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Review: Kubuntu 5.04 "Hoary Hedgehog"
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CommentsKubuntu Linux is built upon Linux kernel 2.6.10, incorporates the Debian/APT package management system and X.org 6.8.2, and the brand new KDE 3.4. Kubuntu aims to be a regular, predictable release (approximately every six months, with frequent security updates) that is free of charge, fast and easy to install, and immediately useful.
Installation
The single-CD installation was almost a breeze. Kubuntu uses the latest Debian installer, which, though plain in appearance, is what it claims to be: fast and easy. I chose to install in "expert" mode, but even that was relatively simple. Aside from partitioning, the default options were good, and they will likely work for many users.
I experienced one minor hiccup, however, while shrinking a Windows NTFS partition to make room for Kubuntu. I entered the proper information for shrinking the partition without formatting it, but the warning I received before committing to the partition change sounded like Kubuntu might have plans to format the NTFS partition. It warned that all data on a partition to be removed or formatted would be destroyed. Since I had not selected any partitions to be removed or destroyed, I thought it was talking about the partition to be shrunk. I went ahead with only slight trepidation (there was nothing on this partition not backed up on DVD or my laptop), and it turned out everything was fine. I understand the desire to make sure that no one rashly enters hard disk partitioning, but excessive and unclear warnings can cause trouble as well.
The rest of the process proceeded without a hitch. My hardware (two CD/DVD drives, on-board graphics and sound cards, USB printer, and iPod) was all detected properly and set up, and I was logging into KDE 25 minutes after beginning the installation process -- definitely a "fast, easy install."
I was immediately struck by the attractiveness of KDE 3.4. It is elegant and, combined with X.org 6.8.2, it responds noticeably more quickly to keyboard and mouse entry than my current KDE 3.2/XFree86 4.3.99 combination on SUSE. The desktop is free of clutter, containing a simple wallpaper and no icons, and the taskbar contains only a handful of icons (Kmenu, a "system" link menu, Konqueror, Kontact, and the trash).
I began to customize the desktop, but ran into a roadblock with tasks for which administrator mode is required. Kubuntu does not allow root user logins by default (though one can execute su in a terminal window), and all administrator tasks are done via sudo. Unfortunately, when Kubuntu installed, it did not write any users to the sudoers file. As a result, any task attempted by sudo or KControlCenter's administrator mode failed. This is a regularly mentioned problem on www.ubuntuforums.org. Fortunately, Kubuntu did set up a root account on install, so this problem was easily fixed. Per several friendly users' instructions on ubuntuforums.org, I opened a terminal window, logged in via su, entered visudo, and added to the file the line [username] ALL=(ALL) ALL where [username] denotes my user name. That did the trick, and all was well. As this is a common problem with Kubuntu and Ubuntu, I hope that it will be addressed in a subsequent release or security update. (If you prefer to allow root logins to KDE, you can edit /etc/kde3/kdm/kdmrc as root and set AllowRootLogin= to "true".) After passing that little bump, the rest of my Kubuntu experience was quite smooth.
Installed packages
Kubuntu comes with a lean yet comprehensive set of packages, making it immediately useful for most common computing tasks. It features the KDE 3.4 staples -- Konqueror file manager/Web browser, Kontact mail/personal information manager, Kopete instant messaging, K3b CD/DVD burning utility, KPDF, KGhostview, etc. -- as well as a balanced selection of multimedia applications, the OpenOffice.org suite (version 1.1.3), graphical tools, games, and other applications. Though missing a few of my personal favorites (most notably, Firefox and the GIMP), I was very happy with the Kubuntu package selection. I appreciate the developers' decision to keep the entire distro on one CD. It prevents bloating and makes it faster to setup. It also makes it easier for those new to Linux, who may be overwhelmed by a 3,000+ package distribution. Incorporating one, occasionally two, applications for each task, Kubuntu's initial installation is easy to learn, covers the most common computing tasks, and would make an excellent first Linux distribution. Additionally, Kubuntu power users will not be found wanting, as several thousand applications are available online for easy installation via apt-get.
Work and play in Kubuntu
One can do a lot in Kubuntu using only the default packages. I encountered no difficulties in OpenOffice.org (though it sported the GNOME look, not the KDE look), Konqueror, Kopete, Kontact, or the KControlCenter. K3b noted a missing dependency: cdrdao. Once that was installed via apt-get (it's in the "universe" repository, if you're having trouble finding it), I burned a CD ISO image, a data DVD-RW, and an audio CD with no difficulty. PDF viewing and printing was not problematic in Kubuntu with KPDF, but I have found KGhostview (also included) to be more satisfactory in printing and displaying PDFs, so I changed the default PDF application from KPDF to KGhostview. Overall, however, Kubuntu's default applications performed their tasks quite nicely.
Multimedia was also quite painless in Kubuntu. Included on the install CD are AmaroK, Juk, Kaffeine, and KsCD, and -- aside from copyrighted DVDs -- all my audio and video media played with no trouble on the first try. Though many seasoned Linux users will immediately install their favorite apps among those that were not included (XMMS, MPlayer, etc.), Kubuntu provides a healthy dose of Linux multimedia apps for a new Linux user.
In Kubuntu, different audio file types open different applications by default (clicking on MP3 files opens AmaroK, AAC files open Kaffeine, and so on). Since many experienced users are likely to change the default multimedia applications no matter what they are, it seems that Kubuntu developers have chosen the default settings to help new users become familiar with several of the most common apps before settling on one or two to handle all their multimedia needs. I think this is a great idea, and one worth remembering when recommending a distro to a potential new Linux user.
Installing new applications
As a longtime RPM user, I first became interested in apt-get when using Fink, a Mac OS X port of apt-get, which manages installation of Linux/Unix ports to Mac OS X. I have since fallen for apt-get and the Debian package management system. Kubuntu uses apt-get and the Kynaptic front-end (a KDE version of Synaptic) to install, remove, and upgrade packages and even the distro itself. It is super-easy, and I did not have one dependency issue or failed installation among all of the packages I installed, whether I used apt-get from the command line or the Kynaptic or Synaptic front-ends. Additionally, most of the programs I installed found their way to the appropriate section of the Kmenu automatically, though I had to add a few manually.
It is also easy to add apt-get installation sources beyond those created during the Kubuntu installation: one simply edits the /etc/apt/sources.list file, and adds appropriate targets (some common ones are written into the file by default, but commented out with "#" characters; deleting "#" will make those available without searching for the source's URL). I encourage any current RPM users to take a serious look at apt-get (or apt4rpm). If I end up adopting Kubuntu as my primary distro, apt-get is likely to be the primary reason.
Bugs and missing features
After solving the abovementioned sudo issue, I encountered only a few minor problems. For instance, I noticed a few issues with Firefox after installing it. It was slow in loading when called, though once running it loaded pages at normal speeds. It also hung while trying to find and install appropriate Flash and Java plug-ins. Curiously, when I installed the complete GNOME package set, Firefox's speed issue was resolved, but the plug-in difficulty was still present. Perhaps these bugs are what kept Firefox out of the default package selection for Kubuntu (though it is the default browser for Ubuntu's GNOME desktop). Linux.com's review of the previous Ubuntu release mentioned Firefox bugs unique to Ubuntu as well, so I hope Firefox is on the top of the Ubuntu/Kubuntu developers' to-do list.
The rest of my Kubuntu experience was bug-free, but there were a few things I felt Kubuntu was missing. First, I missed having a central hardware/system manager like SUSE's YaST, as KControlCenter has minimal hardware control. However, since all my hardware was working properly on installation, this was not a necessity for me. I also would have liked to see more documentation, especially since Ubuntu has a help center linked from the GNOME toolbar, which is absent in Kubuntu. Customizing that document for KDE and putting it on the Kubuntu desktop would be a great help for many users new to Linux or KDE, as would a brief, printable document outlining the installation process and common questions and problems with installing. (The online resources available at ubuntulinux.org and ubuntuforums.org are helpful.)
I also found Kynaptic to be lacking in features. It is an incomplete version of Synaptic, a GNOME-based front end for apt-get, but with the KDE look and feel. I recommend installing Synaptic and using it instead, as it provides a more complete application, if you don't mind seeing the GNOME look in KDE. In fact, OpenOffice.org already incorporates the GNOME look in Kubuntu. Though some KDE-specific aspects of Kubuntu are appearing later than their GNOME/Ubuntu counterparts, I was encouraged by an OSDir.com interview with two of Kubuntu's lead developers, Andreas Mueller and Jonathan Riddell, who stated that plans for "user documentation" and a "better package manager" (among other things) were on the top of the list for the next release.
Will you Kubuntu?
In the week or so I've spent working with Kubuntu "Hoary Hedgehog," I've really come to like it. The installation and setup were fast and relatively painless, the KDE 3.4 interface is beautiful and quick to respond, and apt-get is a breath of fresh air to a long-time RPM user.
Will Kubuntu replace SUSE as my primary distro? I'm not sure yet. I need to live with it a little longer -- and check out the new SUSE release -- before making up my mind, but I'm tempted. I will, however, be burning a handful of Kubuntu and Ubuntu LiveCDs to distribute to friends who are interested in Linux. I think it would make a great first distro for many people, while providing the necessary tools for power users as well.
Comments
on Review: Kubuntu 5.04 "Hoary Hedgehog"Note: Comments are owned by the poster. We are not responsible for their content.
Jonathan Riddell
Could you specify your complains?
Why is,in your opinion, Kubuntu so much worse than Ubuntu?
And kubuntu is the same distribution as Ubuntu, so please tell us what is so about about it. Idiot!
It is the same concept as Microsoft calling programs "MS Office, MS Word, MS Project", etc.
In comparison, talking about KDE apps like Onqueror and Affeine doesn't really flow...
iTunes, iMovie, iPhoto, iDVD, iWork, iSync, iCal, iLife, iSight, iPod, iMac and iBook? Yet no-one complains.
I find it really surprising that so many people complain about the "K". It makes it easy to recognize the app as being a KDE-app. And IIRC by default KDE lists app by their description, and not by their name.
But every [censored] thing in KDE starts with or prominently includes a "K", and it's just pathetic. Call me a troll or idiot if you'd like, but I'd really like to KDE stop doing this so I don't have to dismiss it on the face just for being so ridiculously unprofessional.
Well then Sparky, how about you just don't use it as a form of protest while shutting that hole in your face.
Quote:
"And kubuntu is the same distribution as Ubuntu, so please tell us what is so about about it. Idiot!"
U really get upset about this huh?
Anyway I think ripping the heads of people who ask U a legal question is just as stupid as the K-naming thing, but if this is your normal behavior on the net, I'm sure glad I don't have to put up with U on a daily basis.
We don't read minds and not everybody can be expected to know the meaning of a distros name.
Be a little politer to people (although we cannot see U and cast a woodo-spell on U for being rude<nobr> <wbr></nobr>;-)
So give the man a brake! And find a more constructive way to use those agressions (start running marathon).
Oh! I won't be back on this site soon, so don't bother if U want to insult me - I won't eaven know U did<nobr> <wbr></nobr>:-)
ubuntu == 'humanity'
kubuntu == 'to humanity'
Kubuntu is not a fork. As to Kubuntu not having quality, go read the ubuntu-devel & kubuntu-devel mailing lists. If you did then you would find that Kubuntu GETS it's quality FROM ubuntu and that they both share many of the same resources & hackers like dan stone, jeff waugh, jriddell
There seems to be an article a week on every site. Is it possible that it is THAT good? I think I will try it, but it always seems to be the small refinements that separate the distros. I haven't read anything that rockets them past Fedora, Mandrake/driva, Suse, or even Knoppix in terms of popularity. (now before you flame, I am just wondering...)
Can anyone give me some pointers on Ubuntu's distiguishing traits? Or is it the Debian crowd migrating to this distro? I am confused.
I also dont like the way the forums work and how they show the date of poster.
I also had problems with apt using mepis yet I have never had that problem even once with ubuntu and I think its because mepis used ( uses:) more than one branch of debian ?
I found the IRC community TINY at best which is unacceptable to me for support.
I do not like qtparted ( I dont like kde in general cause well gtk really IS free 100% unlike kde ) thus I dont like mepis install period.
I just not get a professional feel to Mepis unlike ubuntu which also has a pleasureable and 'approachable' user base and ownership
bye
----
KDE is 100% free. (Specifically, the library parts of it are LGPL, the applications are GPL, and Qt is GPL.)
Some of it, I suspect, is because Ubuntu is the first polished free debian-based distribution. Debian has been able to stay a super-popular distribution even though it had no marketing and was behind the times. apt-get and the polish that comes with a debian system is just that good. ubuntu emulates that but is up to date.
the combination is mouth-watering.
that is hyperbole. in reality ubuntu has plenty of problems. It is the first new distribution i've used since i decided that debian was the distribution for me in 1997/8. i have used SuSE and mandrake on other people's systems. i prefer ubuntu's package management and simplicity. i can't speak to whether the hardware support is better -- there are certainly problems with it, but i suspect most aren't ubuntu specific.
if other distriubtions have better hardware support, then i look forward to the day when ubuntu has caught up. apt-get is just that good<nobr> <wbr></nobr>:) (that and i like the community feeling of ubuntu and debian)
The numbers on distrowatch are sadly notting to go by as they are manipulated. Usually new distributions get initially high scores mostly people like to see what the hype is about, as with Gentoo a while back. But they slack of after a while when the newness factor disappears. In addition some Ubuntu fanboys have in a organized fashion worked to get the hits up.
I avoid all Qt-based software because I am worried about Trolltech lock-in.
But that's just me. For people who aren't nervous about Trolltech, there were already lots of KDE-based distributions around, such as Xandros, Linspire, Lycoris, SimplyMEPIS, and so on.
The only thing I wonder about is, with all those other KDE-based distributions to choose from, why did some KDE developers feel it necessary to waste time trying to make a KDE version of Ubuntu? The only way it makes sense to me is as part of a Trolltech embrace-and-extend scheme, i.e. to make sure that everyone thinks of Qt as an integral part of Linux.
Have you ever had any shred of an inkling of a hint that the people working on Ubuntu have had any direct contact with Trolltech? Let alone had been directed by, paid by or instructed by Trolltech?
Have you got any idea of how the GPL works? It is impossible to lock software in using a GPL'ed library, because if the maker of that library starts committing iniquities, the users of the library can take the library for a run themselves. And don't tell me that Qt would die without Trolltech, development would just slow down to the speed of Redhat-sponsored Gtk. Any fear of a Qt-lock-in is plain silly. Unless you perhaps want to make closed-source software, in which case you deserve all the lock-in that's coming your way because you'd be a locker-in yourself.
Finally, are you the same less-than-sane person who made noise about Qt lock-in in reaction to the KDevelop article?
Well since I always run KDE on top of whatever distro I'm trying out I guess we make part of a cosmic balance.
And since it is GPL'd lock-in isn't an issue. What I worry about is Mono. Hopefully it won't infect Gnome too much before Microsoft drops that hammer.
Otherwise, the system has been okay. When I figure out how to fix the mouse config (ideas welcome), I'll do more investigation.
Whomever Changed The Log-In To GDM Should Be B...
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on April 22, 2005 03:03 AMKeep Gnomes garbage login and all other features that were dreamt up by Miguel and company while sharing a Bong with Steve Jobs away from KDE. This, the only half way decent Linux desktop has enough problems without importing any of Gnomes brain dead features.
Leave KDE, KDE or don't bother.
Re:Whomever Changed The Log-In To GDM Should Be B.
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on April 22, 2005 03:50 AMGDM allows easy configuration of XDMCP and a bunch of other things. Stop whining, asshole.
Re:Whomever Changed The Log-In To GDM Should Be B.
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on April 22, 2005 02:27 PMThemed KDM login is currently a hidden feature which I decided to use because it looks good and works well. Constructive suggestions for better artwork and defaults are welcome.
Re:Whomever Changed The Log-In To GDM Should Be B.
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on April 24, 2005 05:57 AMI have a small complaint. I have tried to install Kubuntu on two machines and on both have the same problem. When KDM should be waiting for my name/pwd the LCD panel stays blank (or even goes to sleep). I have to Ctrl-Alt-Bksp to shut down X to have KDM come up properly.
Had the same problem with the prerelease but thought it was a problem of the LCD.
Cheers
Re:Whomever Changed The Log-In To GDM Should Be B.
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on April 26, 2005 08:55 PMIn Ubuntu all users in group 'admin' are allowed to use sudo by default. Maybe the Kubuntu installer forgot to add your user to that group or the<nobr> <wbr></nobr>/etc/sudoers file was not overwriten properly.
I would consider this a very major bug and would build a new version, hear that, Kubuntu?
Methinks it's an "expert" mode bug.
One area where distros typically fall short is browser configuration. One way or another, every user who browses the web is going to hit an AVI file, and WMA file, MOV, RMA, or Flash file that's going to hit them up for a plugin. Thanks to (c) issues, some downloading and installing is inevitable. But it would really pay if Distros would deliver as much as they can to make this as painless as possible.
The $$$ OS's like Windoze and Mac OS-X deliver here. Kubuntu didn't do so well. My best experience so far has been with Fedora 3. It handled AVI files out-of-the-box, and RealPlayer links opened Helix Player (pre-installed). When a link happened that Helix couldn't handle, it presented a link to RealPlayer for Linux as an RPM. Clicking on it in Firefox opened the RPM in Fedora's package manager. One root password later and the stream started playing! Big win!
Suse, by contrast, couldn't handle RealPlayer links, but this thing called Plugger for Mozilla handled everything else pretty well.
Kubuntu, however, didn't have any of this, at least not out-of-the-box. Yeah, with a little hacking and synaptic, I got some of these things going (although I'm not certain which apps apps are ideal for what) but I had to install a RealPlayer binary by hand b/c Real doesn't offer an APT package (what's their problem, anyway?)
Anyhow, this is something I'd like to see worked better in the next release of Kubuntu. I think they put a lot of good work into this distro, but it would be a big win to preconfigure the apps so that Firefox and Konqueror look and act as good as possible against popular file formats on the web without making a new user hunt and hack a lot.
Also even if Kubuntu is a seperate distro why do they have to have exclusively KDE apps - ie. where's the GIMP in that graphics menu? Distros like Mandriva and SUSE which are historically by default KDE distros still include a shit load of GNOME or GTK apps simply because they may happen to be the best and most fully featured for the job (eg. GIMP).
Don't get me wrong - I'm 100% a KDE user but I just think its better not to duplicate an entire distro just to have a different desktop.
It's not a seperate distro, just different install and live media.
> Surely if you had the Kubuntu team working on KDE packages for Ubuntu as part of Ubuntu
That is exactly happening.
> then users could just pick GNOME or KDE or both during the install
KDE and GNOME don't fit both on a single installation CD.
> Also even if Kubuntu is a seperate distro why do they have to have exclusively KDE apps
That's not true, eg there is OpenOffice.org.
As I remember, I had to use about 3 of the seven Woody CDs just to get the standard apps I wanted.
You might notice that most of the LiveCD distros use one or the other for exactly the same reason (Knoppix vs Morphix, and so on.)
What about debconf? For example, you can configure the X server with "dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg".
1: what can my current system support in the linux world? Pentium III, 600 MHZ, Front side bus 100Mhz., Ram 256 and can expand. Cache Ram 512Kb.
2: I like the look of Kbuntu 5.04 and would like to try it. Is this feasable with my hardware?
3: Do I have the correct understanding that when installing something like this it will auto detect my hardware and load the proper drivers for them?
Any advice for someone just about to start out in Linux would be appreciated.
Thank you.
Have run Ubuntu here on a 433MHz Celeron no problem, although plenty of RAM always helps.
If you are worried about configuring hardware, you could try some Live CD distros like Knoppix,
or Kanotix, or even (K)Ubuntu, as these have superb (although not perfect) auto hardware
detection. This will 'get you going' until a little more familiar with the Linux way of things.
Good luck.
AMD k6 200, 256 meg ram, 10.2 disk and failed miserably. Attempted with both warty and hoary.
Hoary was a download and burn but Warty was shipped to me via the free link.
Apparently old hardware is not completely supported.
I may be wrong but I think their goal is to detect all hardware so the user doesn't even have to configure anything or think about - everything just works. Which I think they come pretty darn close to.
I ditched suse/fedora and am using ubuntu for everything. For me it just rocks - has everything and when I upgraded to Hoary all I had to do was apt-get dist-upgrade after changing the sources.list file. Very cool - the only thing that I know of that evens starts to come close to this and is supported by the manufacturer is Sun's live upgrade - but even with that you have to have a spare disk. I wish all of the unixes would adopt and support apt officially - I think that would a big step in the right directions for getting into corporations. But for now I am recommending ubuntu for any use in my company and if someone wants support they can still pay for it from ubuntu.
One last thing is they give you the desktops the way they are suppose to be - I tried to install the industrial theme on fedora and it still looked like bluecurve - which is okay but I think there are better ones out there than bluecurve.
So please keep up the great work Ubuntu - I think your distribution rocks.
How about other languages? Anyone have insight to a localized install other than English?
While auto-detection and all is nice for an inexperienced Linux user, it causes bloat. Many of us don't need several different apps that all do the same job either.
I'm not knocking them at all, they are what they are. Ubuntu has done a good job of creating a pair of distros that are easy for any newbie to install and use. I just prefer faster, leaner, and more custom options.
apt-get and rpm are related in some way but they are different things. You can use apt-get on rpm-based distributions such as Fedora. apt-get on fedora supports installing a local rpm and downloading dependencies from the internet. I don't know if debian's apt supports that. Last time I checked it, it didn't.
BTW, yum is much faster these days. I suggest you trying either fedora and yum or fedora and apt/synpatic combo. They work very well.
Debian & Gentoo all the way !
Jonathan Riddell
downloading vs free ordering?
Posted by: JelleB on April 21, 2005 05:45 PMDoes this hold true for Kunbutu as well? I much prefer KDE over Gnome, so a box of Kunbutu would come in handy.
Right now I use Debian Sarge, and I really appreciate the new competition that might hasten the new release of sarge as stable. It has been way too long now.
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