Is Kubuntu 9.04 stable enough or is dual boot on same HD with Kubuntu 8.10 wise?

[DERG]

I'm a newbie to Linux & have Kubuntu 8.10 desktop installed over Ubuntu 8.10. I used Ubuntu for 2 weeks before taking a look at Kubuntu & installed the KDE desktop. I'm slowly getting the hang of things but have a long ways to go (like installing tar.bz2 file; I'm not getting how to do it).
So, with that in mine, is Kubuntu 9.04 stable enough or is dual boot on same HD with Kubuntu 8.10 a wiser option? Right now it's a dual boot with XP on another HD.
Thanks

[jankushka]

Re: Is Kubuntu 9.04 stable enough or is dual boot on same HD with Kubuntu 8.10 wise?

kubuntu 9.04 just released an alpha 4 on february 5.
so, it's not even beta yet.
kubuntu 8.10 is not particularly stable itself either.
so much that kubuntu 8.04.2 was released a few days ago.
the release note states

...
This update is provided in recognition that the current Kubuntu release (8.10)
with its cutting edge KDE 4 desktop is not yet appropriate for all users.
...

so i'd say dual boot is a must.
if you use rss (see akregator), you could add http://kubuntu.org/kubuntu.rss to your list and get updates automatically.

as for .tar.bz2 files...
these are "simple" bzip2 compressed (t)archives.
so, they are not installed as such, but unzipped and unpacked.
clicking on such a file fires ark (kde's archiving front end).
if it doesn't, you can configure file associations via system settings.
from ark it should be easy enough for you to extract what you want where you want.
from command line, you can do it in either 1 or 2 steps.
unzip (this actually is bzip2/bunzip2)

bunzip2 /path/to/bzip2/file.tar.bzip2

untar

tar xvf /path/to/tar/file.tar

unzip and untar in one go

tar jxvf /path/to/bzip2/file.tar.bzip2

hth

ps:
starting from 8.10 kubuntu has kde4.
newer kubuntus are not stable yet.
but it is not because kubuntu is crap.
it is because kde is undergoing a major technological update.
it was made clear in advance that users needing rock solid stability should stay with 8.04.

[DERG]

Re: Is Kubuntu 9.04 stable enough or is dual boot on same HD with Kubuntu 8.10 wise?

My problem is I don't know if it's me or the system; I assume it's me! So far .bin, .tar, ect seem difficult to install for a newbie. When I search for help online I've found a great deal of confusion because some articles are dated & don't apply to current desktops.
Thanks for the advice; I'll give it a try.

[jankushka]

Re: Is Kubuntu 9.04 stable enough or is dual boot on same HD with Kubuntu 8.10 wise?

first thing to learn is that in gnu/linux, file extensions don't actually mean much.
they are a mere convention.
this said, you can usually rely on a file extension to determine the file type.
but to be 100% sure, there's only one way and that is to run the following command against the file you want to check

file /path/to/file

back on the tar, zip, bin files...

all the archive files (tar, rar, ...)
all the compressed files (zip, bzip, gzip, bzip2, ...)
and the combinations of the 2 (tar.gz, tgz, tar.bzip2, tbz, ...)
are dealt with by ark.
no problems there.
if a file association is missing, you can simply add it to the file extensions settings
(kmenu -> system settings -> advanced -> file association)
but these are archives, as i said, not executables.
so they only actually need to be uncompressed and unpacked.

other file types (like .bin, .run, etc) are a bit more complex to explain.
these are executable files, not archives.
but, they can be dealt with with point and click as well.
though very simple (for me, at least) you need to configure this behaviour, as it is not default.
do the following:
a) kmenu -> system settings -> advanced -> file associations
b) filter for .bin in the find file type or filename pattern filter (not the search thing)
c) click on octet-stream
d) click add in the application preference order dialog
e) enter kdesudo /bin/bash and click on run in terminal (and on do not close when command exits, if you wish)
f) click apply
g) close system settings

you're done.
from now on, every time you click on a .bin file, the associated action will be triggered.
that is
a) ask for password to gain admin privileges
b) execute the .bin file

now, the only thing you will have to make sure is that your .bin file have execution permissions.
these are not usually set by default for security reasons (i.e. to avoid windoze like issues of stuff getting executed out of control).
but you just have to
a) right click on the file -> properties -> permissions
b) make sure "is executable" is flagged
c) ok


important!
the more automatic things are, the more you are exposed to security issues.
in this case, you have the password that protects you.
but think anyway before you click to install whatever you download from the internet.
if the .bin file you execute with admin privileges is something that wipes your hard drive, then...
there's nothing you can do to recover it.
but that's like windoze, innit?
so, most people should just feel like at home...


that should be it.
hth

[DERG]

Re: Is Kubuntu 9.04 stable enough or is dual boot on same HD with Kubuntu 8.10 wise?

OK.
I've installed Kubuntu 9.04. All seems good. I downloaded 98925-custom_weather_plasmoid-0.9.2.tar.bz2.
I opened with Arc. It unzipped. I copied these to a new folder in my Home. I'm trying to active with Add Widget which doesn't seem to work. I read the READ ME file & part of it said,

"Installation
============

mkdir build
cd build
cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=`kde4-config --prefix` ..
make
make install
kbuildsycoca4"

So, I opened a Terminal & the instructions fail,
The program 'cmake' is currently not installed. You can install it by typing:
sudo apt-get install cmake
bash: cmake: command not found
george@Kgeorge:~/build$ sudo apt-get install cmake
[sudo] password for george:
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
The following NEW packages will be installed:
cmake
0 upgraded, 1 newly installed, 0 to remove and 3 not upgraded.
Need to get 8008kB of archives.
After this operation, 20.4MB of additional disk space will be used.
Get:1 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com jaunty/main cmake 2.6.2-1ubuntu1 [8008kB]
Fetched 8008kB in 1min 18s (102kB/s)
Selecting previously deselected package cmake.
(Reading database ... 120532 files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking cmake (from .../cmake_2.6.2-1ubuntu1_amd64.deb) ...
Processing triggers for man-db ...
Processing triggers for shared-mime-info ...
Unknown media type in type 'all/all'

Unknown media type in type 'all/allfiles'

Unknown media type in type 'uri/mms'

Unknown media type in type 'uri/mmst'

Unknown media type in type 'uri/mmsu'

Unknown media type in type 'uri/pnm'

Unknown media type in type 'uri/rtspt'

Unknown media type in type 'uri/rtspu'

Unknown media type in type 'fonts/package'

Unknown media type in type 'interface/x-winamp-skin'

Setting up cmake (2.6.2-1ubuntu1) ...

george@Kgeorge:~/build$ cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=`kde4-config --prefix` ..
CMake Error: The source directory "/home/george" does not appear to contain CMakeLists.txt.
Specify --help for usage, or press the help button on the CMake GUI.
george@Kgeorge:~/build$


all the archive files (tar, rar, ...)
all the compressed files (zip, bzip, gzip, bzip2, ...)
and the combinations of the 2 (tar.gz, tgz, tar.bzip2, tbz, ...)
are dealt with by ark.
no problems there.
if a file association is missing, you can simply add it to the file extensions settings
(kmenu -> system settings -> advanced -> file association)
but these are archives, as i said, not executables.
so they only actually need to be uncompressed and unpacked.

I was hoping it would be this simple but I must complicate things!
Still lost.

[jankushka]

Re: Is Kubuntu 9.04 stable enough or is dual boot on same HD with Kubuntu 8.10 wise?

you basically downloaded the source of a widget compressed and archived in a tar.bzip2 file.
the unpacking worked as expected.
but after that you'll have to build the application by hand.
so you'll have to learn how to build this stuff from source.
which is usually something software programmers do.
if installing this custom weather widget is critical to you, i can try and guide you through it.
but what's with the default one in the current widget list?

[kasunbg]

Re: Is Kubuntu 9.04 stable enough or is dual boot on same HD with Kubuntu 8.10 w

Oh hell! I just get to know that they released Kubuntu 9.04 alpha. Its still not much famous, huh?
Any way is this the release they have after Kubuntu 8.10 or is there any version in between

I found on an article that Kubuntu 8.10 is not much stable and not work on all users. That was the reason to release an update for Kubuntu 8.04!!!
Is it true?Please share your Experiences on these versions.

Thanks.

[kubicle]

Re: Is Kubuntu 9.04 stable enough or is dual boot on same HD with Kubuntu 8.10 wise?

OT: 9.04 has been quite stable during the development process so far, but as it is with development versions...there are no guarantees it won't break (badly) with any given update.

If you wish to test it, I strongly recommend doing so on a separate partition (or a spare machine).

I just get to know that they released Kubuntu 9.04 alpha. Is this the release they have after Kubuntu 8.10

Yes

I found on an article that Kubuntu 8.10 is not much stable and not work on all users. That was the reason to release an update for Kubuntu 8.04!!!

Sort of yes and no. Point releases are regularly done for LTS (long term support) releases. And although KDE parts in ubuntu 8.04 are not LTS, an exception was made to accommodate the fact that there are people who still wish to install and run KDE3. (the point release will save them the trouble of installing all the updates that have accumulated since the release of 8.04)

[DERG]

Re: Is Kubuntu 9.04 stable enough or is dual boot on same HD with Kubuntu 8.10 wise?

you basically downloaded the source of a widget compressed and archived in a tar.bzip2 file.
the unpacking worked as expected.but after that you'll have to build the application by hand.
so you'll have to learn how to build this stuff from source.
which is usually something software programmers do.
if installing this custom weather widget is critical to you, i can try and guide you through it.
but what's with the default one in the current widget list?

I appreciate your offer. I haven't read anything that helps me understand this process. Many descriptions assume the user has some knowledge of DOS-like commands. In my case I've never worked in DOS but I'm determined to learn linux. And, no it's not critical to me; more of a learning exercise. True, the LCD weather doesn't work all that well, so, I guess I selected something I'd want! In Windows I've managed to fix software by pasting files here & there to re-create what the install program would do, so I think this is what you want me to do as well. Here's some info:

downloaded from; http://www.kde-look.org/content/show...1d2c54e3b4f39c

(Main Folder created after Ark)
costom_weather_plasmoid-0.9.2
data (folder)
images (folder)
po (folder)
ChangeLog
CMakeLists.txt
config.cpp
config.h
config.ui
COPYING
plasma-applet-custom-weather.desktop
plasma-custom-weather.cpp
plasma-custom-weather-graphics-widget.cpp
plasma-custom-weather-graphics-widget.h
plasma-custom-weather.h
plasma-custom-weather-update-thread.cpp
plasma-custom-weather-update-thread.h
README
version.h

CMakeLists.txt seems to be the one. It reads;

project(plasma-custom-weather)

find_package(KDE4 REQUIRED)
include(KDE4Defaults)

add_definitions (${QT_DEFINITIONS} ${KDE4_DEFINITIONS})
include_directories(
${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}
${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}
${KDE4_INCLUDES}
${QT_QTTEST_INCLUDE_DIR}
)

set(custom_weather_SRCS plasma-custom-weather-graphics-widget.cpp plasma-custom-weather-update-thread.cpp plasma-custom-weather.cpp config.cpp)

add_subdirectory(po)

kde4_add_ui_files(custom_weather_SRCS config.ui)
kde4_add_plugin(plasma_applet_custom_weather ${custom_weather_SRCS})
target_link_libraries(plasma_applet_custom_weather
${KDE4_PLASMA_LIBS} ${KDE4_KDEUI_LIBS} ${KDE4_KIO_LIBS} ${QT_QTXML_LIBRARY})

install(TARGETS
plasma_applet_custom_weather
DESTINATION ${PLUGIN_INSTALL_DIR})

install(FILES
plasma-applet-custom-weather.desktop
DESTINATION ${SERVICES_INSTALL_DIR})

install(FILES
images/background_circle_white.png
images/background_rectangle_white.png
images/background_rounded_rectangle_white.png
images/background_circle_black.png
images/background_rectangle_black.png
images/background_rounded_rectangle_black.png
images/background_circle_grey.png
images/background_rectangle_grey.png
images/background_rounded_rectangle_grey.png
data/br_weather_com.xml
data/de_weather_com.xml
data/espanol_weather_com.xml
data/fr_weather_com.xml
data/in_weather_com.xml
data/uk_weather_com.xml
data/wetter_com.xml
data/www_weather_com.xml
data/www_weather_com.cn.xml
data/metservice_co_nz.xml
data/myforecast_com_celsius.xml
data/myforecast_com_fahrenheit.xml
DESTINATION ${DATA_INSTALL_DIR}/plasma-customizable-weather)

install(FILES
images/wind_arrow.svgz
images/wind_unknown.svgz
images/wind_var.svgz
DESTINATION ${DATA_INSTALL_DIR}/desktoptheme/default/widgets/)

Do I need to just follow the list & create folders in locations & move files into them? find_package(KDE4 REQUIRED) This is in my Root dir. Start there?
Thanks

[DERG]

Re: Is Kubuntu 9.04 stable enough or is dual boot on same HD with Kubuntu 8.10 wise?

kasunbg & kubicle,

I didn't mean to cause concern about 9.04!
I installed Ubuntu Feb 1st & worked through a number of issues & decided to try Kubuntu to experience the differences. Once the final versions are released I'll go with the one I felt most comfortable with.
I found Ubuntu 8.10 to be quite stable but I experienced some glitches working with v8.10 Kubuntu. I do like the look & feel of Kubuntu better. The issues I have (like the previous post) are common with both desktops. It's the user, not the system. But, at this point, 9.04 launch is 2 months away so why not inquire about? As inexperienced as I am I disn't know if I'd be able to work through the Alpha release issues or not!

[jankushka]

Re: Is Kubuntu 9.04 stable enough or is dual boot on same HD with Kubuntu 8.10 wise?

Do I need to just follow the list & create folders in locations & move files into them? find_package(KDE4 REQUIRED) This is in my Root dir. Start there?

i downloaded this widget's sources (it's up to version 0.9.3 now).
had a go at building/installing it.
but it simply doesn't build in kubuntu.
so...don't waste your time.
wait until it is made available officially, so that you can simply install it with a click.
and, for your system's well being (and yours), don't play with files and directories.
it is difficult enough when you know exactly what you're doing.

[DERG]

Re: Is Kubuntu 9.04 stable enough or is dual boot on same HD with Kubuntu 8.10 wise?

Thanks, jankushka.

[Rog131]

Re: Is Kubuntu 9.04 stable enough or is dual boot on same HD with Kubuntu 8.10 w

Building/Compiling

Few links (to more links ):

> FAQ: Installing from source
> Topic: Install (almost) any plasmoid


Weather plasma widgets (> Topic: Plasmoids are now...)

Earlier:

> Topic: Weather in taskbar for KDE 4?

Latest:

> Customizable Weather Plasmoid

Description:
For >= KDE-4.2.

This is another weather plasmoid.
It aims to be highly customizable, but a little harder to setup than other weather plasmoids.

Yes, it works with the Kubuntu (- well at here)



Note:
Some of the weather providers didn't work.

Dropping the sources to the PPA.

> PPA

Personal Package Archives (PPA) allow you to upload Ubuntu source packages to be built and published as an apt repository by Launchpad. You can find out more about PPAs and how to use them in our quick-start guide.

Very short howto:
> Using the PPA repositories

More of the (K)Ubuntu repositories > FAQ: Repositories.


Standard warnings

> Topic: Jaunty Release Schedule, Plans, KDE 4.2

This is still an alpha release. Do not install it on production machines. The final stable version will be released on April 23rd, 2009.

and

NOTE: This is an alpha (pre-) release. Pre-release versions of Jaunty are NOT encouraged for anyone needing a stable system or for anyone who is not comfortable running into occasional, even frequent, breakage. Pre-release versions of Jaunty ARE recommended for Kubuntu developers and those who want to help in testing, reporting, and fixing bugs.' Please do not use this in a production environment with data or workflows that you cannot do without'

Good Advises (by claydoh)

> Topic: The usual WARNINGS and CAVEATS about using development versions

[jankushka]

Re: Is Kubuntu 9.04 stable enough or is dual boot on same HD with Kubuntu 8.10 w

This is another weather plasmoid.
...
Yes, it works with the Kubuntu (- well at here)
...
Dropping the sources to the PPA.
...

you mean you've packaged it for kubuntu and you're making it available through ppa?

[DERG]

Re: Is Kubuntu 9.04 stable enough or is dual boot on same HD with Kubuntu 8.10 wise?

Rog131,
Terrific info! Looks like required reading for all newbies!
Thanks.