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Operating Systems Software GUI KDE Linux

Kubuntu, ArkLinux Announce KDE 3.4-Based Releases 176

Posted by timothy from the by-any-other-name dept.
arexx writes "Kubuntu, the new Linux flavour based on the fast-climbing Ubuntu but with a KDE desktop as standard has reached its first preview release, with the first full release due next month. ISOs and torrents are available for all major architectures from cdimage.ubuntu.com. Kubuntu is the first distribution to ship with the new KDE 3.4, released just two days ago. Existing Ubuntu users can grab KDE 3.4 with a quick and customarily painless 'sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop' in the nearest terminal window." Kubuntu isn't alone, though: as reader fixertechno puts it, "After 3 years of development, testing, and me waiting patiently, the first stable release of Ark Linux has been released; Bero's announcement is here. Ark Linux is a KDE based desktop version of Linux with similar goals of 'it just works' to Ubuntu Linux. If you've been waiting to try Ark Linux -- or any Linux distribution for that matter, now's the time!"
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Kubuntu, ArkLinux Announce KDE 3.4-Based Releases More

Kubuntu, ArkLinux Announce KDE 3.4-Based Releases

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  • Kubuntu is a word! (Score:5, Informative)

    by sethadam1 ( 530629 ) * <ascheinberg&gmail,com> on Saturday March 19, 2005 @06:57PM (#11987187) Homepage
    Before anybody starts up with the name, let me quickly quote the Kubuntu FAQ:

    What does kubuntu mean?
    It means "towards humanity" in Bemba.

    • Re:Kubuntu is a word! (Score:3, Informative)

      by zecg ( 521666 )
      It's nice that both Ubuntu and Kubuntu have meaning and that they both imply humanity.

      Ubuntu = humanity towards others Kubuntu = towards humanity

    • Re:Kubuntu is a word! (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Great, now what the fuck is Bemba?

      When did I miss the boat from Slashdot land to African linguisticville (I'm guessing to what Bemba is; I'll look it up later)? You gave the definition to keep people from thinking it's a fake word then expect us to know what Bemba is.

      • Re:Kubuntu is a word! (Score:5, Informative)

        by Trailwalker ( 648636 ) on Saturday March 19, 2005 @08:46PM (#11987760)
        Great, now what the fuck is Bemba?
        Here [worldlanguage.com] Windows is available in Bemba.
      • See def [emory.edu] for the full quote:

        "Bemba is a language spoken by 5 to 6 million people in Zambia, and in bordering areas of Tanzania and Congo (DRC). Bemba is one of the eight official languages of Zambia. It is the language of the Bemba people (population est. 1.7 million) and a major lingua franca across Zambia. Bemba is part of the Bantu language family (Guthrie's M.42), which consists of over 500 different languages throughout Central, Eastern, Western, and Southern Africa. Other Bantu languages include Swa

      • Great, now what the fuck is Bemba?

        Funny that in spanish, bemba means "big mouth" i.e a person that has very big lips, mostly african americans

    • Can someone help me? (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      I'm looking for a Linux distro which I can follow and mindlessly defend with religious zealotry. Should anyone dis my new-found distro they shall feel the point of my sharp Slashdot wit!

  • afrolinux (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    is there a distro that calls itself "afrolinux" or "ninux" or "libwackix" ?
    • Interesting that this was posted AC. Maybe Redneck Linux or Bigot Linux would be more to the poster's liking. And, apparently, whoever modded it +1 funny.
      • Ummm...isn't calling someone a redneck bigotry as well? Not to mention that it seems you are implying that all Southern US Male citizens (i.e. "rednecks") are bigots. I know, it's a tired argument...but come on! I am so sick of people assuming I am a racist bigot asshole just because I was born and raised in Georgia, USA.

        I suppose, by your way of thinking, that every person of Middle Eastern decent is a terrorist; that's another generalization that makes me sick.

        Ok...I'm guilty: I fed the troll. But I gue
        • I am afraid I must not have made myself clear. The parent post used a blatantly offensive racial stereotype - let's not pretend that we do not know what "ninux" meant. I agree that "Redneck" is just as offensive, and for the same reason - and that was precisely my point. I had hoped that the average Slashdot poster was above such behaviour - and I remain hopeful since the worst offenders do seem to post anonymously.

          Sorry if I caused any offence myself - that was exactly the kind of thing I was trying to

          • I do understand why you posted what you did, and I agree completely that he was way out of line in what he said. However, it does not excuse the fact that you were as offensive to me, my family and most people in the South as he was to people of African descent. You are just as guilty of bigotry as he is, no matter your intentions.

  • Finally (Score:2, Funny)

    by nekoes ( 613370 )
    Another linux distribution! ::cool::
    • yup ... more the better... but different philosophies pls ... if all want to be new redhat then we are going to be doomed... luckily ubuntu is very very clean so i am expecting kubuntu to be very clean as well :P more power to the astronaut!!!
  • Even though Ubuntu provides the best Gnome desktop available people have always whined about lack of proper KDE support in Ubuntu. Now, people will be able to come to Ubuntu for their KDE desktop needs. From my testing on my laptop, it is top notch.
    • Having used Ubuntu for a short time, I can assure you - Gnome takes a little bit of getting used to, and I can say for sure that while Ubuntu does provide users with the best gnome experience available (as parent states), Gnome 2.10 introduced a few more quirks - like, NO way to edit Application menus (nautilus:///applications does not work anymore). Also I had A LOT of trouble getting nvsound to compile and work with gstreamer. Gnome 2.10 is NOWHERE near ready for primetime. KDE 3.4 is way more polished, a

  • to avoid misunderstood (Score:5, Informative)

    by netdur ( 816698 ) on Saturday March 19, 2005 @07:00PM (#11987205) Homepage
    kubuntu is not based on ubuntu, kubuntu is ubuntu with KDE instead of gnome, it's from the same ubuntu team, anyway kubuntu mean "to humanity", it's real word

  • Kubuntu (Score:3, Interesting)

    by LifesizeKenDoll ( 783854 ) on Saturday March 19, 2005 @07:12PM (#11987277)
    I've tried Kubuntu out, it's very nice, although not perfect, but such things should be fixed by release (1 month).

    I use Ubuntu normally, and I feel Kubuntu is very important, because it allows those who prefer KDE to use Ubuntu as well.

    I'm just hoping there'll be a Xubuntu or something like it with XFCE

    • Re:Kubuntu (Score:3, Funny)

      by Jellybob ( 597204 )
      apt-get install xfce not good enough for you?

    • Re:Kubuntu (Score:3, Informative)

      by outZider ( 165286 )
      heh. apt-get install xfce4 did wonders for me. ;) For extra good times, add the repositories off the xfce site for the most up to date xfce. :)
    • And a Rubuntu with ROX and a Eubuntu with Enlightenment and ... hey, I've got an idea, why don't we just install the XFCE/ROX/Enlightenment/Foo-environment packages on a Ubuntu desktop! Yeah, that's a good idea! Hey yeah, Zsau's right! He makes a good point! Yeah!
  • Since Ubuntu is Debian's newer brother, it's great to see that they are coming up with different project to cover different needs, just like Debian. Debian covers the portability front (with loads of different ports working just the same way on different architectures), and Ubuntu the usability front with both KDE, Gnome and soon other ambients as well (XFCE and others).

    Before people go like "Why doesn't Canonical make one cd with both KDE and Gnome?", let me put it this way: the same reason why they don't

  • Ark has a long way to go (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Timesprout ( 579035 ) on Saturday March 19, 2005 @07:15PM (#11987298)
    I just had a look at the screenshot for the 'easy to use' network config dialog. It lists nice clueless user friendly things like

    eth0 running Ethernet adapter
    lo running Loopback adapter

    All of which is perfectly clear to the average end user so presumably this is why there is no help button. And they seem to have a problem spelling associated, there was no z in it last time I looked.

    So after a very very brief look I dont see anything particularly user friendly but I do see sloppiness.

    • Re:Ark has a long way to go (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      "And they seem to have a problem spelling associated, there was no z in it last time I looked. "

      Must be the american spelling ;-)

    • Re:Ark has a long way to go (Score:4, Insightful)

      by ctid ( 449118 ) on Saturday March 19, 2005 @07:26PM (#11987356) Homepage
      I just had a look at the screenshot for the 'easy to use' network config dialog. It lists nice clueless user friendly things like

      eth0 running Ethernet adapter
      lo running Loopback adapter

      All of which is perfectly clear to the average end user so presumably this is why there is no help button.

      I think you're being pretty harsh here. It's years since I looked at a network setup screen on my linux boxes; nowadays all that just seems to work immediately after installation. I suspect that the only people who use such tools are experts. As for the spelling thing, who cares? It's not as if anyone would fail to see what is meant by the word. The guy has created a whole distribution. I am personally prepared to overlook the odd spelling mistake from someone who offers me so much of his time for nothing.

    • Re:Ark has a long way to go (Score:5, Informative)

      by nutshell42 ( 557890 ) on Saturday March 19, 2005 @07:27PM (#11987360) Journal
      I've downloaded the kubuntu preview today and it had neither a graphical network configuration client (you could install one from a different repository but a lack of answers in the channel leads me to the conclusion that there's no gui way to change repositories) nor a way to change the (apparently hardcoded) settings for your monitor (I had to switch to a different virtual terminal, stop kdm, adjust xorg.conf and restart kdm to get 1280x1024 at a reasonable refresh) while the ark screenshots at least make me hopeful that it offers just that.

      Oh and they should really disable kde's ipv6 support by default, it makes some web pages incredibly slow because afaik it spams your nameserver with ipv6 lookups and it can be disabled with a simple environment var (reuters.com took 40s (!!!) to load with standard kubuntu and 6-7 with the variable set). I've already written that in the channel and I'm also aware that I've tested a preview version and I am hopeful that they'll do a lot of polishing in the weeks ahead. Just wanted to mention it.

      • I've downloaded the kubuntu preview today and it had neither a graphical network configuration client (you could install one from a different repository but a lack of answers in the channel leads me to the conclusion that there's no gui way to change repositories)

        In Ubuntu Hoary you can use the (GNOME-based) Ubuntu Update Manager to add new repositories, it is installed by default. (System -> Administration -> Ubuntu Update Manager, in the new dialog click 'Preferences')

        You can also run 'gnome-s

    • Re:Ark has a long way to go (Score:5, Insightful)

      by darthpenguin ( 206566 ) on Saturday March 19, 2005 @07:28PM (#11987364) Homepage

      While I won't argue with you about general sloppiness (I've never tried out that distro), I think it's necessary to understand that only a certain level of "clueless user friendly things" can be allowed.

      The dialog you mentioned (link [arklinux.org]) labels the eth0 interface as "ethernet adapter". How much more abstraction can you expect? Should it be labeled "thingy that lets your magic number-adding box 'talk' to other magic number-adding boxes through a metal wire which fits into a rectangular-like hole in the back of both boxes"?

      At some point, you have to expect the user to know what they're doing, or expect them to learn something. There is no way around that, short of having someone knowledgable literally hand-hold them through every step.

    • Re:Ark has a long way to go (Score:5, Informative)

      by Bero ( 93841 ) <bero.arklinux@org> on Saturday March 19, 2005 @09:07PM (#11987899) Homepage
      Thanks for the bug report! We've fixed the typo in the network config in current CVS, so feel free to update (and given the fact the tool was written by a German guy and a Swiss guy, enjoy the fact that the English translation works, apart from a typo ;) ).

      As for "Ethernet adapter" etc. being too hard to understand, this is quite possibly right, but how do you want to manually configure a network without knowing what it is?

      We'd be glad to hear of possible fixes for the next release.
      • This [debain.org] is how GNOME does it.

        So "eth0" is still visible, though it looks a bit easier since it's only a subtitle.
      • As for "Ethernet adapter" etc. being too hard to understand, this is quite possibly right, but how do you want to manually configure a network without knowing what it is?

        How about "network card"?

        If you want to make ethernet part of it, then "network card (ethernet)" is a little long but much better
      • Here another bug for you....how about asking the user during installation how they want to partition the drive instead of wiping all of the existing partitions and then installing. I lost my WinXP partition, and now have to re-install it. A little warning would have been nice too. Its not the data loss that bothers me as much as the time it takes to reconfigure everything. Thanks for wasting my time.
        • How about reading the buttons you click before clicking them?
          There's a large red warning on the "System Install" button saying it will wipe all your harddisks.

          You should have used the "Express Install" or "Parallel Install" options -- but we can't do more than warn you...
          • Hmm, I will take your word for it, it must not have been as obvious as others. I prefer Fedora Core's installer, it makes it pretty clear, and for that matter so does Debian based distros. Oh well. Thats what I get for making an impluse descision.

  • kubuntu-default-settings (Score:5, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 19, 2005 @07:20PM (#11987321)
    To get the full Kubuntu feeling (like themed kdm, Kubuntu wallpaper etc.) and not pure KDE 3.4 alone you have to "sudo apt-get install kubuntu-default-settings" additionally/instead.

    • Re:kubuntu-default-settings (Score:1, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      That's actually wrong: you only need kubuntu-default-settings if you installed kde-core but kubuntu-desktop depends on kubuntu-default-settings.

  • Oops (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    The whole purpose of Ubuntu having only Gnome is although choice is fine, a new user should be offered just Gnome, and is not to be bothered with any other desktop. Now the user is bothered with different ubuntu's before he/she even starts downloading or ordering a CD!

    Even worse, when Kubunto _also_ gains popularity, people will be able to help each other less. Much like the MacOS and Windows debates, groups of people will form around these and they don't usually sit next to each other, helping others with

  • Kubuntu Preview Screenshots (Score:2, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    shots.osdir.com [osdir.com]
  • Timothy is on a roll this is dup number 2!
    http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/16/ 1928222&tid=121&tid=106&tid=7 [slashdot.org]

    We should just copy and paste all of our old comments over? Why beat a dead horse?

  • Just for clarification: (Score:5, Informative)

    by stanthegoomba ( 805724 ) on Saturday March 19, 2005 @07:32PM (#11987380)
    Kubuntu is not just a derivative of Ubuntu like many Debian based distros. Kubuntu and Ubuntu are not meant to be separate, competing distros. In fact they are basically the same thing- you can apt-get install KDE in Ubuntu and Gnome in Kubuntu. The main difference is that Ubuntu COMES with Gnome and Kubuntu COMES with kde, instead of the Ubuntu team providing multiple CD's like most distros. Kubuntu FAQ [kubuntu.org.uk]
    • Ubuntu COMES with Gnome and Kubuntu COMES with kde, instead of the Ubuntu team providing multiple CD's like most distros.
      Ah, why provide multiple CDs when you can provide multiple distros?
      • "Ah, why provide multiple CDs when you can provide multiple distros?"

        Funny, yes, true, not quite. Kubuntu uses the same repositories as Ubuntu. The difference between the two is the default desktop.

        As it happens, my favourite way of installing Ubuntu is to do a server install (which is a minimal install with no desktop and no X) and then apt-get the desktop of my choice if I need one on that machine. The point is that I can choose either Gnome or KDE from the official Ubuntu repositories. Of course, I'm f

  • Hippie Linux? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by PocketPick ( 798123 ) on Saturday March 19, 2005 @07:40PM (#11987412)
    Don't get me wrong, i'm not trying to bash Ubuntu Linux (I'm sure it's a fine distribution), but don't others find the whole "Ubuntu Linux brings the spirit of Ubuntu to the software world" seem kinda hokey. I mean, I'm all for a user-accessible Linux accessible distribution but the whole idea of "Peace, Love, and Linux" just reeks of marketing gone wrong.
    • why not ? In fact , I like your phrase "Peace , Love and , and Linux" .. lol :P good job dude!
    • the hokeyness does do a lot though to make ubuntu more accessible to Joe or Jane Luser. i've already put several of my friends on it who would never have gone near linux otherwise... explained to them how to ask smart questions, and sent them to #ubuntu on freenode... and they are happy as can be :-)

      • Re:Hippie Linux? (Score:1, Funny)

        by Anonymous Coward
        i've already put several of my friends on it who would never have gone near linux otherwise... explained to them how to ask smart questions, and sent them to #ubuntu on freenode... and they are happy as can be :-)


        Funny, I just point my friends and relatvies to #debian on just about any IRC network, and for some reason I never hear from them again. ;)
    • Marketing gone wrong? Best kind. Marketing gone right means convincing people to buy things they don't need.
    • Don't get me wrong, i'm not trying to bash Ubuntu Linux (I'm sure it's a fine distribution), but don't others find the whole "Ubuntu Linux brings the spirit of Ubuntu to the software world" seem kinda hokey. I mean, I'm all for a user-accessible Linux accessible distribution but the whole idea of "Peace, Love, and Linux" just reeks of marketing gone wrong.

      It doesn't reek of marketing gone wrong. Its just reeks of good marketing. That is such a rare thing is the OSS world, you probably didn't recogonize it.

  • reminds me of that very old ben franklin engraving - join or die [earlyamerica.com].
    • With both versions being released by the same people, as a free choice, this is not what that old engraving was about. Now distros taking opposing sides on the whole KDE-Gnome flamewar is just the sort of behavior that the hacked up serpent was meant to symbolize, and oppose. Ubuntu is actually taking this step to avoid making the very mistake for which you are criticising them.

  • Ubuntu + KDE (Score:2, Insightful)

    by puiahappy ( 855662 )
    I am a big fan of the KDE Descktop and i am very happy to hear that ubuntu is having a release whit a kde desktop, Ubuntu Linux speed combined whit the beauty of KDE can bring this lilte distro to get listed in the major distro`s category. I am hoping the best for Ubuntu, i realy enjoy it.
  • How do I turn on transparency with the LiveCD in KDE? Don't see the option...

    • Re:Transparency (Score:2, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      a) Give the user a password (using sudo password ubuntu)
      b) Edit xorg.conf to load Composite extension (using sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf)
      c) Activate it in KDE ([x] Use transluency/shadows)
      d) Logout
      e) Login

  • Just got it last night... (Score:4, Informative)

    by dcuny ( 613699 ) on Saturday March 19, 2005 @08:40PM (#11987717)
    To use a cliche - Move along, nothing to see here...

    I really like the Ubuntu distro, and I'm seriously thinking of going that route with my next upgrade. Ubuntu really shows off the nice things about Gnome. (Except for the Human theme - give me Gorilla, please).

    In contrast, the Kubuntu doesn't really show off much of the latest KDE release. I booted it up, had a look, and [i]Zzzzzzz[/i]. Heck, it hasn't even got any games! I rebooted, and wiped the .iso from my disk.

    I'm hoping that someone else puts out a nice Live CD distro to show KDE off, but Kubuntu isn't it.

    • Mepis [mepis.org] is a great KDE/Debian based Live CD. It is basically a cleaner Knoppix, with a graphical installer option, unlike Knoppix's commandline script installer option (which is very much a hack). The great thing about Mepis's graphical installer is that since it is also a Live CD, you can surf the web while your OS installs :)
  • Just today morning, I was going over the Ubuntu live CD that I have at home and I was quite impressed. Very clean Gnome desktop. But then again, Gnome is a bit boring and I was disappointed that they had no KDE... and now they do. Yay :) I am happy again :). Alough a good UI is eye candy to some, a good UI is important to me when I'm coding. When I'm frustrated that my code doesn't work, that last thing I need to see is some dull UI that makes me even sadder.. :p
  • What I would really like is a LiveCD with LaTex. Anyone know of one, since Knoppix dropped support I've been a little frustrated...

  • Re: (Score:1, Offtopic)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 )
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • About a special windows license: Wubuntu (ancient african word meaning: blue screens for everyone). Wubuntu will use the upcoming Qt toolkit for Windows. Further down the road: Macuntu, OS2untu (pronounced: ozuntu). I can't wait. Gotta go now, strange beeps from my Nokia 7610. Guess Symbiuntu 0.01a is giving up.

  • Of course there are others with up-to-date KDE (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    E.g. take a look at the T2 SDE [t2-project.org]. It allows you to rebuild your CD or Live-CD any time with up-to-date packages including KDE and GNOME. Currently 3.4. and 2.10 are included since the day they have been released (GNOME even days before).

    And of course it supports nearly all architectures Linux does support - current: alpha, arm, mips, hppa. ia64. powerpc, powerpc64, sparc, sparc64, superh, x86 and x86-64.
  • I have seen Ubuntu. Yeah, it's good that it's based on Debian. Most of the drivers are built in, so you don't have to compile your own. It's a bit freaky when you have to compile drivers right off the bat when all you want is to get your sound/wireless/hardware working. But what's the big deal with Kubuntu anyways. I really don't get it!! all you need to do is 'apt-get install kde-base kdm' on ubuntu. I think it's a big wate of time, and all the guy need to have done is to post on ubuntu wiki on how to ge
    • Convenience? Ease of use? Saving bandwith? Saving time? All of the previous?
      You don't see the big difference with downloading one ISO, versus downloading one ISO and then download an additional desktop to replace the one you got from the ISO? I'd guess you are trolling, honestly you can't be that dense?
    • But what's the big deal with Kubuntu anyways. I really don't get it!! all you need to do is 'apt-get install kde-base kdm' on ubuntu.

      Its more than just KDE. Its a set of metapackages that installs at one time every program a KDE distro is expected to have. Its a way to use the Ubuntu base without installing Gnome. Its a kickass way to fly!

  • lets for all major distros on the sole basis of dekstop environement choice, because it's so hard to make an apt-source with KDE on it. ...even if KDE looks like a garbage truck colliding with a toys'r'us...
  • I am SOOOO happy about Kubuntu. Why? Because finally things I plug in (pen drives, CDs) pop up on the desktop like in Gnome. Project Utopia kicks ass, and I like the fact that the new KDE takes advantage of it!

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