kubuntu 9.04 – my experiences

Today, I installed Kubuntu 9.04

• The Good

1. installs from within windows on ntfs (i’ve stopped attempting to install suse and sabayon for this reason)
2. detects wireless (no wireless problems in linux since two years now)
3. isn’t crashing (not that i have used it much or pushed it, for that matter)
4. looks beautiful (this is one important factor that is keeping me tied to this)
5. KDE4 widgets are kick-ass. cool!!
6. its closing on with Ubuntu wrt functionality (i fundamentally like KDE, was a GNOME user due to Ubuntu’s remarkable features)
7. installing software is easy. (installed opera as binary, codecs and related stuff with kubuntu-restricted-extras apt meta-package, including flash and java)
8. Bundles software for most requirements are very good. Definitely a plus over gnome apps, I personally feel.

• The Bad

1. Graphics issue. Drivers. Compiz doesn’t work. major blow. (I don’t care if it isn’t their issue. I am not blaming anyone. Just that, it doesn’t work for me)
2. Restricted Hardware Driver isn’t mentioning that graphics card has propreitory driver. (I read that there isn’t one yet, for Jaunty+ATI)
3. Sound from two sources – still buggy (youtbe in opera didn’t give sound with amarok paused)
4. window manager themes could be better. (The destop looks beautiful, the windows not anywhere so)
5. mouseless operation not comfortable (maybe its just me, being new to this desktop environment. buttons are tiny, mouse usage reqd is heavy)
6. Keyboard media keys didn’t work out-of-the-box. configured them for amarok alone, but yet they don’t act as global shortcuts now.

Its otherwise a very good software. Remarkable in the fact that it is all this, and yet free. who are these ppl who write this software?? where are they? @ http://twitter.com/arbitya/status/2080048754

screenshot – http://dailyscreenshot.wordpress.com/2009/06/09/kde-4-and-desktop-widgets/