Hi all! I'm not a newbie to Linux - been using it on-and-off for years now, even took a college class at one point, but been mainly using Windows - and I've finally decided to use KDE for more than an hour. This comes after a week of testing out various Ubuntu-based distros, which came after I just got sick-and-tired of Windows 10 and the direction Microsoft is going. I'm seriously going to slap myself if I go running back to Windows again. Anyways, tangent aside, yesterday I decided to install Kubuntu 14.04, and as usual, I was apprehensive over KDE. Nevertheless, I decided that I wasn't going to throw it out after only an hour and actually poke around to see what it can do, and I ended up quite impressed. Today, still being in my "Let's see what this has to offer" kick, I decided to do yet another clean install and put 15.10 on. KDE Plasma 5 feels like a step up to me, so I'm really enjoying it. I think I've found the distro I'll be sticking with, at least until 16.04 comes out in a couple months.
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Welcome to Kubuntu Forums.Using Kubuntu Linux since March 23, 2007
"It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data." - Sherlock Holmes
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Thanks, glad to be here!
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Welcome
You can expect it to get better too, the pace of development is really fast so there have been a lot of improvements/bugfixes recently, I think you'll find 16.04 much improved over 15.10 in terms of stability and polish.Originally posted by Cecil View PostComment
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Thanks.Originally posted by Feathers McGraw View PostWelcome
You can expect it to get better too, the pace of development is really fast so there have been a lot of improvements/bugfixes recently, I think you'll find 16.04 much improved over 15.10 in terms of stability and polish.
And yeah, I'm looking forward to 16.04, will be nice to see what it brings.Comment
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I am a long time Linux, KDE and Kubuntu user and if given the choice I would already go with 16.04 over 15.10.
The only regression I experience is that KDEConnect does not fully work under 16.04, otherwise I see only advantages over 15.10.Comment
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Honestly, I'm thinking of trying out KDE Neon after it moves to 16.04, though your comment about KDE Connect being the only thing not really working is making me consider installing 16.04 to test it out.Originally posted by Teunis View PostComment
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Hi Cecil, and welcome to the friendliest forum on the net!
As to Windblows 10 yeppers, the college has the latest and greatest and it is just well....stoopid!, Ya got that whole "windows" that push stuff to buy and then if you hit a certain button there is a listing of apps, but they are in a "mix" of "the app" and the "the function", and getting back and forth is just a waste of time.
The media player won't play a simple mpeg, which may be the college's settings, don't know, but they PROVIDE ON THE DESKTOP..........Quickplayer! lol, and they RECOMMEND NOT using Internet Explorer because it isn't compatible with Blackboard ( a college eductaion management system)... lol.
And, also, the thing is always trying to complain that my powerpoints "have a problem" and need to be "repaired" unless I actually LOCK the position and size of images and set permissions to "read only".... it puts a "white sheet" on the top of a slide and says that it is "repaired" merely because I make it either on an older version of Windblows or LibreOffice.
As to KDE, .........When you "get into the swing" of "activities" I think you are REALLY going to like KDE even more.
Now, yes..........one can say that is just another form of the "virtual desktop" but.....no there are other capapbilites...
so, hey, don't be a stranger, ask questions if you have them, that's what all the great people are here for!
woodagainwelcomesmokeComment
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What woodsmoke said!
"A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.”
– John F. Kennedy, February 26, 1962.Comment
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Thanks you two. Yeah, still liking KDE here, though I did go try out Ubuntu with Cinnamon for about a week, but came back because I like KDE more. I haven't really customized much beyond placing program icons between the Application Manager and the Task Manager, simply because that's the layout I'm most used to from my Windows days. I will probably experiment with the layout to see if I can find a better arrangement, though. The widgets are neat, and I may place some on the task bar, but I don't have use for stuff on the desktop, as it's covered by various windows 99% of the time, so my desktop is barren.
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Hi,
Please let me try an attempt to explain "activities" very simply.
A) All the windows (on the desktop) that you talked about, go ahead with them and they can be on your "main" desktop.
B) But, lets say that you want to listen to some of the jillions of audio files that you have downloaded. Create an activity and put a unique background on it and have your preferred media player running on it and also your file explorer. So, two windows not needed on the main desktop and don't have to hit a little "virtual desktop" on the pane.
C) Lets say that you have several IM groups and people, have another activity with your IM clients open on it and also maybe your contacts so that you can quickely search them or add, maybe you get a phone call and want to add a contact and sync it, do it on that activity page, also with a unique background.
Now.............can you have unique backgrounds on virtual desktops? Yes but...
Now...................yess..................you could use virtual desktops, but I did MANY virtual desktops, I was one of the people at other fora who did long threads on setup of compiz fusion when it needed to be "set up", the whole desktop cube all that, but, .....Activities just seem to work better.
Given that, If I start teaching online again and have things submitted online by students, I would go back to the cube, with "raised documents" etc. in a New York Minute. lol
The ORIGINAL idea about the "activities" is shown by an obscure menu setting in "desktop settings".
At the top you will see a menu for "layout" and it is probably set to default, but if you click it you will see a rather amazing thing:
An option to have a desktop with "newspaper layout" to where the widgets will be put into columns.
Now............that may not seem like "much" but if one uses a lot of widgets it is welll pretty kewl!
Back in the day there were a lot of such things but they didn't work well and never made it big time but that is one of the original ideas about how the plasma desktop might work, I ...........personally, think that...............there is where Microsith got the idea for it's present incarnation of all those blocky windows. just a thought.
Anyway............have fun!!
woodsmoke
woodsmokeLast edited by woodsmoke; Mar 08, 2016, 09:23 PM.Comment
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Activities sound interesting, checking them out and I can see why people use them, but I don't know if I'll use it very much. However, I'm finding some widgets that I'm liking. Just found the Application Dashboard, and this feels like what Microsoft's "Start Screen" should've been; a simple, transparent fullscreen dashboard with program launchers, favorites, and shutdown buttons arranged intelligently. The fact that it's more of a transparent layer than an entirely different screen means I can keep an eye on any windows behind it. I hated that the Start Screen was an entirely different screen that jerked me away from my open windows, so this is a very nice change. Think I'll use the dashboard from now on.Originally posted by woodsmoke View PostHi,
Please let me try an attempt to explain "activities" very simply.
A) All the windows (on the desktop) that you talked about, go ahead with them and they can be on your "main" desktop.
B) But, lets say that you want to listen to some of the jillions of audio files that you have downloaded. Create an activity and put a unique background on it and have your preferred media player running on it and also your file explorer. So, two windows not needed on the main desktop and don't have to hit a little "virtual desktop" on the pane.
C) Lets say that you have several IM groups and people, have another activity with your IM clients open on it and also maybe your contacts so that you can quickely search them or add, maybe you get a phone call and want to add a contact and sync it, do it on that activity page, also with a unique background.
Now.............can you have unique backgrounds on virtual desktops? Yes but...
Now...................yess..................you could use virtual desktops, but I did MANY virtual desktops, I was one of the people at other fora who did long threads on setup of compiz fusion when it needed to be "set up", the whole desktop cube all that, but, .....Activities just seem to work better.
Given that, If I start teaching online again and have things submitted online by students, I would go back to the cube, with "raised documents" etc. in a New York Minute. lol
The ORIGINAL idea about the "activities" is shown by an obscure menu setting in "desktop settings".
At the top you will see a menu for "layout" and it is probably set to default, but if you click it you will see a rather amazing thing:
An option to have a desktop with "newspaper layout" to where the widgets will be put into columns.
Now............that may not seem like "much" but if one uses a lot of widgets it is welll pretty kewl!
Back in the day there were a lot of such things but they didn't work well and never made it big time but that is one of the original ideas about how the plasma desktop might work, I ...........personally, think that...............there is where Microsith got the idea for it's present incarnation of all those blocky windows. just a thought.
Anyway............have fun!!
woodsmoke
woodsmokeComment
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kewl!
woodsmokeComment
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This thing is awsome... I mean I like gnome3 (I've recently seen it run on fedora and it performed well) and cinnamon also, but KDE is something of a different breed.
It's a different beast. I configured for days in a row to get the looks I enjoy - not because it's difficult, but because one can...there are many options and combinations
I am curious about the new kde neon thing - sounds like solid idea.Comment
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