorry if this is a stupid question.

I have done a fair bit of reading and have come across plenty of people stating that adding the KDE desktop to ubuntu is the same as just starting with Kubuntu (other than the fact that the former option will give you Gnome as well, of course)

Whereas others state that Kubuntu is slightly different and will work better.

That was surely the case some time ago, however, I am not sure anymore. Kubuntu 9.10 refused to install on my laptop, while Ubuntu 9.10 + kubuntu-desktop worked fine. If there are differences between Kubuntu and Ubuntu+KDE, then those would be in the settings. If you plan to use KDE only, a clean Kubuntu would be a better choice (unless you have Ubuntu already, then there is probably no point in reinstalling).



And some people saying Ubuntu is a bad choice for KDE, because it was written for Gnome originally.

This is the indeed the case. Gnome and KDE use different sound schemes and Kubuntu suffered from a lot of sound problems (sound would suddenly cut-off, programs would block each other and so on). I believe most of that has been resolved, but there may still be some issues left.



I am not really interested in gnome vs kde stuff, and Im not super interested in moving to another distro, so can anyone shed some light for me ?

Kubuntu 8.04 - 9.10 were my primary systems. There were a few minor glitches, but if you are willing to spend a small amount of extra time, then things should work fine. I understand your desire to use KDE, while at the same time you don't want to move away from the safe-heaven of Ubuntu, however, I am hesitant to say that I recommend Kubuntu, since Sabayon+KDE and Arch+KDE worked better for me (they were harder to setup, but worked better). I should also note that I eventually moved over to XFCE.

[weasel fierce]

well, at some point I might venture outside the 'buntu pond :) Not yet though

[NightwishFan]

I think that some people just read someone's opinion that Kubuntu is a poor KDE and feel good about themselves repeating it as fact. (there were some issues with sound as was said, however I have not had any recently) Kubuntu is fantastic KDE distribution. I highly recommend it.

[themarker0]

Imo KDE on *Buntu isn't that great. I always had better luck with Mandriva and Suse.

[JP121]

I like Kubuntu 10.10 on my netbook, and really haven't had any issues.

I haven't tried any other distros on my netbook yet, though.

[WinterMadness]

KDE on ubuntu is literally the same thing as Kubuntu.


The problem with KDE on ubuntu is that it (historically( comes with some bleeding edge stuff thats not quite ironed out yet. For example, Knetwork-Manager. Many in the KDE team told people to just use gnomes network manager, but ubuntu just used this instead.

The last few implementations of KDE on ubuntu have been pretty smooth imo. But im still holding onto the "its very buggy" until I spend enough time with it to see otherwise.

[weasel fierce]

well, after a bit of trial and error getting an iso burned on my wifes mac, I am now running a squeeky clean install of Kubuntu.

I must say, although I dont know why, but its a LOT snappier tahn in the past, where Ive just installed KDE alongside gnome.

So far.. I love the hell out of it :)