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**Fenyx** · Jun 23, 2006, 05:03 PM

Re: Kubuntu overlooked

First of all, don't get me wrong. I'm a Kubuntu user and a KDE lover.
Unfortunately, I have to agree with them on a lot of things. aysiu and mstlyevil are not the type of people who speak without thinking. (I can't speak for the rest of the posters).

1. MEPIS is not a fork of Kubuntu. MEPIS is in fact older than Kubuntu, AFAIK. I think it was already clarified in that thread. Also, MEPIS has and will always have their own repositories and their own development process. So if they want some newer packages, they don't have to wait for it in Ubuntu.

2. The notion of "polish" is very relativey. But Kubuntu is not more polished than MEPIS when it comes to KDE implementaton because Kubuntu is actually using GNOME's structure/system. There are some directories in Kubuntu do not correspond to KDE directories but to GNOME ones. This is probably because Kubuntu is just Ubuntu (GNOME) with KDE slapped on top and GNOME removed.

If you are talking about simplicity of default packages, yes Kubuntu is more polished. About artwork? That's something relative, too. I like Kubuntu's window decorations, color scheme, icons, and widget styles. But I like MEPIS' wallpaper, bootsplash, and splashscreen more than Kubuntu's

3. Easier install: depends on what you mean/want by easier. If you are talking about installing in 6 steps, yes Kubuntu is easier, at least on the Desktop CD. But if you are talking about an easy install with complete options, MEPIS outshines Kubuntu. The only counterpart of MEPIS' installer in Kubuntu is the Alternate Install CD, which doesn't have a GUI

4. Adept is nicer than Synaptic: again "nicer" is very subjective. My views about Adept vs Synaptic vs other package managers are scattered around the forums (here and there). I'd hate to repeat myself but in summary, Adept has some features that kicks Synaptic's butt. But when it comes to proper usability features, Synaptic wins.

These people didn't overlook Kubuntu. Overlooking means that you merely take a glance and pass by it, without taking a closer. These people, aysiu, awakatanka, and mstlyevil, are Kubuntu users more than MEPIS users. So please don't think that they are overlooking the matter. Look for aysiu's and awakatanka's posts on Kubuntu and you will see how deeply they have used the system.

As for me, I've used Kubuntu for almost 7 months now, 6 of which was in Breezy. Yes, Dapper is indeed far better than Breezy in many respects, specially thanks to the availability of KDE 3.5.3 in Dapper (not available in Breezy). But Kubuntu still has a long way to go to be able to catch up with more KDE-focused distros. Kubuntu needs some loving, on the developers' side.

**awakatanka** · Jul 01, 2006, 03:47 AM

Re: Kubuntu overlooked

Jucato is right.

Kubuntu is a good product but it isn't there yet. Mepis has more experience with kde then kubuntu. Like mstlyevil says Mepis is much faster then kubuntu and it also more stable then kubuntu.

For me personaly that mepis is faster doesn't mean that much atm, i rather have a stable kde then a fast one. And after different experiences with kubuntu i think it still needs to grow and get more mature. When dapper was live i realy thought ok it is good but after the first update it was unstable again for me. Where Mepis was stable the whole time. ( And they where still in alpha/beta )

Mepis livecd and installer is much faster then kubuntu livecd and installer. Atleast for me. Looks are not that important for me so i make it look the way i want after install, but... i realy think the first impression is important for firsttime users. And both need to work on that.

I use adapt to search something fast but i like synaptic a little more because it looks cleaner. But i must admit that i use CLI the most for install ( 10 months ago i never tought that, i was a GUI junk ).

I think the cleaner install of apps of kubuntu is better then the install as much as possible from Mepis. But also that is a personal tast. But some things are realy over the top in Mepis, like the fishtank and some other things.

But at the end the most important thing for me is a Stable distro and after that a good Community. And ATM Mepis is doing that better then kubuntu.
And if Mepis is live i switch to it and Kubuntu is going to move to test partition.

**iumentum** · Jul 16, 2006, 03:45 PM

Re: Kubuntu overlooked

I installed and used Mepis on my laptop for a week. I did like it. It was faster thean Kubuntu, at least for my old laptop. Overall, it had a pretty nice feel to it. I switched to Kubuntu because I think there is overall going to be stronger support and community. With the 6 month release schedule and all, I think it will "catch up" quickly. Also I think the Kubuntu distro has a more unified desktop feel. As a intresting side note, Mepis is slated to be based on Ubuntu from now on.

**claydoh** · Jul 16, 2006, 07:16 PM

Re: Kubuntu overlooked

Even though Mepis will use Ubuntu as a base, I do think they will remain their own animal. they have done (or Warren has done) quite a bit of good work polishing a default KDE setup. The latest Mepis rc (Ubuntu-based) does fell a little snappier (on the livecd) but they have been doing the livecd for quite a while and have done an excellent job in that area as well.

I just don't care for the overall look and feel of Mepis somehow, I like the overall direction we are going.

**DigitaLink** · Jul 16, 2006, 07:23 PM

Re: Kubuntu overlooked

I didn't notice any real speed differences between Mepis6 (Kubuntu based) and Kubuntu. I've installed both several times over the past week, so this is all recent in my mind.

The "polish" of Mepis is really just that Warren has pre-configured a lot of the common things that Automatix takes care of in Kubuntu. I found the Kubuntu installer better than the Mepis installer. Mepis wouldn't let me install to partitions on more than one hard drive, Kubuntu had no problems with it. I DO like some of the "mutilities" that Warren has in Mepis. I was always a fan of his Mepis OS Center. It was a good piece of code, but I can get all the same things done in Kubuntu too.

Kubuntu has come a long way since Hoary. I tried Hoary and went to Mepis and PCLOS instead. PCLOS after Mepis got too unstable due to Debian issues. Dapper is a fine release and the dev team should be very proud of their work.

Now if fglrx could just work out of the box on the R200 cards ...

**iumentum** · Jul 16, 2006, 09:19 PM

Re: Kubuntu overlooked

Originally posted by Digita

I didn't notice any real speed differences between Mepis6 (Kubuntu based) and Kubuntu. I've installed both several times over the past week, so this is all recent in my mind.

It depends on your system. On a high-end system, you wouldn't notice any difference really. My laptop is tad older (650 MHZ, 320 RAM) and I can definately tell a difference in speed/performance.
Mepis definately had a couple of other cool things going on. But I have to agree on the fishtank, it needs to go.

**awakatanka** · Jul 18, 2006, 02:27 AM

Re: Kubuntu overlooked

Originally posted by claydoh

I just don't care for the overall look and feel of Mepis somehow, I like the overall direction we are going.

You right on that, for KDE based distro's they both go the right way and hope they both get stronger and stronger. Hope KDE4 will change the thinking of the major distro's that choosen GNOME.

Warren is making Mepis cleaner the kicker is getting cleaner and the kicker panel is also cleaner. Kubuntu livecd is better in language's and using partition. But the livecd must be faster.

Hope one of the 2 will get wireless support for WEP and WPA with is as simple as windows. None of the tools work for my RT2500 also powersave has troubles with it. If my laptop can use this without problems then i'm a happy.

I find both good and i'm happy both are growing to be better, it gives me the choose to use the best KDE distro i need.

**DigitaLink** · Jul 18, 2006, 06:09 PM

Re: Kubuntu overlooked

Hear hear on KDE4. Man, if the devs can make KDE4 live up to their vision, it is going to rock the socks off everything - including OSX!!

Differences I found between livecds were Kubuntu didn't get X right by default. I got an out of range error and had to F3 on every livecd boot. Mepis got it right straight off. Mepis has the most commonly used stuff pre-configured (like mp3 playback for one). I understand perfectly why Kubuntu doesn't, and that's cool. I'm willing to do a few extra downloads to set things up, and Automatix takes the pain out of the big ones. Both have strengths and weaknesses compared to the other, even though they're built on the same base packages. That's one of the things I love about linux, and the same thing some hate. There isn't a one distro fits all out there.

Desktop linux still has some hurdles, but they're artificial ones - created by hardware manufacturers who won't open up specs AND refuse to even create a binary driver that people can install on their own. Linux doesn't mean you can't run something binary and proprietary on it ... and we've got to get that message out. nVidia and ATi at least figured that much out, and we're all better off in that respect for it. Even if the drivers aren't perfect or don't have feature parity with Windows versions, it's a lot better than what we used to have - nothing!

I often wish the linux community could come together more and stop battling each other over stupid little things. When we do that, Microsoft wins. It's nice to see groups that get along and maybe even work together. I like not feeling like I'm going to get bashed for mentioning the new Mepis here, or Kubuntu over at Mepislovers. I help and get help from both boards, and I enjoy both communities.

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