The Perfect Kubuntu Desktop

[hklak]

Curious to know what anyone out there would consider the perfect desktop when trying to compare K to winXP?

[integr8e]

Re: The Perfect Kubuntu Desktop

What do you mean? Are you asking for a Kubuntu/XP comparison, or who thinks they have configured their desktop in a way that rivals XP, or both, or something completely different? Could you elaborate a little more, please?

[SheeEttin]

Re: The Perfect Kubuntu Desktop

Thought I posted already, but maybe I loaded a new page in this tab too quickly... Anyway:

You mean desktop environment?
I'd say KDE, but I've used KDE almost exclusively. Used GNOME very briefly once. Didn't like it.

[Snowhog]

Re: The Perfect Kubuntu Desktop

I've used everything from DOS, before there was Windoze, all versions of Windoze, up to and including Vista, and Kubuntu (Ubuntu with the KDE Desktop). I'm still required to use Widoze (XP Professional) at work, but I really like Kubuntu. I've see the Gnome Desktop, and I don't like it - personal preference - and so have no desire to switch. KDE has a 'feel' to it that makes a Windoze convert 'feel at home.' That said though, I don't compare Kubuntu to Windoze at all. The degree of control you are afforded in Linux simply has no comparison in Windoze - period!

[hklak]

Re: The Perfect Kubuntu Desktop

Basically am asking for a Kubuntu/XP comparison, or who thinks they have configured their desktop in a way that rivals XP, or both?

There are certain applications I run in XP and must use XP for work, however outside of work, I enjoy using KDE but am trying to get the "ideal" application setup.

[Snowhog]

Re: The Perfect Kubuntu Desktop

hklak -

Please keep in mind, that only you can define (for your self) what is (or is not) the 'ideal' setup.

[integr8e]

Re: The Perfect Kubuntu Desktop

What applications do you use with XP that you would like to use with Kubuntu?

Also, what features in XP would you like to incorporate into Kubuntu to make your system feel more "at home"?

[Bongo5HH]

Re: The Perfect Kubuntu Desktop

KDE isn't ever going to really behave like Windows in that how things are done is different in many cases.

But if you're looking for look and feel then I suggest a visit to www.kde-look.org I suggest that if you get to customizing your desktop you'll never want to go back to an OS that lets you change some of the colors....



Kev

[hklak]

Re: The Perfect Kubuntu Desktop

snowhog - hear what you're saying.

I guess I'm trying to get a feel of what applications everyone out there likes to use. for example, firefox or opera? thiunderbird or something else?

[dibl]

Re: The Perfect Kubuntu Desktop

Arranging Linux desktops is like eating at a smorgasbord with no end ...

I'm generally very satisfied with Kubuntu and KDE -- I haven't really scratched the surface much regarding all the possible desktop arrangements, much less applications (look at integr8e's desktop if you want to see something nice). Firefox works pretty well (no 64-bit player for rhapsody.com music, java RE is a problem), VMWare Player 2.0 runs my Win XP machine that I need for genealogy work, Kopete runs both AIM and MSN/Hotmail contacts, OO takes care of word processing and spreadsheet stuff, kooka does the scanning. Superkaramba seems a little buggy so I removed it.

I also have Elive (32-bit) installed, with the Enlightenment 17 "Night Theme" desktop -- it is also a Debian distro but Enlightenment is way different than KDE. I haven't scratched the surface on that one either .... it uses Iceweasel, which works fine, a file manager that looks suspiciously like Thunar, a customized music player that works great.

I ran Ubuntu Feisty (64-bit) from April until last month when the Gutsy RC was released, then I nuked it when I installed Kubuntu Gutsy. I decided the Gnome desktop is really not for me -- it works fine, but KDE is more to my taste. The only thing I miss is that little system resource monitor -- I tried installing it in Kubuntu but it crashes without the rest of GDM. It's way better looking than ksysguard.

So, I tend to look at my PC from a productivity viewpoint -- can I get my work done? Not so much as a work of art -- but I did come up with a pretty cool boot menu background graphic that shows my house in the winter snow -- all gray tones except the Christmas lights are orange/red. And a desktop wallpaper using a stained glass window that I photographed from inside a cathedral in Europe. That's about the extent of my artistic contributions to the thing. 8)

[Bongo5HH]

Re: The Perfect Kubuntu Desktop

snowhog - hear what you're saying.

I guess I'm trying to get a feel of what applications everyone out there likes to use. for example, firefox or opera? thiunderbird or something else?

Here's a list of the software I use regularly.

Firefox - because it was available on Windows when I was thinking of switching
Thunderbird - same reason AND because it is SO INCREDIBLY EASY to back-up
Amarok - it's what was there and seems to work just fine for handling my music needs including streams
Open Office - because it works really well and is very complete
e-Sword - runs very well under WINE now.
Audacity - because it is powerful but simple
KCalc - because it is simple, why is this not installed by default in Kubuntu
Synaptic - because Adept seems to get broken very often during updates
aMSN - because it behaves like MSN which I used for years before I came to Linux
Konqueror - because it works the way I think, dolphin looks neat but having to go to pull down menus for things is a pain.....
K3B - it works and is easy to understand
Compiz - because once you figure it out (which is not at all easy) it really adds to the desktop experience
Urban Terror 4.0 - it's a fun fast paced first person shooter that runs very well
Quake Wars - brand new A-list game from id software that runs very well natively on Linux. You just have to support that.

[hklak]

Re: The Perfect Kubuntu Desktop

bongo - sort of what I have. I threw in Opera, just because. Java is a pain to circumvent, but figured out so ways around it. Found an excellent plug-in for Sirius (Firefox). OO is something I'm using more and more of. Slowly figuring out wine and what I can do with it. Thanks for the ideas and lineup.

dibl, vmware - starting to look at that option. dual booting with xp is my option right now. call me lazy, but i don't want to wait 25 seconds to switch os...

integre8e, quicken for starters. even with what I read regarding wine and ways around it - seems like a ton of work. i also have a blackberry pearl. sync options with kde seems slim to none. can't find anything really specific regarding the topic. finally, is there a way to import my contacts from outlook/my pearl sd card to an application in kde? any suggestions?

SheeEttin - same here. I tried to install ubuntu and it drove me nuts, not sure why. kubuntu on the other hand, just seemed right... including colors.

[dibl]

Re: The Perfect Kubuntu Desktop

dual booting with xp is my option right now. call me lazy, but i don't want to wait 25 seconds to switch os...

I just put the VMWare Player window on one side of my compiz "cube", with Win XP running in it, and flip over to it with my mouse wheel when I need it. So switching OS's is now a 0.1 second event on my system.

finally, is there a way to import my contacts from outlook/my pearl sd card to an application in kde? any suggestions?

Outlook will export most everything in it to a comma separated variable (.csv) file format -- I have personally exported my contacts list that way. I don't know about the KDE apps, but almost anything, including cell phones, can import .csv format.

[integr8e]

Re: The Perfect Kubuntu Desktop

OK, you asked for it

As far as Quicken goes, you may want to try KMyMoney (available in the Gutsy repos); it's a free alternative, native to KDE, and allows you to import your Quicken files (you can also set up direct banking, but I haven't played with that particular feature).

e-Sword is awesome, I used it for years in Windows. Now, however, I've grown fond of BibleTime; it, too, is native to KDE, very customizable, and I've found additional repos here I can use that allow me to install everything I could want Bible related.

I personally prefer Firefox as my web browser, partially because I'm most familiar with it (compared to Opera, for example). It is extremely customizable with features ranging from performance, to security, to appearance (just visit addons.mozilla.org).

Firebird, I believe, has a feature that allows you to import your outlook files. I used it for a while, but now just prefer to fill the space on Google's servers; each gmail account now has something like 4.5 gigs of space and counting

I haven't completely decided on which file browser I like best; D3lphin is simple and easy to use, Konqueror is powerfully full of features but is too much of a web browser (I use it as my backup browser), and Krusader is awesome, but doesn't have the option to view files as icons, only as a detailed list. I'll figure it all out one day.

The Gimp (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is by far the best photo editor I've ever used (I'm too cheap to purchase Photoshop ). DigiKam works well for importing my pictures.

I use a combination of KMPlayer (videos & .asx streams) and Amarok (music files & non-.asx streams) to play media. However, I'm keeping a close eye on Songbird.

KAudioCreator works well for me to rip CD's and automatically supplies metadata using the CDDB database.

Kolourpaint is a good Microsoft Paint replacement.

Qalculate is an excellent, powerful, graphing calculator, but is kinda' an overkill if you just need basic functions.

Kate has to be about the best text editor I've ever used, and OOo is amazing. I've read, also, that KOffice will soon be a major competitor with OOo and MS Office, and that IBM is developing their own office suite called "Lotus Symphony" based on OOo's code.

Using either KControl or System Settings you can customize everything from keyboard shortcuts to appearance in almost any way you desire (they're both pretty much the same thing, however, KControl currently has a few more features than System Settings; supposedly, System Settings will completely replace KControl in KDE4).

In my opinion, Synaptic, though GTK based, is currently better and more stable than Adept. As such, I usually use it for package management. I'm finding, however, that I'm using the command line more frequently to handle packages when I know their names, as it's quicker and easier just to say "sudo apt-get install blah-blah-blah" than to search through all the packages with similar names, mark the one I want for installation, and click the "Apply" button.

KBFX is a neat KMenu replacement that allows you to fully customize the look and feel of your application menu.

SuperKaramba is very similar to Yahoo's Konfabulator for Windows, only it uses Python encoded widgets and is designed for Linux.

I've recently discovered the KoolDock; it's an application dock similar to the one used by Mac OS X. I have it set to autohide when my cursor is not over it and use it as a replacement for Quick Launcher (I've never liked quick launch menus on my taskbar, they take too much room ).

Likewise, Kompose is similar to Mac OS X's Expose feature in that it displays small screenshots of all open apps and allows you to choose which one you want to use. You can set it up to use keyboard shortcuts or even to open when you move your mouse to the edge of your screen.

I just found the Lynx text-based web browser in the repos. I'll use it as my backup, backup browser in case I lose my GUI (happens occasionally, I like playing with my system and sometimes - frequently - break it ).

Though probably not very useful to you, I use Eclipse for Java programming, and not NetBeans. For some reason, the format I use to create apps in JCreator (the Windows-based IDE my university uses) is not the format NetBeans uses, but is with Eclipse.

Kompare is a good tool to analyze/locate differences between two files.

There you have it, most of my selection of preferred applications. I am beginning to get into the video/audio editing world in Linux, but have not found any apps I really like yet. My full list of applications and settings would deffinitely be much too large to fit into one post, but if you would like some specifics, feel free to ask.

[juantovarm]

Re: The Perfect Kubuntu Desktop

By the way integr8e, how did you manage to put your ubuntu counter as part of your signature? i have beem trying to do it for quite some time, but no luck