Ubuntu, Kubuntu, or Xubuntu?

[maddog39]

Hello all,

Im trying out Xubuntu on the live cd right now and I just dont know, I cant really decide which is best for me, because they're all cool and have alot to offer and all, but whats the difference, besides the obvious, the desktop enviornment?

Thanks!
-maddog39

[MedivhX]

I think that GUI is the only difference... Pick the one you like the most... I have Ubuntu, because I like GNOME more it's tidier, and KDE is not tidy at all, and it's too plastic!!! I haven't tried Xubuntu, but it looks like it's not bad...

[bodycoach2]

As far as Xubuntu goes, use that if you have older equipment (800 Mhz or under). I think Kubuntu requires more processing power -at least, that's my experience. 1.4 Ghz or higher.

If you really like how WindowsXP works, I'd say use Kubuntu. If you prefer Mac OS, Ubuntu or Xubuntu. I like simplicity, so I go with Ubuntu. Also, I just don't like all the 'K' named programs in Kubuntu, but it's a good GUI anyway.

Download the live CD's for each, and try them out.


Hello all,

Im trying out Xubuntu on the live cd right now and I just dont know, I cant really decide which is best for me, because they're all cool and have alot to offer and all, but whats the difference, besides the obvious, the desktop enviornment?

Thanks!
-maddog39

[MedivhX]

Yeah those ugly K's are soooooo anoying!!! Though there are some g's in Gnome, but not as much as there are K's in KDE!!!

[John T. Monkey]

I've been running Xubuntu for about 4/5 weeks now, and I prefer it to GNOME and KDE. I was traditionally a fan of KDE because I started out with Linux using SUSE 9.1, on which KDE was the default desktop.

I find on this computer (1.4 ghz AMD Athlon, 512mb RAM) that both GNOME and KDE are abit slow. Xfce on the other hand is very, very fast.

When I first used it, I thought it looked a little basic compared to the other two and wasn't too impressed, but I forced myself to give it a chance as I'd spent time d/loading it, and a disc.After you've customised it and get rid of the default desktop, it's a very simple but fully featured, easy to use desktop, that runs very fast. :)

EDIT: I would also argue that KDE has the best apps, whether or not they have the K in the name. amarok is by far the best music player I have
found, Kopete is the most fully featured instant messenger (Not a fan of GAIM, but I'm using it for AIM in the absense of Kopete on Xubuntu - using aMSN for MSN messenger).
Speedcrunch is the best calculator I've ever seen for a computer (I love the fact that they haven't tried to make it look like an actual calculator, but have put the space it takes oin the screen to much better use by showing the history on it).
k3B is a great cd/dvd burner, although GNOME baker is perfectly upto the job.
Konqueror is a great file manager, although I can't stand it as a browser, and I think I prefer Thunar just for the simplicity and the speed of it. I don't like Nautilus for some reason I don't understand, and never have.

Xfburn and xfmedia are awful. I've installed better things (amarok and gnomebaker) and completely ignored the xfce apps.

[whiterabbit]

If you think Xfce's fast, give Fluxbox a try. ;)

[maddog39]

Hmm.. okay, Ubuntu 5.10 was my first linux distro so I know all about GNOME. And ROFL!!!!! KDE is too plastic, hahaha, thats good. I think KDE is just okay, ive tried some KDE distros like PCLOS, and Mepis, but never tried Kubuntu, I hear good things though. I think as I use Xubuntu more it reminds me of my PowerBook (Mac OS 10.4), slick, fast, and neat. Im running a Pentium D 930 3.0GHz with 1GB of ram and SATAII HD and Xfce is blazing fast. Well thanks for the input.

[pelle.k]

I'd normally say kubuntu... but this release is not 100% (maybe 6.10.1 will be) so i would go for plain ubuntu for now. Xubuntu if you like to tinker a bit.

[maddog39]

Yea, I just finished my full installation of xubuntu, quite impressed. The thing that bugs me about Ubuntu, is that, the orange theme hurts my eyes after a while and drives me insane, I want to go back to windows after an hour lol. Xubuntu has the nice soft blue theme. Nice to my eyes. :)

[whiterabbit]

Themes are interchangeable.

[maddog39]

Yeah, I know, but I never can get any themes to work in KDE, I always have problems, then lately themes arent working in GNOME on ubuntu ever since the 6.x series came out.

[maniacmusician]

what's difficult about the themes in kde? not trying to criticize or anything :) but just wondering. I usually download them from kde-look.org, and double click them in konqueror to install them. then they usually show up in KControl's theme manager.

[bikeboy]

My main desktop is Ubuntu but I'm running Xubuntu on another computer. I can tell you it's amazing how quickly you get used to right clicking to bring up the menu, I keep trying it in Gnome now :)

[maniacmusician]

yes that was my favorite feature in xubuntu, I really do miss it. It just wasnt mature for all my needs yet, unfortunately.

[maddog39]

Well, as far as themes in KDE. Whenever I try to install a theme, from the KDE themes website, i get a bunch of files with no readme, so ok, I try and use the theme manager to import them, and it takes like 10 minutes of tinkering with which files are the theme files what not, and it finally recognizes. Then it doesnt show up right even though ive made sure i installed all icons and gfx packs, etc. and its still using some window design (usually plastik) that is completely not connected to the theme I was originally importing. As far as im concerned, KDE is as bad as windows, as is with many other really popular things. Like *cough*windows*cough*. No offense. Although my experiences might just have to do with bad luck or something, who knows.

[maniacmusician]

I guess they could be bad luck. sorry it didn't work out for you :(

if you want, you could point me to the themes you were having trouble with, and I could try installing them to see what was going wrong?

[maddog39]

It was all the ones I tried. :/ So maybe I was doing something wrong, no clue. This wasnt in ubuntu though, this was in MEPIS 6.

[xeero]

I'm waiting for the official release of Xubuntu 6.10. Not sure why it's delayed so. Don't care to wait for 6.10.1 to install.

Originally a KDE fan. I liked the fancy gui and ease of customization (didn't have trouble w/ themes either). Couldn't change my KDM login screen ever tho.

Ubuntu 6.06 turned me into a Gnome fan. Liked the simple appearance, once I changed the theme to Clearlooks (blue) and changed to a cool wallpaper.

Tried others like WindowMaker, fluxbox, IceWM. Either too restrictive, or too much time/effort required to tweak. (I don't have as much free time as I did before, so I'm tired to messing around and R'ingTFM to get basic things to work.)

Added xfce-desktop to my Ubuntu install and loved it!! They did some nice tweaks to the default Xfce desktop to make things more user friendly too. However, xfce on ubuntu has some weirdness (did a post on this a week ago) so i'm gonna try xubuntu now.

[Roobert]

I tried Xubuntu today and I really liked how pared down it was. Very clean and simple. One thing I couldn't figure out though - why is it that when I log out, the login screen always defaults to the Xubuntu blue login screen even though I have Ubuntu installed as well, and Gnome is set up as my default?

For instance, I login to Ubuntu, log out, and am stuck with the Xubuntu screen no matter what. Any ideas on how to change this?

~ Roobert.

[xeero]

I tried Xubuntu today and I really liked how pared down it was. Very clean and simple. One thing I couldn't figure out though - why is it that when I log out, the login screen always defaults to the Xubuntu blue login screen even though I have Ubuntu installed as well, and Gnome is set up as my default?

For instance, I login to Ubuntu, log out, and am stuck with the Xubuntu screen no matter what. Any ideas on how to change this?

~ Roobert.

this is why i'm going to install xubuntu instead of ubuntu for 6.10. for 6.06, i started w/ ubuntu and installed xfce-desktop. it stuck with the ubuntu logo for startup and shutdown. if i shut down from xubuntu, then it would take me to a text login screen and i would have to hit alt+f7 to see the graphical shutdown screen/process. not critical, but i didn't like staring at a text login screen while waiting for my machine to shutdown.

[Christmas]

Ubuntu is using GNOME as a window manager, Kubuntu KDE and Xubuntu XFCE. Now I don't know about Xubuntu, but Ubuntu seems the most polished and you can find lots of documentation about it. However it's a well-known fact that GNOME's applications are missing lots of options you might need, also it's less configurable then KDE. If you need something good looking, with all applications working well, an easy way to install packages and update your system (through Synaptic), simple and clear interface then go for Ubuntu. If you want more and advanced options, highly configurable applications and environment, then I'd say you might want to try Kubuntu, which is my favourite. It was always a battle about who's better (GNOME or KDE), my personal opinion is that KDE offers more options for a user and a developer, while GNOME tries to simplify everything to a level that would fit perfectly a new user. If you are an advanced user who needs powerful features and easy access to them then KDE. But this differs from person to person. Why don't you try them both and see which one fits you best? Nothing compares to personal experience ;)

[awakatanka]

Yeah, I know, but I never can get any themes to work in KDE, I always have problems, then lately themes arent working in GNOME on ubuntu ever since the 6.x series came out.
There are some in the repo's for both. The most used for kde are in the repo's. And i hope it will be a easy install in kde 4. Also have some troubles sometime to get a decoration to work if i try them from kde-look

[josys36]

I personally perfer XFCE, however you might want to try all three and then decide. What I did is install Ubuntu, and then install both kubuntu-desktop and xubuntu-desktop. I used each for several days and then found that I liked XFCE and Gnome the best. So now I just install Ubuntu and then install package xubuntu-desktop.

I did not like KDE at all, but I liked both Gnome and XFCE. Right now my personal favorite is XFCE. I have heard tons about Flukebox and I will try that after I am done with the upgrade to Edgy struggle.

Jason

[ComplexNumber]

However it's a well-known fact that GNOME's applications are missing lots of options you might need
i keep on hearing this myth all the time. its only desktop utilities that are lean. you wouldn't claim the following to be missing lots of options would you? - gimp, inkscape, gaim, beast, evolution, k3d, vlc, xara exteme, liferea, dia, gqview,........

[Christmas]

i keep on hearing this myth all the time. its only desktop utilities that are lean. you wouldn't claim the following to be missing lots of options would you? - gimp, inkscape, gaim, beast, evolution, k3d, vlc, xara exteme, liferea, dia, gqview,........
It's a personal opinion. Take Rhythmbox against Amarok, Nautilus against Konqueror or Gedit against Kate. The first two are obviously more poor in options then their KDE equivalents, while Gedit misses features which in my opinion are needed by any programmer (it has syntax highlighting, so it is supposed to be used in coding right?). Also, lack of options when configuring the interface. And it wouldn't be a problem unless gconf-editor would offer all those options there, but it doesn't. For example I couldn't get rid of the, already a real myth, lines that appear when minimizing an application.

[maniacmusician]

It's a personal opinion. Take Rhythmbox against Amarok, Nautilus against Konqueror or Gedit against Kate. The first two are obviously more poor in options then their KDE equivalents, while Gedit misses features which in my opinion are needed by any programmer (it has syntax highlighting, so it is supposed to be used in coding right?). Also, lack of options when configuring the interface. And it wouldn't be a problem unless gconf-editor would offer all those options there, but it doesn't. For example I couldn't get rid of the, already a real myth, lines that appear when minimizing an application.
this is obviously going to turn into a KDE v GNOME flamewar, so please refrain from making posts like that. we don't want a legitimate thread to get locked because of this again


to keep this on topic, you can use any of the three and decide which one you like. just use "sudo aptitude xubuntu-desktop" and replace xubuntu with kubuntu or ubuntu. and then when you're done using it, remove it with "sudo aptitude remove xubuntu-desktop."

[ComplexNumber]

Take Rhythmbox against Amarok, Nautilus against Konqueror or Gedit against Kate.
or gimp vs krita, inkscape vs carbon14, vlc vs kaffeine, gaim vs kopete, k3d vs povray modeller,....



on topic, i suggest installing all 3 of them to see which one the user likes best.

[mcpish]

I really love XFCE, the only thing I don't like is how Xubuntu in particular configures it by default.

I don't like how Xubuntu tries to set the default look/behavior of XFCE to work like Gnome. XFCE is "supposed" to be a CDE clone (remember that old desktop from Sun Workstations?). It's supposed to have a launcher bar at the bottom, desktop icons are minimized running applications only, no tasklist just a centre-click to see running apps, etc. Fortunatly it's easy to switch Xubuntu back to the CDE way of doing things, but I think it should be that way by default. Most newbies to XFCE wouldn't realize that it's not supposed to be a GNOME clone if their first experience with XFCE is with Xubuntu. I used to love the old CDE (Common Desktop Environment) 10+ years ago on Sun Workstations which is what drew me to XFCE originally with other distros.

Most PC users are not used to the way that XFCE and real UNIX workstations fully utilize the 3-button mouse (right click application menu, centre click task list, left click select), but once you get used to it you realize it's really the way it should be. :-)

[maniacmusician]

I really love XFCE, the only thing I don't like is how Xubuntu in particular configures it by default.

I don't like how Xubuntu tries to set the default look/behavior of XFCE to work like Gnome. XFCE is "supposed" to be a CDE clone (remember that old desktop from Sun Workstations?). It's supposed to have a launcher bar at the bottom, desktop icons are minimized running applications only, no tasklist just a centre-click to see running apps, etc. Fortunatly it's easy to switch Xubuntu back to the CDE way of doing things, but I think it should be that way by default. Most newbies to XFCE wouldn't realize that it's not supposed to be a GNOME clone if their first experience with XFCE is with Xubuntu. I used to love the old CDE (Common Desktop Environment) 10+ years ago on Sun Workstations which is what drew me to XFCE originally with other distros.

Most PC users are not used to the way that XFCE and real UNIX workstations fully utilize the 3-button mouse (right click application menu, centre click task list, left click select), but once you get used to it you realize it's really the way it should be. :-)
I agree! I hate that they make it look like a gnome clone. way to let it have its own identity.

[mahy]

Xubuntu. If you think it's for old machines only, think twice. The only problem in Xfce itself is the absence of a nice menu configuration tool. The second problem are howtos and manuals. Vast majority of them are tailored for Gnome (sudo gedit all over the place), a minority for KDE and next to nothing for Xfce. It's a bit of a bummer. On the other hand, i like having a (slightly) less mainstream distro. It's most apparent during downloading of new releases via bittorrent.

Ubuntu desktop installation CD: several hundred peers
Xubuntu alternate CD (my pick): 40-50 peers.

[maddog39]

Well I have tried all the Ubuntu distros so far except for Kubuntu, but I already know what KDE is like anyway, might try it though. I also never even use the default programmers text editors like gedit or kate, they aren't anywhere near the robustness I like for my PHP development. I always use either jEdit or Zend Studio or Eclipse. It would be nice also if one of those were added to the repository, besides eclipse because I cant figure out how to get PHP Eclipse to work. Well thats besides the point. I am an Xfce fan now, even if I tried Kubuntu I probably wouldnt switch, because Xfce has such a nice clean interface. Although it does have some qwerks because of all the beta software included in 6.10, and since it's based on GTK 2, applications like OpenOffice have a really UGLY interface that will drive you insane after 30-seconds.

[Christmas]

this is obviously going to turn into a KDE v GNOME flamewar, so please refrain from making posts like that. we don't want a legitimate thread to get locked because of this again
It was never in my intention to start a flamewar, sorry if it looked like or I disturbed anyone. Just as ComplexNumber and I stated in a previous post, it's best to try both and see which one fits better.

[valnar]

I'm not sure who the target audience of Xubuntu is. Xfce under Zenwalk is amazingly fast, as the whole distro is pretty lightweight. Ubuntu and all derivates are pretty fat by comparison, so a lightweight desktop environment like Xfce doesn't do much to change that. The requirements for Ubuntu, Kubuntu and Xubuntu are fairly close to each other.

From the view of resources, I see no reason why Xubuntu exists, unless of course you simply like Xfce above Gnome or KDE. But if your purpose of contemplating Xubuntu is for a lightweight desktop on older hardware, I'd look elsewhere.

My 2 pesos.

Robert

[Choad]

Hello all,

Im trying out Xubuntu on the live cd right now and I just dont know, I cant really decide which is best for me, because they're all cool and have alot to offer and all, but whats the difference, besides the obvious, the desktop enviornment?

Thanks!
-maddog39
xubuntu all the way

very nice looking, based on GTK so has more compatability with regular ubuntu that kubuntu, very customisable, thunar is the best file manager out there. its got alot going for it!

[mahy]

From the view of resources, I see no reason why Xubuntu exists, unless of course you simply like Xfce above Gnome or KDE. But if your purpose of contemplating Xubuntu is for a lightweight desktop on older hardware, I'd look elsewhere.


Yep, i was using Xfce back in Breezy, when i had to download KDE or Gnome. Now that there's a 'server install' possible, there's no real need for a separate Xfce CD (there's no windowmaker CD either), but this is more comfortable.

Zenwalk and Xubuntu perform pretty much the same on my current machine. However, i'm about to buy an old Sparc and compare some distros (and desktops) in there...

[maniacmusician]

@valnar: that's not entirely true. KDE and GNOME carry very heavy libs with them and take more processing power to run. ie; my old laptop. it's a p3, with 256 MB RAM, and it's running a server install with xfce on top. my good computer (3.6 GHz, 1.5 GB RAM) is running KDE. my laptop feels every bit as snappy as my KDE desktop right now. yeah, when I open up more than 5 apps, it starts getting a little slow, but thats to be expected. With apps like openoffice/firefox/inkscape/gimp, they open and operate at comparable speeds. So i would disagree that the requirements are similar for both. xfce has always run a lot faster on my systems, even when I run xubuntu-desktop instead of just xfce.

[aaronfulton]

I was wondering what opinions people had about the different ubuntu flavors? I am currently using Ubuntu 6.06 and am considering switching to Kubuntu with the release of Fiesty Fawn in late April but was also considering Xubuntu because of its low utilization of system resources? I took a look at the upcoming release from GNOME and KDE and was very impressed by KDE 4 and felt GNOME 2.17 was lack luster. I have used theses 3 different desktop environments before but wanted to know what people liked, disliked, and their overall opinions. Thanks! :)

[ComplexNumber]

I was wondering what opinions people had about the different ubuntu flavors? I am currently using Ubuntu 6.06 and am considering switching to Kubuntu with the release of Fiesty Fawn in late April but was also considering Xubuntu because of its low utilization of system resources? I took a look at the upcoming release from GNOME and KDE and was very impressed by KDE 4 and felt GNOME 2.17 was lack luster. I have used theses 3 different desktop environments before but wanted to know what people liked, disliked, and their overall opinions. Thanks! :)
well, kde 4 hasn't been released and gnome 2.17 is a (relatively old) development version.

[aaronfulton]

KDE 4 has technical previews that give you a good look at what's to come. The 3rd came out in February and I haven't found too much on GNOME 2.18 available.

[ComplexNumber]

KDE 4 has technical previews that give you a good look at what's to come. The 3rd came out in February and I haven't found too much on GNOME 2.18 available.
yeah, but, the same was available for windows longhorn(vista) about 3 years before it was release as well ;). gnome 2.18.0 was released recently to bug test.

[aaronfulton]

The release for KDE 4 is suppose to be in the next few months and the Kubuntu edition of Feisty Fawn is suppose to allow users to incorporate KDE 4 before its officially supported which is expected to be sometime in the third quarter of '07. Do you know if GNOME 2.18 has any true enhancements or is it mainly bug fixes?

[ComplexNumber]

Do you know if GNOME 2.18 has any true enhancements or is it mainly bug fixes?
i don't know. i didn't bother to read it, but i saw the article posted on OS News(i think) or digg last week.

[GeneralZod]

The release for KDE 4 is suppose to be in the next few months

That's pretty optimistic - there's at least some doubt amongst the core devs about it coming out this year, even.

Personally, I'd estimate about a 70% chance of it coming out this year, and about 95% chance of it coming out before this time next year.

Edit:

This is what the bot on #kde is programmed to say:

"The next major revision of KDE -- KDE 4.0 -- will be released when it's ready, not before. We don't know when that will be, despite articles saying the contrary. It will likely be in 2007 or 2008."

[aysiu]

I've merged this with a couple of other, similar threads.

[aaronfulton]

http://community.linux.com/article.pl?sid=06/09/28/1534209&from=rss
The article is a bit old but if you look at the current development state and the latest tech relase form back in February they seem to be on track to release it fairly soon! I used to use Suse and miss having the ability to switch between 8 different desktop environment. Especially Fluxbox and Blackbox. I know that with Fiesty Fawn there is suppose to be a Fluxbuntu flavor released but need a more robust desktop environment from time to time and need the ability to switch. Does any have a how to on using Ubuntu with multiple desktop environments?