Brand New to KDE 4 and Linux

[bgast1]

Well, I just installed Kbuntu Hardy Heron with KDE 4. This is my very first look at KDE 4, man is it unlike anything I have ever seen before. I have installed Hardy Heron Gnome before, and had Compiz up and running without enabling xgl. Is Compiz something that is desired in a KDE4 desktop if you are into eye candy, like I am.

Next, while this question is entirely subjective, can someone give me a few hints on where to go from here. I would like to play some games, rip all of my CD's to my hard drive, watch my music DVD collection. (I am a 56 year old metalhead).

[Qqmike]

Re: Brand New to KDE 4 and Linux

“(I am a 56 year old metalhead). “

Ah, bgast1, so you fit right in here. Many of us in the age-range you referenced. Not all metalheads, but all surely offbeat in their ways. Not me, though. Although at 59 I'm waiting for Michael Jackson's comeback ... (but got pandora set to Bobby Vinton ... Been to www.pandora.com? Free).
I'd suggest some things to play with in your new setup, but as the guys here will tell you, I tend to be boring. I build dual-boots, try to break them, then write about how to fix them; when tired of that, I put the show on a flash drive and repeat such.

Welcome to the party.

[bgast1]

Re: Brand New to KDE 4 and Linux

Well, I really didn't get much in the way of packages with this install. as a matter of fact, I'm having to use Konqueror as browser at the moment. Tried to click on Pandora and the first thing I get is that I need to install Adobe Flash. Next thing I see is a brand new package manager called Adept. I have no clue how to use it, yet.

How about Compiz? Is that a necessary package in KDE4? I sort of miss wobbly windows and my cube?

Music players? Which one to use? Amarok?

This KDE4 is nothing like I have ever seen before.

[Qqmike]

Re: Brand New to KDE 4 and Linux

For example, Adept:
K button (lower left) > System > Adept Manager
and in the location Windows type
firefox
and it comes up;
you might select firefox-2 (the solid version)
right-click
Request Install
click Apply (at the top of that menu)
and it installs;
Thunderbird email is that way, also.

I'll let the Compiz whizzes do some here. (I temporarily satisfied some of that back with MEPIS and Beryl, but will have to look at that again here soon, too.)


There's a Documents > How-To section here, also, and I'm sure I saw Adept and Package Mangers there (maybe more than once). Perhaps someone can chime in a link on Adept. Lots of folks use Synaptic (an apt front end).

[Qqmike]

Re: Brand New to KDE 4 and Linux

and actually, there's a fair number of popular programs under
K > Add/Remove Programs
which is also a front for Adept Package Manager.
Under Internet, you'll find firefox-2 and Thunderbird email, for example.

[bgast1]

Re: Brand New to KDE 4 and Linux

Thanks for that Adept Installer tip, I'm using it right now.

[Qqmike]

Re: Brand New to KDE 4 and Linux

FAQ: Adobe Flash, by Rog131 (a How-To):
http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/inde...opic=3090377.0
(read down through it until it gets to Firefox)

I think I'd go with Firefox.
For some reason, my Kubuntu Firefox just always works. At sites like You Tube, when informed of a missing plug-in, I just do the click and get it; or at the FX site. No problems. Though others report difficulties (esp with Konqueror as browser; it's my favorite file manager, but I use FX for Internet).

[dibl]

Re: Brand New to KDE 4 and Linux

Welcome bgast1. Sounds like you found a good place to light.

If you're not experienced with Linux, you probably want to master 1 trick at a time -- although I like your agenda!

Compiz -- sure, if your graphics card can support it. Only about a zillion posts on here, already -- you should be able to get most of your info with the search window.

CD Ripping and burning -- KDE3 would be my recommendation, but there are other choices.

Playing music -- I like Amarok, but there are only 50 or so mp3 players for Linux.

DVD playing -- lots of choices, starting with Kaffeine and then mplayer, vlc, and on and on.

Analog-to-digital recording -- I like Audacity, but you'll have to get used to it.

Browser -- I like Firefox, although FF3 can be a bit of a beast -- it's still "developmental".

Watchouts -- avoid Automatix, do not "be root" any more than you need to be to do system admin and software installation.

Be brave, have fun, and don't do experiments on critical data before you've backed it up.

[bgast1]

Re: Brand New to KDE 4 and Linux

Interesting thing happened, I went over to the regular Ubuntu forums and got some instructions on how to install Gnome and run both KDE and Gnome on my Kbuntu installation. I am in Gnome right now. Granted Gnome seems to be a lot easier right now, but I have always seemed to prefer KDE. In Linux, I prefer to use the terminal for commands if I know them. (I grew up with DOS). But, I can generally get around with the GUI. I found Adept to be pretty simple when used as instructed previously.

My graphics card is and ATI X1950 PRO PCIe card. A write-up I just read in a Linux magazine said that this card should handle Compiz and just about any game that I throw at it. I'm not so sure though. I got this program called Celestia and for some reason it is not performing very well. can't get any of the menus to drop down and the earth keeps flashing at me. That was the same with Google Earth, and I really want to get that program going well.

K3b has been the CD burning tool I have found to date. Sound Juicer for ripping, although K3b does that too.

Amarok is what I just got from Adept. I don't know if there are any better players out there than Amarok.

About being brave. I tend to be a distro junkie, but I think I will hang with this install for a while and try to play with distros through a virtual machine, but I have never tried that yet and will have to learn. I tried to use Debian, but couldn't get enough support over there quick enough, and had to abandon it for something a little simpler for the time being. Perhaps someday, I will take the plunge towards a Gentoo, or Slackware install. But for now, I just need a working machine until I can either buy or build a new computer.

There you have it, my whole Linux story to date.

Oh, by the way....Compiz is working with Gnome.