Kde on Ubuntu

[leadwt]

Hi,

Having had a minor rage at the Natty Kubuntu release (Video Card issues) I tried out quite a few other distros.

The nearest I got to being reasonably happy with was Linux Mint but found that it was not as favourable in relation to customisation - or not to the level that one has with Kubuntu at least. Another quite good one is Pardus but it has a long way to go I think but looks promising.

Anyway I have finally ended up with Ubuntu running Kde and it is great. No problems with the video card and faster (I think) than Kubuntu. I have the kde-standard set up with the other packages that I like and what I am used to.

Unity looks really good but at the moment the almost total lack of customisation (again compared with Kubuntu) makes it a 'no no' but I think it is going to be a good environment to work in eventually.

Having said all that I am wondering what exactly is the difference between my set-up and Kubuntu - is it purely the number of packages?

Any responses to this question would be welcome.

All the best.

[woodsmoke]

Re: Kde on Ubuntu

Hi
I did exactly the same thing that you did, for different reasons, I was just playing. And I got "Kubuntu". There is a thread elsewhere that I posted my info on, don't remember where it is, but a couple of people told me that I had, basically Kubuntu only I did it the hard way....

[img width=400 height=261]http://secretdesigncreations.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/1267660036qqknkiv.jpg[/img]

However I beg to differ with the posters, because I use Koffice and the whole K suite almost exclusively and I, personally, can see a noticeable difference in the responsiveness of my home grown K...ubu... and the real thing.

I know.....they all laugh at me but that is just my plain judgement.

And, as with you...I've got a Mint hard drive that I plug in relatively often just to keep it up to speed, and I've also got a couple of others, like Aptosid and #!.

And like you, I "get the point" of Unity but just can't stand the thing for a desktop machine, I can see it on a netbook.

As to distros that I use almost continually, that is spread between SuperOS and Kubuntu, but there is NO "support" for SuperOS. and SuperOS may go the way of the Dodo bird in that it may be clubbed in the head by the Unity interface..so...that would put me with Kubu 100 percent.

woodsmoke

[leadwt]

Re: Kde on Ubuntu

I note that you use K Office/suite and wonder how it compares to Libre?

I found Open Office good especially its ability to accept the various microsoggy formats although sometimes it did fail to 'translate' the more complicated layouts and now I am on Libre which seems ok so far.

How does K office/suite rate on this (conversion)?

[wizard10000]

Re: Kde on Ubuntu

The nearest I got to being reasonably happy with was Linux Mint but found that it was not as favourable in relation to customisation - or not to the level that one has with Kubuntu at least.

I don't understand this - Mint should be just about exactly as configurable as Kubuntu - they use the same repos.

Mint does have one thing I wish *buntu had - I set a slightly different background color for any window running with root privileges so I can tell at a glance when I'm root. I kinda wish *buntu did this but it's easy enough to sort out on one's own. I probably wouldn't like their choice of colors anyway - I use #DDBBBB as it's a pale pink, not a screaming red.

Having said all that I am wondering what exactly is the difference between my set-up and Kubuntu - is it purely the number of packages?

I guess that would depend on exactly what you installed

If you installed kubuntu-desktop you got the real deal.

cheers -

edit: oops. I'm not paying attention. kde-standard probably has considerably fewer packages than kubuntu-desktop. You can look at the differences here -

http://packages.ubuntu.com/natty/kde-standard

and

http://packages.ubuntu.com/natty/kubuntu-desktop

[GreyGeek]

Re: Kde on Ubuntu

Pardon me for jumping in ....

I decided to switch to KOffice a few months ago in my drive to use only Qt built apps and drop Gtk+ apps.

The first thing I did was drop Thunderbird for KMail. I've been pleasantly surprised by the improvements in KMail from the last time I used it 7 or 8 years ago. Obviously it is much better integrated to KDE.

My next change from from LibreOffice to KOffice. The first thing I noticed is how much more quickly KWord loads a doc file than LO. Ditto for spreadsheets. But, one of the documents I wrote with LibreOffice involve using the "Master Document" capability, which KWord does not have. It uses "KParts", but KParts doesn't appear to work the same way, and, I cannot load my LO master document and work with all the chapters through it the way I can in LO. I haven't learned how to use KParts to create a master document, IF that is possible. But, our family history was the only multi-chapter document I've written with LO and I doubt that I'll be working on another using KWord. So, if a functionality is not there, or is not used if it is, it doesn't matter.

Pretty much the rest of KOffice meets my needs.

[leadwt]

Re: Kde on Ubuntu

Yo wizard10000 - the links explain it very clearly and 'standard' meets my requirements just fine with a few additions of course.

AND

GreyGeek - I think the 'master doc' would not present me with any problems as I am not about to write-up the family history (one of my cousins has already done it) but the point is one to remember. I will try both Koffice and Kmail too but on my 'backup system' first.

Thanks to both and GreyGeek - you are hardly 'jumping in' - much appreciated.

Cheers. (Is that still running on Yankee TV? I really liked it!)

[GreyGeek]

Re: Kde on Ubuntu

.....
Cheers. (Is that still running on Yankee TV? I really liked it!)
...

Only in "syndication" and between infomercials. Ted Danson has gray hair now:
[img width=291 height=400]http://www.exposay.com/celebrity-photos/ted-danson-damages-tv-series-premiere-presented-by-sony-pictures-television-and-fx-productions-arrivals-LPR61b.jpg[/img]
which shows you how old that TV sitcom is.

BTW, IF you remember that then you must be at least .....

[woodsmoke]

Re: Kde on Ubuntu

Leadwt.

My answer to your question about comparing the two is actually very complex and I have addressed it in different forii and in an article at LinuxForums.

In order to not use up a lot of space I'll summarize all of the details into a few sentences.

a) I do a LOT of work on the computer in terms of using application, particularly office applications. I converted completely to Linux, except for one "crossword puzzle making program(which only partially runs under WINE and there is no equivalent in Linuxdom).

Because of that I am in a situation of possible work related syndromes of the wrist, hand and arm.

To ameliorate that I have a custom built desk(built by moiself) in which the keyboard sits at a height in which my forearm is "horizontal" to the floor(so that my wrists are not "bent" with a higher desk) and I also use the older MS ergonomic keyboard(the new one is NOT the same), that is both angled outward(the keys being split in the middle and is slightly angled downward in an attempt to mimic the natural way that the hands are held.

b) The above is one major reason that I use Koffice. To me, and it is probably only me, the ability to "sweep right" with a mouse as opposed to sweeping "up the screen and over" is a major factor in my switch to Koffice.

NOW.....could that same basic setup be made with either MS office or LO/OO, yes it could as a matter of fact, but, and I have said this many times,.....to me....just my opinion, the Koffice people "have it right" in terms of the layout of things and the items included.

So...Koffice is more "ergonomically" laid out for me than LO or OO.

c) HOWEVER, again, Koffice because of the basic social contract, does not produce some critical file formats which I use on a daily basis. Because of that I use the different suites depending on what I need to do.

d) As to speed. If one has a sufficiently powerful machine, as noted above by GG, when one gets to a 2 ghz processor and 2 gigs of RAM Koffice is very snappy in response time. However, get much below that horsepower and Koffice seems to lag, at least for me, behind OO in terms of response time.

e) As GG also said, the Kontact/mail/pim/Akonadi/Nepomuk/ combination just wins hands down if one uses "more" than just "mail". If one just uses "mail" then I would recommend using a webmail service, such as Yahoo, or Gmail, but if one steps a little beyond that....say an RSS feed, or wanting to do any kind of group stuff Kontact and the associated apps have really just stepped up the competition, for one simple reason.

It is a completely integrated suite, and requires extremely little setup, especially if one has already entered "basic information" in "about me", from which it can be harvested.

e) So, actually there is no easy answer to your question.

f) I'd recommend giving it a try, if you don't like it it is easily removed.

Hope this helps somewhat.

woodsmoke

[leadwt]

Re: Kde on Ubuntu

woodsmoke,

Thanks for the comprehensive reply. I appreciate your take on this and I reckon I'll give it a go especially as my work load (despite being retired) is likely to increase soon. So observations noted and much appreciated.

AND

GreyGeek,

Yo, well I do have my 'free' bus pass (which doubles as my library card) but I think Cheers possibly hit UK screens some time later than the original showing so perhaps not quite as aged as you may think. Anyway it's all in the mind ain't it?

Regards.

[ardvark71]

Re: Kde on Ubuntu

Hi leadwt...

Not to change the subject, but thank you again for sending me your old ATI card, it works like a champ!

Regards...

[leadwt]

Re: Kde on Ubuntu

Thanks for that ardvark71 - nothing like a bit of successful recycling!

[GreyGeek]

Re: Kde on Ubuntu

I saw someone mention Scribus while looking for a Qt built replacement for LO or KWord.

The 1.3.x version is built with Qt3.x and it shows. IMO, not worth using. BUT, I saw Scribus 1.50, built with Qt4, in a PPA and installed it.

https://launchpad.net/~scribus/+archive/ppa

It's still in Beta but it looks really nice, and it offers a "Master Document" capability. When changing the preferences that dialog crashes the app while trying to save the preferences, but that problem will be fixed in a future upgrade.

Scribus uses the Frame concept. So, just opening a document and starting to type doesn't work because you haven't dropped in a text frame. I really like the design and the approach.

[leadwt]

Re: Kde on Ubuntu

Quite interesting that - using frames. I used to use frames a lot when I produced newsletters (desktop publishing) and they were brilliant in that you could move text (and of course pictures, drawings and so forth) around the page/s to suit the article/s. Not applicable to what I do now but who knows?