[KDE] Seeking advice

[CAaronL]

Hey guys,

Longtime KDE fan here. I've been using KDE + *buntu in some configuration as my daily driver for the past several years. I started out using Kubuntu, then tried out Netrunner OS for awhile, then ended up on Linux Mint KDE for the past year or so.

I started having major issues after upgrading from Linux Mint 17.1 to 17.2, and I thought it was time to reinstall for that fresh, new "out-of-the-box" experience.

I opted to give the latest Kubuntu (Vervid) a shot, and *hated it* almost instantly. I had given Plasma 5 a try back when it was in early development, and I have to say, it doesn't seem to have changed much. Having a GUI that I like and is configurable to my preferences is very important to me, and I found Plasma 5 to be really unattractive (I know this is subjective -- I really hate the move towards "flat" design). I can't install a taskbar that I like, or my Lancelot launcher. And there just aren't many user styles available yet, so I felt really roped into the default one.

I guess I am hoping that eventually there will be the wealth of UI designs/choices in Plasma 5 as there is in Plasma 4. In the meantime, I need to get back to a KDE-based distro where I can use all my favorite UI items/widgets/etc. What does anyone recommend? And is there a way to run the latest Kubuntu with Plasma 4?

Thanks!

[claydoh]

Kubuntu 14.04 with the kubuntu-backports ppa added will give you an up to date KDE4, and as an LTS, more up to date xorg and kernels are installed/available

[Teunis]

I have no problems with the looks and feel of Plasma5, the feel is as it has always been, the looks can be adjusted to be nearly as always by installing and configuring various Oxygen themes.
Have a good look at what Steve Riley writes:
https://www.kubuntuforums.net/showthread.php?68432-Plasma-5-is-a-theming-nightmare&highlight=oxygen+theme

Sure there still are issues with 5 like missing widgets and icons in the system tray and like in my case where it will only run properly after a hot reboot but there's very little wrong with the package as a whole.

[otisklt]

Kub 14.04 with plasma 4 is solid. I have not played much with plasma 5 on Kub and will likely wait for it to mature further.
Been playing with these below, all on KDE but these all seem to have systemD at the core and that will take some getting used to having not played with it before.

Testing on a HP elitebook laptop
openSuse 13.2 - plasma 5 is available but it was buggy/slow (might just be the hardware), plasma 4 is good
Manjaro 8.13 - plasma 5 seems to be working really well, plasma 4 was not tried yet
Mangeia 5 - defaulting to plasma 4 and working well, plasma 5 not tried yet