After over four years of "old-school" Debian I'm considering a change over to Kubuntu. So I downloaded the Live-CD to check it out and was quite satisfied how well it worked on my laptop (it's a kind of a problem-child...). But when I was about to install Kubuntu (v. 6.06), I missed the opportunity to select/deselect software packages before i actually begin to install the OS. Is it generally possible to choose the software packages before installing Kubuntu or do I have to remove the packages I don't want after the installation process?
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Re: Possible to choose software before OS install?
You can do a server install instead of a regular install.
From there, you can run aptitude and select whatever else you want on top of that--just like in Debian. -
Re: Possible to choose software before OS install?
So first an Ubuntu-Server installation, then e.g. an apt-get install kde-core? Do i need to add special apt-repositories for this procedure?Comment
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Re: Possible to choose software before OS install?
Yes, you could just install whatever packages you want:would work. You won't need special repositories for any of the desktop packages.Code:sudo aptitude update sudo aptitude install kde-core
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Re: Possible to choose software before OS install?
Um, Err. I hate to disagree with Aysiu (because he's almost always right), but when I switched from Debian Sid to Kubuntu, I found that I had to activate the universe and multiverse repositories to get things like codecs and even some programs that I regard as essential, even if the Ubuntu developers don't. Fortunately, you can do this by simply erasing a couple of "#" signs in /etc/apt/sources.list.
A couple of shockers you should be warned about:
(1) Kubuntu uses Adept instead of Synaptic as its GUI package manager, so you have to install it by hand.
(2) You must install the "build-essential" package to get gcc!
(3) KDE may look a little odd, at first. They've changed the interface to make it more user-friendly. Try it, you'll like it and you can go back to the standard interface if you wish.Comment
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Re: Possible to choose software before OS install?
You're actually not disagreeing with me.
I said that you don't need extra repositories for the desktop packages (KDE, Gnome, XFCE).
For codecs and such, you definitely need the extra repositories.Comment
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Re: Possible to choose software before OS install?
I did a brief search to see what other programs (besides codecs) that I regard as essential came from the universe and multiverse repositories. Going in, I new that kdar came from universe, but I was surprised at how many other (lyx, frozen bubble, fortunes, apt-build, apt-file, sun-java, the rutebook, mplayer, digikam, and more) "essential programs" came from universe or multiverse. It is probably possible, especially if you include universe, to make an entirely free (as in speech) distribution, but it's a lot easier, if you allow pragmatism to trump ideology.Comment
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Re: Possible to choose software before OS install?
I guess those stuff were not considered by the Kubuntu developers/packagers for a number of reasons, possibly including:
1. They can only include defaults, those that are or can be used by anyone and everyone. Digikam is such an example. It's a more specialized image viewer/photo album. Not everyone needs that. Most will be content with a simple image viewer, GwenView. For those who want more powerful/specialized apps, they can be downloaded easily (granted you know how).
2. Stuff that are non-free, or have FOSS versions available, like Java. Of course, the free Java pales in comparison to Sun's Java, but you must remember Ubuntu's commitment, and the integrity and trustworthiness that comes with keeping that commitment.
3. You can only fit as much in a single CD, better put in things that would be useful to the general public, or at least make sure that as many groups/needs are addressed.
4. Not every app can be fully supported by Kubuntu. Let's remember that another major factor in deciding which apps goes into main and which goes into universe is the amount/degree of support that it receives from Ubuntu. Given that there are thousands of programs out there, we can't expect all of them, or maybe even half of them,to make it into the main component.
Just for reference: http://www.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/componentsComment
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Re: Possible to choose software before OS install?
Please understand that I'm not neccsarily disagreeing with the Kubuntu developers' choices. I was simply advising an experienced Debian Linux user that he would probably find, as I did, that some of his favorite programs wound up in universe or multiverse, for whatever reason. The quotation marks around "essential programs" were meant to indicate that these programs were not essential to perform the tasks that they performed, rather they were essential to run my computer the way that I like to run it.
There are numerous alternatives in Linux to perform almost any task you can think of. Every experienced user will have his or her own preferences among them. It would be unrealistic to expect that the Kubunutu developers would choose the same ones. Hence the need for universe. I was surprised by the number of things, other than codecs, that I found in multiverse.Comment
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