Kubuntu Sucks (But KDE Doesn’t): The Ubuntu Feisty Fawn 7.04 Review

My rating of Kubuntu 7.04: 5.4 /10
My rating of Ubuntu 7.04: 9.1 / 10

Ah well, for a person like me who keeps on changing OSs at the drop of a (red) hat, sticking to one (Freespire) for one year got too tedious. Freespire 2 was supposed to be released in June, but it’s been delayed week after week. So I got bored, with just one exam (physics) left, and decided to install Kubuntu.

Now the thing is, they haven’t done any changes to speak of – they just took the latest KDE version and dumped it in, with practically no changes. KDE is always a looker, with loads of eye candy without hoggin resources, and sure ‘nuf, it showed that. However, my troubles were just beginning.

For a start, Kubuntu doesn’t support the codec prompt for installing codecs like Ubuntu does. I thought, ohkies, whadev, I’ll install it via the package manager. And guess what? The package manager doens’t allow me to install anything! Yup, software listed, unless on the system already, was greyed out. Which basically means, I could only unistall stuff. Moreover, it didn’t even SHOW all the packages generally found in Ubuntu repositories.

I then went to the Kubuntu site for documentation about this, and found that they only have it up to version 6.10. Crap. Within an hour of installing, Kubuntu was on its way out from my system.

The interesting thing to note is that I was not at all disappointed with KDE, because its newer version sports an even cooler look – and remember this is just the default package which doesn’t have any mods. KDE sports a much more sophisticated feel, and I’m far more comfortable with it, anyday.

It was time for Ubuntu then. Installed without a hitch, and the codec prompts worked this time. It’s worked like a charm till now, except for the fact that I don’t like Gnome, and there seems to be a bug in its Rythmbox music player (Amarok rocks!). I also hate the fact that Gnome offers less customisation than KDE, and makes you run around the whole desktop to change related stuff. That’s one more advantage of KDE – a unified control center which handles every goddamn thing about your OS, so it’s easier to quickly access and change stuff. Also, Ubuntu initially had problems setting my network up and needed a reboot to register changes, unlike Kubuntu which implemented them realtime.

And then the apps. KDE’s defaults, like K3B, Kaffeine, Amarok, Kopete etc etc win over their default Gnome counterparts, hands down, anyday. KDE apps sport a much better look, and are definitely more advanced. You can check it out.

Ah well, Ubuntu as my OS now then…

PS – For those who’ve been waiting for my LG Dynamite phone review, a big sorry! While changing my OS I forgot to back the half-written post on that topic, and I’ll have to start all over again. Now I need to start my physics exam prep though…