What's with Kubuntu?

[xx75]

Hello to all viewing-

I have been using Ubuntu for a little over a year now, prior to that I was useless with computers. I know Ubuntu better than I do Windows - go figure?
Anyway, curiosity got the better of me recently and I tried out pc-bsd and in doing so have taken a liking to kde. I feel that perhaps I should stick with a linux distro until I have become a little more advanced before taking on bsd seriously. I am getting a laptop in a few weeks with vista and the first thing I want to do is put a kde linux distro on it.
Problem...... there are too many to chose from!
My first thought was Kubuntu, I mean I started with ubuntu, the community is fantastic, and so large that I have found solutions to probably 95% of any problems I've had with ubuntu just by reading the forums. You couldn't ask for more than that. But kubuntu doesn't seem to carry the hype that ubuntu does and I don't know why. Is there something wrong with kubuntu? One thing that really caught my eye was the DistroWatch rankings. Ubuntu is clearly the preferred linux distro but kubuntu is a long way down the list, with many other kde distros ahead of it.

So feel free to tell me why or why not I should choose kubuntu, and even suggest another kde linux distro for me if you think i'd be better for it.

Cheers
xx75

[ComplexNumber]

the founder, mark shuttleworth, is a long time gnome supporter and developer. that, together with the fact that ubuntu is a gnome distro, means that kubuntu will probably always take 2nd place.

you could try pc linux. i thought that that was a good kde distro. it's certainly(IMO) the most polished in its default look and it has great admin tools etc.

[maniacmusician]

the reason kubuntu is down in the rankings is because most people don't even notice that it's there. They lump it together with Ubuntu. And to be honest, it's not really a seperate distro. It's a derivative of Ubuntu that's still under the protective guidance of Canonical. It uses the same core as the GNOME-based Ubuntu and just has KDE on top.

As for reasons not to choose it; it seems to be more bloated than most KDE desktops. It personally doesn't matter to me, because I have a pretty high-end machine and don't notice the load difference...so I just use Kubuntu.

[guttingfish]

I used to use mandriva before moving on to ubuntu.. After using ubuntu for a while I couldn't stand gnome any more so moved to kubuntu. Currently I'm having problems with KDE and it doesn't have the polished feel that mandriva has (although that went away a bit with the 2007 release).
That said the main reason I like k/ubuntu is the huge amount of packages available through apt. Mandriva had urpmi, which was good, but no apt. Urpmi's packages are not kept as current either.

So... My recommendation would be to go for a distro that's debian based :)

[troymcdavis]

Kubuntu is definitely where it's at. I've done SuSe (admittedly, that was version 10) until I got completely fed up with YaST. I've also tried Sidux, which was okay, I guess, but the difference in the amount of software in the repos was enough to bring me back. I also did Mepis (6.0), but Kubuntu is configured much better out of the box, and Mepis seemed really confused as to what it was trying to do (Am I Debian based? Am I Ubuntu based? Okay, I'm both. Here is all the software from the Debian and Ubuntu repos, but don't use half of it--it will trash your install! Of course, I can't tell you what is safe and what's not... that would make too much sense.) I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of these issues fixed in 6.5, though.

I've got literally a whole CD case full of distributions I've tried, and Kubuntu is really the only one that I use with any consistency. I'd recommend trying whatever you can find, but for me, the simplicity of apt, the sheer amount of software in the repos, the community, and polish out of the box (which has improved VASTLY over the past two or three releases) make Kubuntu my distro of choice.

[maniacmusician]

Yes, as troy mcdavis mentions, the reasons for sticking with Kubuntu are good too, and they're pretty much the same reason you would stick with Ubuntu. The ease of use and all, no need to set up tons of stuff.

[use a name]

kubuntu = ubuntu...

If you have ubuntu, do



apt-get install kubuntu-desktop


and you have kubuntu. ;)

[xx75]

Thanks for the tips so far.

PcLinuxOS looks sharp! Anyone know when 2007 stable is due out? I just had a quick look on their website but to no avail.
I think I will download Kubuntu (live cd if there is one) to check it out. I am very happy with ubuntu, and kubuntu was my preferred choice of kde for that reason. Just need some peace of mind.

xx75

[xx75]

kubuntu = ubuntu...

If you have ubuntu, do



apt-get install kubuntu-desktop


and you have kubuntu. ;)

Yeah, but it will be a fresh install on a new computer. I was hoping for it to be stand alone kde.
Thanks for the advice though.

xx75

[GeneralZod]

I'm fairly dissatisfied with Kubuntu so far, and am looking for a new Debian-based KDE-focussed distro. www.sidux.com has caught my eye (although I've only tried it in a VM) - could be another one for you to check out :)

[use a name]

Yeah, but it will be a fresh install on a new computer. I was hoping for it to be stand alone kde.
Thanks for the advice though.

xx75

Is better indeed, otherwise gnome will be around too. You just don't need to worry about ubuntu and kubuntu being different.

[use a name]

I'm fairly dissatisfied with Kubuntu so far, and am looking for a new Debian-based KDE-focussed distro. www.sidux.com has caught my eye (although I've only tried it in a VM) - could be another one for you to check out :)

Is that the ubuntu part of it, or the way kubuntu fills in the kde part? (Just curious...)

[esaym]

Kubuntu = ubuntu

That is why the stats are not really kept up with. There are alot of kubuntu users. I have always used kde. I tried gnome and I did not like it. Everything reminded me of mac os, with everything hidden and all. I find kde a much similar experience to the windows gui. It makes it a very easy transition to linux

http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/kdegnome
http://www.psychocats.net/essays/kdevsgnome
http://www.seopher.com/articles/kde_or_gnome_some_useful_advice_for_new_users
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/01/26/192056.php

I honestly think KDE used to have a much bigger user base until ubuntu came around and ruined everything http://www.lindsay.ath.cx/pics/smilies_files/012.gif

[GeneralZod]

Is that the ubuntu part of it, or the way kubuntu fills in the kde part? (Just curious...)

The latter mainly, I think, although I think I have a slight preference for a "rolling" distro rather than one that is frozen upon each release :)

[Mateo]

why do you need a seperate distribution just for 1 piece of software? why not just install Ubuntu, then install KDE. i don't understand the point of a different distribution for every WM.

[BarfBag]

I've never been a fan of Kubuntu. SimplyMepis (http://www.mepis.org/) is by far the best KDE distro. If you try it, be sure to get version 6.5. Even if it's still in "RC."

[tikal26]

I use kubuntu because I mainly use kubuntu programs: Amarok, digikam, Krita, Kdevelop, Baskets and they just look nicer that way. I also use konqueror, but prefer Firefox and blender so I decide to use Kubuntu.

[karellen]

kubuntu = ubuntu...

If you have ubuntu, do



apt-get install kubuntu-desktop


and you have kubuntu. ;)

in fact do


sudo aptitude install kubuntu-desktop

because if you want later to remove the kde dektop aptitude handles better the dependencies (even if in edgy it seems that apt-get is very good at this too)

[esaym]

why do you need a seperate distribution just for 1 piece of software? why not just install Ubuntu, then install KDE. i don't understand the point of a different distribution for every WM.


I would hope that kubuntu is alittle more then just a kde package?

[mips]

The latter mainly, I think, although I think I have a slight preference for a "rolling" distro rather than one that is frozen upon each release :)

Don't you mean "the former" ???

[awakatanka]

Using Mepis 6.5 and i'm a very happy user of it, before that ( and still do on a partition ) i used Kubuntu. But mepis is more polished and it is ready to work with.

Mepis 6.5 is live now and it has beryl ready in it, so if you like kde and debian based distro's that have easy beryl support go try Mepis 6.5.

Sidux is also a good one but its in early stage and it has debian as base. One to keep a eye on.


I've never been a fan of Kubuntu. SimplyMepis (http://www.mepis.org/) is by far the best KDE distro. If you try it, be sure to get version 6.5. Even if it's still in "RC."

It's live now http://www.mepis.org/node/13330

[IYY]

The reason that there is little hype about Kubuntu is that it's just a derivative OS. When a happy Kubuntu user talks about his satisfaction with the OS, he's likely to call it Ubuntu anyway (because it is, after all, just Ubuntu with KDE instead of Gnome).