Kubuntu "in a downward spiral" acording to DistroWatch

[lmilano]

I really like Ladislav, but I didn't like today's edition of DWW:
http://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20091019

So, someone, not happy with the artwork in Kubuntu, posted a negative review (WTF!), and DWW picks it up as a fact: Kubuntu in a downward spiral. Oh well!

[Snowhog]

Re: Kubuntu "in a downward spiral" acording to DistroWatch

Yeah. Real informed people there. :P

[GreyGeek]

Re: Kubuntu "in a downward spiral" acording to DistroWatch

The "I Quit" posting I made on this forum was in response to the rant by Fewt linked to by that article.

[Telengard]

Re: Kubuntu "in a downward spiral" acording to DistroWatch

I really like Ladislav, but I didn't like today's edition of DWW:
http://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?is...091019&mode=67

So, someone, not happy with the artwork in Kubuntu, posted a negative review (WTF!), and DWW picks it up as a fact: Kubuntu in a downward spiral. Oh well!

I actually thought the full article made a number of valid criticisms. The need for a custom theme was only one small part.

• Lack of a complete and proper LTS since Dapper
• Show stopping bugs remain unfixed in releases (i.e. non-working wireless support in 9.04 Jaunty)
• Lack of feature parity with Ubuntu (i.e. UbuntuOne service)
• Kubuntu releases don't sync with KDE releases

As for me, I've begun to feel a bit embittered by some of this nonsense. Sure 8.04 Hardy has served me well, but it is getting a bit long in the tooth. I just haven't managed to regain confidence in the Kubuntu team since. I would have undoubtedly switched to another distro by now if it weren't for the fine community here at KFN.

[kevinc]

Re: Kubuntu "in a downward spiral" acording to DistroWatch

I think that "downward spiral" is a gross exageration. I've been using Kubuntu since Dapper and I can only say that each new release is an improvement on the previous. At the time of each previous release there were some minor issues, but in comparison to what else was available at the same time, Kubuntu came out in front. Jaunty has impoved since Intrepid and Karmic is doing well. There are some valid imperfections, but let's be real and realize that no distro, release is going to please everyone. Hardware is developing and software, especially OS's need to develop to maintain compatibility.

I would say that Kubuntu is in an upward spiral and should continue that way.

[lmilano]

Re: Kubuntu "in a downward spiral" acording to DistroWatch

Same boat as Kevinc. I do admit there are broken things, and i keep telling newbies that "I am sorry, KPackageKit is broken, please get synaptic".

Luckily, Karmic is looking simply outstanding!

[kubicle]

Re: Kubuntu "in a downward spiral" acording to DistroWatch

• Kubuntu releases don't sync with KDE releases

This one I don't really get. After all, kubuntu releases with the latest kde (no more than a month old)...and I've always thought it's better to release with a bug-fix point release than a fresh point zero release.

And I'm pretty sure having different release dates for ubuntu and kubuntu would cause more problems that it could possibly solve.

Of course criticism is just that, everyone is entitled to an opinion, even bloggers :P

[Telengard]

Re: Kubuntu "in a downward spiral" acording to DistroWatch

And I'm pretty sure having different release dates for ubuntu and kubuntu would cause more problems that it could possibly solve.

My feeling as well, but I was just quoting summarizing the blogger anyway. I just thought we should be fair to him in that he criticized more things than just the default theme.

[dibl]

Re: Kubuntu "in a downward spiral" acording to DistroWatch

This "Kubuntu is Ubuntu's bastard step-brother" story kind of rotates with "Nobody likes the new KDE" as the weekly favorite of the doom 'n gloom crowd. It's not convincing. The sky may actually fall one of these days .... or not.

[lmilano]

Re: Kubuntu "in a downward spiral" acording to DistroWatch

This "Kubuntu is Ubuntu's bastard step-brother" story kind of rotates with "Nobody likes the new KDE" as the weekly favorite of the doom 'n gloom crowd. It's not convincing. The sky may actually fall one of these days .... or not.

Hey, you left out the "Why is Linux not making it in the Desktop". Or the December question: "Is ++thisYear the year of the desktop?" :P

[GreyGeek]

Re: Kubuntu "in a downward spiral" acording to DistroWatch

This "Kubuntu is Ubuntu's bastard step-brother" story kind of rotates with "Nobody likes the new KDE" as the weekly favorite of the doom 'n gloom crowd. It's not convincing. The sky may actually fall one of these days .... or not.

Exactly.

I noted in my response to Fewt's rant that his resume includes his "interests", one of which is "Bleeding Edge Technologies". Yet, that is exactly what he was critical of, Ubuntu being "bleeding edge".

[kjjjjshab]

Re: Kubuntu "in a downward spiral" acording to DistroWatch

...his "interests", one of which is "Bleeding Edge Technologies". Yet, that is exactly what he was critical of, Ubuntu being "bleeding edge".

I have very often expressed this exact view of kubuntu. They are not mutually exclusive positions.

I love the bleeding edge; have run neon or ppa KDE ever since 4.0 beta (I would probably run svn if I had the time to learn and time to kill)... but I also believe that any kind of KDE4 release was horrible for kubuntu, prior to 4.3. It's a valid point of view for many reasons.

[kubicle]

Re: Kubuntu "in a downward spiral" acording to DistroWatch

My feeling as well, but I was just quoting summarizing the blogger anyway. I just thought we should be fair to him in that he criticized more things than just the default theme.

I understood you were referring the original blog rather than expressing your own views, just stole the quote from you .

[claydoh]

Re: Kubuntu "in a downward spiral" acording to DistroWatch

I have to say it, but the jaunty wireless problems and kpackagekit borkage was a very bad thing for Kubuntu. Karmic fixes all that as far as I have seen, but the damage has been done to our reputation Plus all the Mint and Arch fans are all over the place promoting their distros whenever *buntu is being bashed on. Which of course ends up upping their distrowatch page hits.......

[Ole Juul]

Re: Kubuntu "in a downward spiral" acording to DistroWatch

I've searched Distrowatch and Google for the article and finally gave up. However I still have something I want to say on the subject of problems with Linux distros in general and Kubuntu in particular.

There are lots of problems, and when it comes to personal preferences, an insurmountable amount for someone like me with an inability to rewrite the whole shebang. I have neither the skill, nor time and energy to even start on that - so I use software that other people write for me. This is a big problem. Right from the start Linux headed off in a direction that I didn't approve of. What was I to do? Use MicroSoft? I can't stomach their ethics so I'd have to take drugs to keep from getting ill. Nope, can't go there. Besides, I absolutely refuse to pay money for something that isn't perfect. The only solution is for me to use software which is given away and offered in good faith. Because I made that choice I now have a really big problem - I can't complain about it!

Well, actually, you can always complain.

The problem is that complaining rarely is useful, and often just has a negative effect. Yes, I pipe up when I have something constructive to say and it is in a place where someone can perhaps use the "information" to effect some change. Otherwise, I just keep my mouth shut and be grateful for what is freely given to me.

The thing about Kubuntu, and others, is that no one said I had to use it, and I didn't pay for it. The coders have absolutely no obligation to me beyond what they personally choose. That means I can't say I want this or that to even work. However, I am constantly amazed at what $0 gets me. Not a bad deal actually. On top of that, one of the things that really makes up for a lot shortcomings in matching my personal tastes, is the configurability. I am an amateur, yet if other Kubuntu users were to see my system, they would not see something which looks very much like their own. All colours, fonts, styles, decorations, and backgrounds, are configured by me. Funny thing is it takes only a couple of minutes to do that on a new system. Anyone complaining about the "look and feel" of Kubuntu either hasn't found their way to system settings, or doesn't have their mouse hooked up. In short - the cheese fell off their cracker.

One last thing. What's this "fanboi" requirement that seems to underlie a lot of, particularly adversarial discussion? I use Kubuntu because I like the Ubuntu underlay and I like KDE. Occasionally I install other Linux distros and, to be honest, they're not significantly different. My choice to stay with Kubuntu is really just a personal thing. It doesn't mean that I'm any kind of "fan". I don't feel that I really need to stick with it, I just do because I want to - besides there's a great community on the Kubuntu Forum. If I were to encounter some technical problem which was too difficult for me, there would be nothing stopping me from loading some other distro which didn't currently exhibit that problem. Nobody's feelings would be hurt, nothing would be lost, and probably nobody would notice. There simply is no requirement to use any particular OS and I as a person am free to do whatever I please. Why is that so difficult for some people to understand?