Kubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) Brainstorm

[Rog131]

Earlier

> Topic: Lucid Release Schedule, Plans, KDE 4.4
> Topic: 10.10 to be codenamed Maverick Meerkat


Future

KDE

> KDE 4.5 Release Schedule
> KDE 4.5 Feature Plan


Kubuntu

Maverick Release Schedule

> About kubuntu-devel
>> Time to be Maverick:

Jonathan Riddell
Wed Apr 7 17:51:23 BST 2010

10.04 is shaping up to be a pleasingly stable release, suitable for
its LTS status.

Time to start thinking now about what we want in 10.10. Being the
release after LTS we can be much more adventurous.

Please put any ideas you have on this wiki page.

https://wiki.kubuntu.org/Kubuntu/10....nstorm#preview

Jonathan

(Edit )

> Time to be Maverick:

Scott Kitterman
Wed Apr 7 18:08:56 BST 2010

I'd also encourage people to think about meta goals for the next LTS (presumably 12.04) and what
we can do in Maverick to start to get us there.

Scott K

[GreyGeek]

Re: Kubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) Brainstorm

Thanks for the links, Rog131 !

I added a request to add an app which can create a usable xorg.conf file if Upstart, HAL or udev fail.

[chikoo]

Re: Kubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) Brainstorm

It should have kubuntu branding and theme similar to ubuntu branding and theme (New purple! Wow!)

[chikoo]

Re: Kubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) Brainstorm

I propose that Kubuntu should also have DVD version from 10.10. This would enable it to include more software for out of box experience.

Following additional software can be part of DVD -

- Digikam
- Firefox
- Thunderbird
- GIMP
- Koffice 2
- Kmymoney or Skrooge
- Kaffeine
- VLC
- Kdenlive
- LMMS
- Audacity

Please suggest changes if any.

[ghostautumn]

Re: Kubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) Brainstorm

It should have kubuntu branding and theme similar to ubuntu branding and theme (New purple! Wow!)

I'd prefer it didn't use the Ubuntu theme, colour or branding, at least by default.

What I would love is to have a Kubuntu-integrated version of Software Center installed with the main distro, and with more KDE apps and packages included, and given focus. Maybe it could even include show an application's rating from KDE-Apps.org, and include an option to search for things at KDE-Apps.org.

And I second the idea for a meaningful DVD version, I know there always is one but it's unclear what all it can install - I'd like to know if anyone has the answer.

[ghostautumn]

Re: Kubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) Brainstorm

I'm not sure how feasible this is, but it would be great if the main Live CD installer included an option (maybe accessible by a button named 'advanced mode') to install either the KDE-full, KDE-minimal, or plasma-netbook packages, to meet the needs of different hardware. If it also included an option to boot into a text-mode installer, it would be the perfect jack-of-trades install CD that would be easy to carry around on an usb stick and easily install on friends' computers in a flash, whatever their hardware!

[ghostautumn]

Re: Kubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) Brainstorm

Sorry to post thrice consecutively, but this thread's got me excited. What I'd REALLY like to see is Kmix either dramatically improved or an alternative provided - something that integrates well with the Phonon and Pulseaudio controls (speaking of which Pulseaudio-Phonon integration needs serious attention, it's regressed since Karmic, see https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+s...11/+bug/557514 ... but hopefully that can be addressed sooner than 10.10). Kmix is still better than Ubuntu 10.04's sound applet, but it could definitely use improvement, particularly more detailed control options from the first click on the panel applet. For example, if you have more than one sound card, it would be good if it offered controls for each of them from the first click, and the ability to switch between them. I'll mention all this to the Kmix developers upstream.

[axel668]

Re: Kubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) Brainstorm

- Firefox as default browser (maybe they could write a nice wrapper like for Ooo ?)
- Include a decent network manager (e.g. WICD or write own)
- Port SoftwareCenter or fix KPackageKit (finally !!!)
- Create a dedicated Kubuntu Theme (NOT purple !!!)
- Include KOffice instead of Ooo

[hunkirdowne]

Re: Kubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) Brainstorm

Theme colors: Three. Blue, green, and purple (but not the reddish purple). Going for a marine (as in ocean, not fighting forces ;-) theme. Prolly about 45% blue (somewhere between cobalt and sky), 30% green (somewhere between sea and kelly), 15% purple (tad bit lighter than Crayola(R) but nowhere near the Ubuntu/Plymouth shade[1]).

[1] Not that I particularly dislike the Ubuntu shade, although it is far from my first choice, but it wouldn't really fit the ocean/marine thingy.

Default browser: Firefox as an optional default with a more modern Qt- or KDE-based browser. Opera is OK. Konqueror has gotten better but still needs polish and ease of use features (they're there, just buried).

Office Suite: KOffice has potential but not yet ready for prime time. OpenOffice is (afaik) Java which is a far cry better than the usual GTK+ (which is great in Gnome/Xfce -- not so much in KDE). KSpread crashes far too often for my taste (but so did OO at the version 2 level). That said, if KOffice were to be more stable and had more formula support (at the same time }8-D ), then I'd switch in a heartbeat.
(Question: Whatever happened to Corel's Java-based office suite?)

Perhaps a better Java runtime for Linux would help things along a bit. Not a developer but wonder if greater kernel support or better Java code could be applied to help with the memory/resource hogging for OO).

WICD: +1

Package Management: Spend most of my time running aptitude from konsole. I usually turn the graphic thingy off. But for the betterment of Kubuntu, KPackageKit is OK, but Synaptic Package Manager seems more straight-forward to me (but this is probably just personal bias).

[Snowhog]

Re: Kubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) Brainstorm

...KPackageKit is OK, but Synaptic Package Manager seems more straight-forward to me (but this is probably just personal bias).

KPackageKit sucks. :P Nowhere near complete enough to be a default package manager IMO. Synaptic on the other hand, is so much better, and no, it isn't your your personal bias. Most who have any time working with package management in Kubuntu, immediately install Synaptic - I did - after installation. I use Synaptic and the CLI apt-get for all my package management.

[GreyGeek]

Re: Kubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) Brainstorm

Hey, Snowhog, don't hold back! Tell use what you really think!

BTW, I second your opinion. Anyone who uses KPackageKit and likes it hasn't use Synaptic. Few who've tried Synaptic will ever go back to KPackageKit. It is not that Kpackagekit is just a "work in progress", the entire design and layout is wrong and doesn't lend itself to ease of use. IOW, it is not as "intuitive" as Synaptic is. In fact, the old KDE3 "KPackage" is a lot better than KPackageKit. The only way KPackagekit could be improved is to overhaul its user interface, but then all you'd get is Synaptic, so why bother? IIRC, Synaptic is written with the GTK+ tool kit. It would be nice to see a version written with Qt4 instead. mmmm....

[Snowhog]

Re: Kubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) Brainstorm

IIRC, I've also seen that KPackageKit doesn't handle dependencies very well.

[DeathKitten]

Re: Kubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) Brainstorm

I'm not sure how feasible this is, but it would be great if the main Live CD installer included an option (maybe accessible by a button named 'advanced mode') to install either the KDE-full, KDE-minimal, or plasma-netbook packages, to meet the needs of different hardware. If it also included an option to boot into a text-mode installer, it would be the perfect jack-of-trades install CD that would be easy to carry around on an usb stick and easily install on friends' computers in a flash, whatever their hardware!

I like having the option of the KDE-full, KDE-minimal or plasma-netbook package options from the get go in the live install CD. I love KDE, and I have kubuntu on both my desktop AND laptop, but on the laptop I literally uninstalled ALL the KDE packages*, and reinstalled with just the KDE-minimal to drastically improve my battery life, only adding back in other KDE packages as I need them.

- Firefox as default browser (maybe they could write a nice wrapper like for Ooo ?)

They have KDE integration for Firefox now. It's a freaking awesome browser. Yes, I understand the desire to have KDE specific programs, but I don't like Konqueror as much. Yes, it's more standards friendly, and occasionally it helps me decieve stupid websites with bad coding and browser sniffing better than Firefox, but Firefox just works better for me.

Office Suite: KOffice has potential but not yet ready for prime time. OpenOffice is (afaik) Java which is a far cry better than the usual GTK+ (which is great in Gnome/Xfce -- not so much in KDE). KSpread crashes far too often for my taste (but so did OO at the version 2 level). That said, if KOffice were to be more stable and had more formula support (at the same time }8-D ), then I'd switch in a heartbeat.
(Question: Whatever happened to Corel's Java-based office suite?)

Perhaps a better Java runtime for Linux would help things along a bit. Not a developer but wonder if greater kernel support or better Java code could be applied to help with the memory/resource hogging for OO).

WICD: +1

I don't even bother having java installed on my machine. It's been nothing but a headache for me, and I'm yet to find anything that requires java that I can't live without.

Totally third the call for WICD. Whatever the heck comes by default gave me nothing but trouble connecting to my friend's wireless network, even though it worked Okayish on all the others I tried to connect to. I switched to WICD, and surprise of all surprises, suddenly I could get on his wireless network. Since I found that out, usually the first thing I do with a fresh install on the laptop is switch over to WICD. <3

...KPackageKit is OK, but Synaptic Package Manager seems more straight-forward to me (but this is probably just personal bias).

KPackageKit sucks. :P Nowhere near complete enough to be a default package manager IMO. Synaptic on the other hand, is so much better, and no, it isn't your your personal bias. Most who have any time working with package management in Kubuntu, immediately install Synaptic - I did - after installation. I use Synaptic and the CLI apt-get for all my package management.

Since I've gotten used to apt-get (still working on being a power user, but I'm usually still quicker with it than ANY gui package manager), I don't bother with any of the gui package managers. That said, when I gutted the KDE install on my laptop, I ended up needing to use something.. and which one did I install to access via enlightenment? Synaptic. Works just fine when I need it.

That said, there was a different one with KDE a few releases back that I got so mad when they stopped supporting. I think it was called Adept Manager. That worked beautiful, but they don't maintain it anymore. Oh well. Apt-get works beautiful almost all the time.

[askrieger]

Re: Kubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) Brainstorm

Like (almost) everyone else, the first thing I do after a fresh install is to add Synaptic. BUT, Synaptic drags in a lot of GTK. If you you have a "resource challenged" (i.e. cheap, old, or portable) machine, you might not have the room to carry both KDE and GTK. This leaves you stuck with either an unacceptable GUI package manager, or the command line. Unfortunately, the only thing I can say is that apt-get is not that hard to master.

[DeathKitten]

Re: Kubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) Brainstorm

Like (almost) everyone else, the first thing I do after a fresh install is to add Synaptic. BUT, Synaptic drags in a lot of GTK. If you you have a "resource challenged" (i.e. cheap, old, or portable) machine, you might not have the room to carry both KDE and GTK. This leaves you stuck with either an unacceptable GUI package manager, or the command line. Unfortunately, the only thing I can say is that apt-get is not that hard to master.

I don't remember how much stuff synaptic drags in for the gnome dependencies... but before attempting to install it, did you remember to turn off the install recommended packages option, so it only installs what's absolutely needed? It'd be interesting for someone with a fresh install, who hasn't installed synaptic yet, to see how much of a difference between the install with and without recommended packages attached.

Oh, and speaking of that. Can we PLEASE disable the install recommended packages preference? That setting drives me up a gorram wall, it's enough to drive someone with a resource lean machine up a wall. My desktop is older and overdue for an upgrade, and my laptop is a low in cheap model with light resources (still better than my desktop, ug), so trying to force recommended packages along with the required ones really can screw things up in a system. I know how to disable this on my machines, but what about the newbies out there who will instead blame the system for being slow and sluggish, instead of knowing to turn off that setting?