My ides for future Kubuntu releases

[dancingmadrb3]

Now I may be a new user here, but I have used linux for some time now and Kubuntu has always been sort of a last resort distro for me as it never lived up to the splendor that its cousin attracts so now that canonical is no longer supporting Kubuntu I think its time for this distrbution to soar higher then its counterpart and here is what I suggest:

First: Make the system stand out.
Seriously Kubuntu's defaults are dull, dreary, and bland and the same thing as the KDE default.
Look at other distributions such as Sabayon, Mageia and PCLinux, all have distinct themes and personalities but Kubuntu has always been rather stock after it got out of the KDE3 era.
Seriously what happened to all the nice artwork? Kubuntu used to be pretty cool looking and now its the same drab thing by default.
Sure yes we as users can easily change the themes and all but that is not the point as the system needs to look good for people to be encouraged to try it out, this is what is working for Ubuntu and Linux Mint because they both look unique out of the box.

Second: Provide an installer for google chrome instead of firefox
Now that Adobe has dumped us like garbage the only way to get flash in the future right now is chrome, now I am not saying to install it by default but there should be a link/button whatever to the google chrome download page along with some instructions.
This is for more for new users here, not for those of us who hate googles guts or anything but face the fact that adobe is a bigger enemy to us then google ever will be.

Third: Ditch KDM login manager for lightDM
I know this is an integration thing and will add more to the image but the default KDM never worked for me, I used to replace it with GDM when GDM was actually you know... semi decent but with it being locked down like everything else in Gnome 3 LightDM is a better alternative overall.
I really like lightDM, sure it will clash a little with KDE but I feel it works better, sorry.

[SteveRiley]

so now that canonical is no longer supporting Kubuntu

[strike]Canonical is supporting the current version of Kubuntu for the next five years. Canonical is no longer funding future Kubuntu development.[/strike]
Edit: My understanding of LTS was incorrect. See posts 7, 8, and 9 in this thread.

the same thing as the KDE default

Some of us are drawn to Kubuntu for this reason: it hews very close to a pure KDE release. And the cool thing is, each user is free to splash it up however he/she choses.

the fact that adobe is a bigger enemy to us then google ever will be

I'm curious why you think this. Mind explaining your thoughts a bit more?

the default KDM never worked for me

What problems have you encountered?

[dancingmadrb3]

Canonical is supporting the current version of Kubuntu for the next five years. Canonical is no longer funding future Kubuntu development.

yes I know this, this post is more for future releases, not 12.04

Some of us are drawn to Kubuntu for this reason: it hews very close to a pure KDE release. And the cool thing is, each user is free to splash it up however he/she choses.

Still I always found most of the defaults in KDE4 rather bland, especially 4.8 and its really lame default wallpaper after so many semi decent or really cool looking ones.
Plus Kubuntu used to have its own default branded wallpapers now its kind of a "meh who cares? sort of thing, no love or passsion.

I'm curious why you think this. Mind explaining your thoughts a bit more?

Adobe has pretty much said that anything that doesnt cost half the price of a house or owned by microsoft is irrelevant to them, they fail to see the emerging mobile market as a threat to them.
But one day HTML5 will probably overcome them and you know how they will probably react?
lawsuits, they like monopolies much like thier bed buddies Microsoft.
At least google sees the potential in future markets, Adobe will remain a threat as long as they reside in the past.

What problems have you encountered?

Not problems, but more or less nitpicks like after so many years there is still not as many good themes for KDM4 as there were for KDM3, plus most of the themesdont use user list greeters much easier then having to type in a name for each user.
Sure there are themed user list greeters but I still find them a little lacking.
I either A: dont use themes with KDM, or B: dump it.
I often choose the latter as lightdm is pretty themable.

[SteveRiley]

Adobe has pretty much said that anything that doesnt cost half the price of a house or owned by microsoft is irrelevant to them, they fail to see the emerging mobile market as a threat to them.
But one day HTML5 will probably overcome them and you know how they will probably react?
lawsuits, they like monopolies much like thier bed buddies Microsoft.
At least google sees the potential in future markets, Adobe will remain a threat as long as they reside in the past.

Perhaps it's actually the other way around: even Adobe is transitioning to HTML5.

[dancingmadrb3]

Still I would not trust them with a 10 foot pole, but thats just me.
Sure google isnt trustworthy either but better the devil you know and all that.

[Nayar]

Some of us are drawn to Kubuntu for this reason: it hews very close to a pure KDE release. And the cool thing is, each user is free to splash it up however he/she choses.

I too wanted to see a more customized Kubuntu seeing how Mint and others customized theirs beautifully. Now i've realised that Kubuntu is amazing for what is it. It is pure without much bloat. Users can customize it as they want.

The real issue comes when you have to install Kubuntu on your friends' PC. And believe it's not something easy. You'd have to install flash, mp3 and other stuffs at their location using a crappy internet. The end result doesn't come as awesome as what i show them on my kubuntu. It is somewhat embarrasing for me.

I now plan to backup my system using remastersys to mass deploy Kubuntu on my friends' PCs. Using Kubuntu as a base is great instead of MInt & Co as it doesn't has bloatwares. It allow anyone to have the kind of desktop he wants exactly.

[apachelogger]

Canonical is supporting the current version of Kubuntu for the next five years. Canonical is no longer funding future Kubuntu development.

That is not accurate. Kubuntu 12.04 while being a LTS release is not supported by Canonical but the community (LTS apparently became a stamp of the Ubuntu community at some point).

[SteveRiley]

Hm... your post prompted me to remind myself what LTS actually means:

A new LTS version is released every 2 years. In previous releases, a Long Term Support (LTS) version had 3 years support on Ubuntu (Desktop) and 5 years on Ubuntu Server. Starting with Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, both versions will receive 5 years support. There is no extra fee for the LTS version; we make our very best work available to everyone on the same free terms. Upgrades to new versions of Ubuntu are and always will be free of charge.

The LTS designation applies only to specific subsets of the Ubuntu archive. The LTS may not apply to all flavors and remixes of Ubuntu. For example, for 8.04 LTS, Kubuntu chose to move to KDE 4.0 and didn't issue an LTS release. In 10.04, the Netbook Edition was not an LTS. The project will decide which flavors will be LTS and the support duration for each, early in the LTS development cycle.

Would you mind elaborating a bit more on what you mean by "LTS apparently became a stamp of the Ubuntu community at some point"? I want to make sure I understand this correctly.

[apachelogger]

TLDR version: years ago LTS was about canonical thinking something is supportable, now it is about the ubuntu community thinking something is supportable.

Originally LTS was a stamp Canonical would put on a release they felt comfortable supporting commercially for a longer period of time. This was mostly because the Ubuntu tech board (the supreme authority in technology topics and thus the ones deciding whether something can be supported for a longer term) was back then run by Canonical. Now them having the power to grant or deny LTS status essentially meant canonical gets to decide which one it is going to be. The tech board has since become an open board with regular ubuntu community members as well as canonical employees, so the decision of whether something is worth LTSing or not is no longer bound to whether Canonical deems it supportable but whether the ubuntu community thinks it is (represented by the tech board).

[SteveRiley]

Hm. Thanks for stepping in and clearing that up, I appreciate the extra info. I was unaware that the meaning of "LTS" had morphed in this way.

[ardvark71]

Now that Adobe has dumped us like garbage the only way to get flash in the future right now is chrome

Hi...

This looks like something I'll have to research. Are you saying that Adobe is going to completely stop supporting Linux?

EDIT: According to this, it appears so.

Regards...

[SteveRiley]

This looks like something I'll have to research. Are you saying that Adobe is going to completely stop supporting Linux?

http://blogs.adobe.com/flashplayer/2...-on-linux.html

As discussed in the just released Adobe roadmap for the Flash runtimes, Adobe has been working closely with Google to develop a single modern API for hosting plugins within the browser (one which could replace the current Netscape plugin API being used by the Flash Player). The PPAPI, code-named “Pepper” aims to provide a layer between the plugin and browser that abstracts away differences between browser and operating system implementations.

Because of this work, Adobe has been able to partner with Google in providing a “Pepper” implementation of Flash Player for all x86/64 platforms supported by the Google Chrome browser. Google will begin distributing this new Pepper-based Flash Player as part of Chrome on all platforms, including Linux, later this year.

For Flash Player releases after 11.2, the Flash Player browser plugin for Linux will only be available via the “Pepper” API as part of the Google Chrome browser distribution and will no longer be available as a direct download from Adobe. Adobe will continue to provide security updates to non-Pepper distributions of Flash Player 11.2 on Linux for five years from its release.

Flash Player will continue to support browsers using non-”Pepper” plugin APIs on platforms other than Linux.

We will be providing a debug player implementation of the Flash Player browser plugin on Linux, and will update the whitepaper once we have more details on how it will be distributed.

[ardvark71]

Thanks, Steve, that really is too bad.

[SteveRiley]

First Adobe discontinues Flash for Android. Then they discontinue Flash for Linux. On top of that, Adobe is transitioning their own content and platform tools to HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript. So perhaps Flash is finally, finally, nearing its end.

http://www.adobe.com/solutions/html5.html
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/html5.html
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/html5/ar...rds-html5.html

BTW...have a gander at the various items at Adobe Labs. Multiple tools for converting from various Adobe-proprietary formats to cross-platform standards.

[ardvark71]

BTW...have a gander at the various items at Adobe Labs. Multiple tools for converting from various Adobe-proprietary formats to cross-platform standards.

Thank you.

Yes, in part, it does appear that a shift towards HTML5 and perhaps Edge is taking place. :neutral:

Regards...