[NBLUG/talk] ubuntu-9.04-desktop-i386.iso

Troy Arnold troy at zenux.net
Fri Apr 24 19:40:44 PDT 2009


On Fri, Apr 24, 2009 at 04:52:58PM -0700, Bob Blick wrote:
> Maybe a little off-topic, but I installed both Kubuntu 9.04 and Ubuntu
> 9.04 on VirtualBox and Kubuntu is really a disappointment. 
> 
> My desktop machine at home is running Kubuntu 7.04 and I was really
> looking forward to updating it. 
> 
> But no way am I putting Kubuntu 9.04 on it as things stand. 
> 
> I'm used to KDE being slower than Gnome, but it runs as slowly as if
> it's on a live CD. I'm running this on a fast machine and I installed
> the VirtualBox extensions and turned on all the accelerations.
> 
> The new replacements for the old KDE apps are missing functionality.

Yep, they're trying to strike a balance between "release early, release
often" and release "when it's done".

> Are the KDE developers actually testing the stuff they write? On
> realistic hardware?

I haven't tried 9.04, but kde 4.3 on 8.10 performs just fine for me, although
I don't run it in a VM. By default kwin 4 uses compositing, so it will
likely be slow in a VM without accelerated 3D hardware.  I use kde more out
of habit than loyalty, and although I'm not always happy with the UI
decisions, I give the devs props for showing some real desktop innovation.
Some things are just different than we're used to and you have to try and
understand where they're coming from before passing judgement ( I do agree
that some kde4 stuff is just buggy).  For example, I think think the
dolphin file manager is terrific, once you understand how it works.  It's
the first FM that doesn't make me immediately drop to a terminal
(although you can, quickly, by hitting F4.)

> I guess I'll follow Linus and relearn using Gnome :(

Hmmm.  Good luck with that.

Remember that Gnome and KDE are really "Desktop Environments", if your
primary applications aren't the Gnome or KDE core apps, and you don't use
the desktop widget things, then there's not a whole lot of reason to use
either.  I like xfce a lot as i think it strikes a nice balance between
eyecandy, functionality and lightweight.  I also think that in terms of
productivity, a good window manager that lets you work the way you want is
the key.  I happen to use compiz/emerald over kwin  because it's
configurable as can be and I have a fast video card that would otherwise
have nothing to do :)

-t



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