UPDATE: Reviews of the full versions are being posted, Ubuntu Lucid Review here.

ANDANOTHERUPDATE: You can read the review of the Kubuntu Lucid Release Here

After reviewing PC-BSD and noting how it is hamstrung by KDE 4.3.5, I decided to give Kubuntu a spin. Since I wanted the newest Kubuntu I decided on going for the upcoming Lucid Lynx version.

Here’s what I found…

First Impressions

Kubuntu is gorgeous. KDE is gorgeous. The theme chosen for Kubuntu is gorgeous.

Wow it really is pretty…

It certainly feels very snappy.

KDE 4 has come along very well. It is pretty, and more stable than earlier KDE 4 versions.

When compared to my romp in PC-BSD land I think the Kubuntu folks have done a stellar job.

Checking out the Playground

(Click on the image to enlarge)

Again some features of KDE ruin what could have been a great desktop environment. Konqueror is a total failure. It refuses to render my WordPress admin interface properly. Firefox doesn’t ship with Kubuntu by default, but under the “internet” menu there is a Firefox install button that works a charm. I actually stopped writing this review in order to install Firefox. Sigh, now I can go on my life. Konqueror should not be used as a web browser. (Note, after running an update Konqueror somehow started rendering my admin interface properly again. Go figure)

Plasmoids behave erratically too. Last night, if I had more than one plasmoid open on my desktop they refused to stay where I put them and rearranged themselves whichever way they wanted. Also some of them would just close. Today, for some reason, they behave perfectly.

The KDE wifi manager takes a bit to get used to. If you are not careful you will add a new WIFI ssid over what actually is an old one and then you will not be able to connect. Then you need to remove the whole WIFI entry for that SSID and start from scratch. Wifi does not connect automatically either, I need to tell it to connect every time.

When I log in the KDE wallet dialog pops up and asks me to enter my wallet password because the plasmoids want access, I find this mildly irritating.

Software Updates

Software updates are handled rather elegantly by Kubuntu, it is unobtrusive and easy to use. I do note the absence of the Ubuntu Software Center from the menus. I would have thought that a child distribution endorsed by Canonical would include the Ubuntu Software center, especially now that paid-for services become available.

After installing Kubuntu I was notified that there were some updates available. I downloaded and installed them. Beta 2 has just been released! Time to upgrade…

Beta 2

Right update completed (via sudo aptitude update && sudo aptitude distribution-upgrade) and now I am playing around in Kubuntu Lucid Lynx Beta 2. Not a lot has changed. The interface looks the same, and KDE wallet still wants my password every time I log in from reboot. I still have to enable my wifi connection every time (more on that below) and Konqueror is still slower than Firefox.

WIFI issues

KDE wifi is a pain. Every time I reboot I need to click on the wifi Icon on the taskbar and activate it. It should do that automatically unless there are only new access points available. Ubuntu with its much maligned network manager applet does a better job.

Suspend!

So Friday after work I closed the lid on my laptop and plonked it the bag. Arriving home I had a steaming hot laptop. KDE never suspended! Ubuntu, and every other Gnome centric distro that I have used on this laptop has done this faultlessly. In fact the only time I have previously had this was on my previous laptop with Windows XP, and on this one with Vista/Windows 7 that have misbehaved a few times, with Windows I have started making sure it suspends before I put my laptop in my bag. Not cool Kubuntu, not cool. I nearly lost my laptop through overheating.

Ironic that I trust Windows 7 less than Ubuntu when it comes to suspending properly.

Plasmoids

I am a bit torn on the usefulness of desktop widgets, or plasmoids in KDE lingo. I use my computer. I don’t sit and stare at the desktop all day. Plasmoids or widgets are lost on me, since a window always covers them. That said, KDE ships with some really useful and fun plasmoids. The uBlog plasmoid is one that I really like. I can tweet directly from my desktop, and that I like. Ubuntu Lucid also has Twitter support built in, and you can tweet from your panel.

I prefer the option of tweeting straight from the panel, because with uBlog I would need to constantly minimize whatever it was that I was working on to tweet, where with Ubuntu I would be able to tweet from the panel, simply calling down a little dropdown menu to tweet and going on with my life.

Plasmoids are very pretty though. (Click on the image to enlarge)

Dolphin and FTP

Dolphin lets you upload files with FTP. I have noted this in my previous review of PC-BSD, and also that Nautilus also has this feature. Dolphin, however, has a funny quirk where I cannot connect to my FTP server, complaining that there are too many concurrent connections from my IP address. When I use Filezilla immediately afterwards though I can upload to my hearts content. Nautilus does not display this problem.

Summary

Kubuntu seems to use more battery than Ubuntu Lucid. At least according to my very scientific “hmmm my battery needs charging more often than with Ubuntu” day to day tests. Kubuntu Lucid is gorgeous. Rally pretty. The theme is beautiful, and the background is awesome. It is nippy and useable. Konqueror is a royal pain as far as web browsers go though, and the Kubuntu team, and really any other KDE centric distro, should consider using FireFox as their default.

UPDATE: Reviews of the full versions are being posted, Ubuntu Lucid Review here.

ANDANOTHERUPDATE: You can read the review of the Kubuntu Lucid Release Here

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