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this is a great release for Kubuntu maybe even the best ever! I am so excited to see what the feedback is for this release . . . the Beta feedback has been great so I am looking forward to the full release testing. :)
Edit: I just noticed this link goes to the download page so here are some more links that might be beneficial
Kubuntu Blog post about the release: https://kubuntu.org/news/kubuntu-18-04-has-been-released/
Release Video for Kubuntu 18.04: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzuylNzpZIw
The biggest irony for me was that Windows attempted to stuff updates down my throat at every opportunity, which I did not want, because a decent number of the updates only provided Microsoft with an advantage, not me. (Silverlight, DRM updates, spyware/telemetry/countless gigabytes of Windows 10...)
Then I switched to Kubuntu, which did not stuff the updates down my throat, only for me to realize that I never had any reason to say no to those, so I just set them to auto-install and come into effect when I rebooted (admittedly, that was still manually).
Title and menu bars: With GNOME 3 applications you have two bars: Panel + title bar (which is equal to the main toolbar and saves lots of space). Example is gedit or Nautilus. Other applications have a separate title bar, because they are not adapted to GNOME. If you don't like the current theme (which also sets the height for the title bar), you can easily change it with the GNOME Tweak Tool.
Workspace switching: CTRL + ALT + Arrow keys
Window positioning: SUPER + Arrow keys
Just because you don't want to learn a new desktop environment/GUI concept, doesn't mean that it is bad. I'm using GNOME Shell since 3.0 and I have really grown to love the way it's doing things. I have tried different desktops like KDE, but I always felt that their way of doing things was complicated and inefficient.
As you can see this is simply personal preference (e. g. I hate traditional panel based desktops and one of the reason is that they don't work well with multi-monitor laptops) and if you don't like something, there are always alternatives available.
Good luck with achieving your goal!
>1) Assuming I go with Ubuntu on the MBP, will it be easy enough to transition over to Steam OS/Arch, or should I try to go with Arch from the start?
It will mostly be easy to transition from Ubuntu to SteamOS. If you don't use the command line, you should be able to install mostly the same things on SteamOS or Ubuntu (for instance: steam, firefox/chrome, lutris)
If you use the command line though (which I wouldn't recommend but it seems your guides tell you to use it), there will be some differences. (For instance, in the cberner guide, they tell you to use apt-get and dpkg, both of them don't exist on arch)
>2) Are there any pitfalls to running Linux on a Mac that I ought to be aware of?
I don't have a Mac so I have no idea. But if you're worried about screwing your Mac, you don't have to install Linux. You can run it from your usb stick even without installing it on your hard drive.
Also, I agree with what starlogical said:
>You'll wanna use KDE as your main Desktop Environment because that's what SteamOS will use by default.
If you want Ubuntu with KDE preinstalled, you can install Kubuntu instead.
As far as I know, Ubuntu is mostly the same as Kubuntu, since both are made by the same company. So the guides should work for Kubuntu too.
Kubuntu 20.10 reached end of life at July 22nd so you won't get more updates, maybe you want to upgrade to version 21.04. Take a look to this link for more info https://kubuntu.org/news/kubuntu-20-10-groovy-gorilla-reaches-end-of-life/
Yes to KDE, however I would rather recommend the "Folder View"-widget. It's the widget in the center here.
The way the Folder View widget works is that it shows the contents of a folder from your filesystem. So, like in the screenshot, you could have your picture collection on the desktop, or a listing of your recently downloaded files.
Or you could create folders specifically to contain your various sets of desktop icons.
Probably a bit clunkier in the initial setup, as you have to create the folder first, then go into the settings of this Folder View widget to tell it that it should display this particular folder, but from there on out, I think you could do everything with it that you can do with StarDock Fences (though I don't really know StarDock Fences).
KDE is a Desktop Environment. A good beginner-friendly Linux distribution that comes with KDE as Desktop Environment is Kubuntu.
https://kubuntu.org/news/kubuntu-18-04-has-been-released/
> "Upgrades will not be enabled immediately at release time. They will become available when the release team are happy with the final state of the archive for upgrades."
This could be why something isn't working.
Obscure Linux distros often lack the personnel to maintain active development needed to ensure functionality and usability that mainstream distros would generally offer.
You may have more success with Debian or one of the ubuntu variants such as kubuntu
Distrowatch also claims Freespire is a discontinued distro.
You can.
You can download Kubuntu in the first place, which is ubuntu with KDE.
https://kubuntu.org/news/kubuntu-20-04-lts-has-been-released/
Or if you already have ubuntu installed, you can switch to KDE.
https://linuxconfig.org/how-to-install-kde-plasma-desktop-on-ubuntu-20-04-focal-fossa-linux
For very lightweight it has to be Bunsen Labs although a minimal install of Kubuntu uses ~450M at boot which isn't bad for KDE. I'd expect that to drop even more when Plasma 5.13 hits.
Installing DEs on top of each other might cause some problems, some breakage might occur, so I'm not sure if it's the best idea.
Sure he can try, but if it doesn't work out, there's always KDE Neon (official KDE distro) or Kubuntu (official Ubuntu KDE respin), no idea which one offers a better experience. KDE Neon has the latest version of KDE from what I know though.
If you can see it in the bios, load up a linux ISO on a USB drive and use gparted to format it to something windows will recognize. Possible it came from the factory raw, or also possible it is defective.
This is probably the easiest to use as the interface is very similar to windows on the live USB. https://kubuntu.org/getkubuntu/
try kubuntu. Its ubuntu but the de is KDE plasma, which is a nice looking distro that won't eat your ram that much. Use it for a month or two until you get the hang of linux and then switch to another distro of your choice. Ubuntu is very popular, which means there are tutorials and guides more than most distros there are so learning linux with it will be easier.
setting up a VM, or converting a secondary computer are some great ways to ease into Linux use.
it's come a long way over the last 8-10 years. last time i played with a version, i really liked Kubuntu. but you should explore the differences on your own, to help get a feel for them.
Hey buddy, nice post :) I defended Free software here myself when someone bemoaned Free software being used by ICE.
GNU/Linux and Free software are the first steps toward fully automated luxury gay space communism. It's completely free, owned by everyone, available to everyone to use and modify, not driven by profit or other sinister corporate goals. And it's pretty friggin' good.
I mean really, if you use Windows because it came with your computer, you're basically admitting that capitalism and corporations know what's best for you. Try using something different and better. You can try it out without making any changes to your computer so you can see what it's like. My favorite is Kubuntu.
And you don't have to code to help, I helped the community by submitting bug reports and fixing typos and English in software. These guys work quick and it's fun to see your fix get picked up and distributed to people :)
If you are using NVIDIA, I'd recommend Pop!_OS from Linux system manufacturer system76. It can setup NVIDIA's official proprietary driver automatically.
Otherwise, almost any other will do since the AMD and Intel drivers are baked directly into the Linux kernel itself. I personally recommend Kubuntu or Linux Mint for newbies.
Don't push yourself until you can't take it anymore, that's stupid. Try different and see if you like it. That laptop could run something like Kubuntu and you'd see if you like that.
This is doable with Kubuntu too!
I've added the backports PPA and now I have both KDE Plasma and KDE frameworks upgraded to the latest version.
It's very easy to do it, as it's explained here:
https://kubuntu.org/news/plasma-5-23-available-for-kubuntu-21-10-impish-indri-in-backports-ppa/
You really need to give KDE Plasma "kubuntu" a try. You'll love it much more than plain old Ubuntu. Light years ahead of Windows 11, and much more visually appealing than Ubuntu. I'm running it on a 6 core Vishera FX setup with 16GB of ram and it beats Windows 10 hands down in the performance department, as well as most other areas. Here's a link to their web site. https://kubuntu.org Check it out and watch the videos on the main page.
You can put Ubuntu 20.04 LTS on it and install MS teams on there. it should run better than windows 10, smoother than that maybe just Kubuntu 20.04LTS. A quick internet search shows MS Teams is available on Linux: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=microsoft+teams+linux&ia=web
Ubuntu: https://ubuntu.com/#download
Kubuntu:
If you need more help feel free to ask :)
Sounds like you didn't really put in enough effort to find at least one good distribution.
Try Kubuntu. Even if you don't like the UI design, you can always change it and it's not that difficult to do. No coding/commands needed. The KDE provides enough customization that Windows and Mac failed to do so.
If it's the environment rather than the UI design... There's ReactOS, which isn't Linux at all. It's an open source copy of Windows.
Use KDE for your UI, because it can look like <em>everything</em>, and encourages exploration while providing sane default settings if you don't want to tinker. If I was to pick one distro, I'd tell you to go Kubuntu. You'll be comfy for quite a while.
Remember that Windows will not see your linux partitions. If you have a 1TB, you'll probably have two partitions for linux ("/" and Swap), alongside your NTFS partition. As long as the system can let you select between the two options - Microsoft loves clobbering bootloaders for linux - you'll be able to boot both. But only linux will be able to see all the partitions on your drive.
Get the program Linux USB installer.
It's for windows.
Download an ISO file for thendiareo you want. Theres like 1500 or so. But the most common are distros like mint or Ubuntu.
The thing is. Ubuntu is using a desktop environment called gnome. You can also get one called xfce which would make your Ubuntu into a xubuntu. Or you can get KDE which makes it a kubuntu.
The difference is basically just how it looks. Under the hood it's the same.
Kubuntu is pretty easy to work with and looks alot like windows.. So you can start with that.
https://kubuntu.org/getkubuntu/
Here for example.
If you get this ISO and you run the Linus USB creator and let it make an USB bootable with kubuntu you can try and boot from it. You can even test your Ubuntu ( kubuntu) without installing anything
To do a full install you need to make sure you back up everything you want to keep.
And I strongly recommend you have an USB with windows installer just in case.
It's very simple to install Linux. I dare say it's easier and faster than windows. It takes in the ballpark of 10-15 minutes from you run the installer til it's done.
https://kubuntu.org/contribute-to-kubuntu/
is the perfect place to let your appreciation work ;-)
Its not just perfect on a Mac. On an average PC, Kubuntu runs like a charm and sometimes, when I read which trivial and stupid issues the users of "Mother Ubuntu" have, I wonder why Kubuntu isn't No. 1.
18.04 already was very good, but 20.04 brings us a little more towards perfection.
4th Google result for "kubuntu 19.04" - https://kubuntu.org/news/kubuntu-19-04-reaches-end-of-life/
>Should for some reason your upgrade be delayed, and you find that the 18.10 repositories have been archived to old-releases.ubuntu.com, instructions to perform a EOL Upgrade can be found on the Ubuntu wiki [3].
That sounds like the simplest option as it should be quicker to upgrade just the packages you have installed while your system is running rather than downloading a whole DVD ISO.
Just give em Kubuntu first off IMHO —-
OP create a live USB https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/tutorial-create-a-usb-stick-on-macos
Test this out and get comfortable from the Live system. On April 23rd the latest LTS long-term support release will go live. I’d say ideally you can use the 20.04 daily builds to create the live USB but more likely you’ll see people recommend using the 19.10 version
https://kubuntu.org/getkubuntu/
Kubuntu is just Ubuntu with a different “desktop environment” don’t worry much about that now. I’m recommending this one because of its ease of customization and you can easily make it look and feel similar to MacOS if you want/need to.
6GB should really be enough. Now the suspect is the disk.
Lubuntu is here: https://lubuntu.net/
Xubuntu is here: https://xubuntu.org/download/
Kubuntu is here: https://kubuntu.org/
When you install one of these and use the default Desktop of the other, only the login screen and lock screen might behave odd or different. The menus and applications should behave exactly like in the other. You can try out any of those from a live USB, install the other desktop environment and try out, all this without actually installing any of these OSes. You can do this because you have 6GB of RAM and all desktops + apps fit in that amount of RAM.
So, try before you install. You just need a spare 4GB pen drive (or DVD drive if your laptop still has a working one and you want to keep DVDs handy)
Try to get the latest minor versions, e.g 18.04.2, in each case.
I think you are refering to Kubuntu.
Kubuntu as well as Ubuntu is an operating system. The difference is that the first uses KDE Plasma 5 as desktop environment, and the other one uses Gnome 3.
If I understand correctly you want to install Kubuntu desktop interface (KDE) on your Ubuntu. I would totally be against that, it probably would generate conflicts. Is better that you download the Kubuntu ISO from the oficial website: https://kubuntu.org/getkubuntu/ But that will erase all your installed programs and games.
If you just want to install KDE on your Ubuntu, install the kde package. It will work all your programs, games and existing drivers. Maybe it will works worse, or even better, in comparison from your original Ubuntu, there are substantial differences between Gnome and KDE like all the compositor and the resource consuming.
Hope it helps.
Kubuntu - kde beta ppa, KDE neon dev git-stable edition iso, Fedora rawhide iso, Opensuse kde unstable repos. Or maybe set up a Docker environment (probably too much effort though).
Probably test on an old secondary machine with a cheap ssd or older spinner hdd (that you don't care about).
> Awesome information. Thanks!
Your welcome friend :)
Diagnosing any computer network or pc problems generally benefits from employing an efficient process of elimination strategy by eliminating the most common contributing causes of problems first thus also creating a "clean room" test environment.
If all of your pc builds are using microsoft windows that's typically the first suspect cause of every significant problem worth eliminating as a contributing cause of "issues".
This is also where a linux livecd flashed to a usb stick using rufus eliminates any of microsoft's common software blunders and flaws from polluting any tests you attempt.
Linux livecd booted from a usb stick cannot be modified to any software specifications that differ from the specifications supplied by the linux distro provider. Linux livecd's in "try me mode" also use system ram as temporary data storage instead of a hard disk eliminating that potential bottleneck.
Give that a try and you might find the results to be surprising and revealing.
https://kubuntu.org/getkubuntu/
Isolating common high probability causes of complications from contributing to any attempted test results often yields more reliable and believable test results at reduced waste of valuable time to achieve a satisfactory diagnostic confirmation.
You could try
https://www.qt.io/ and https://kubuntu.org/
EDIT: from my understanding you need to compile QT? In which case you can use Kubuntu as it already uses KDE by default and QT is installed by default, too, but distributions won't have the latest version of Qt since they must first test it and package it, so you'll need to install using e.g. the online installer.
In Kubuntu, if you want this update right now you have to add the backports repository. AFAIK the plasma version in default Kubuntu has been on 5.12.x for a while.
The command to add the backports repo: sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kubuntu-ppa/backports
Here is more information: https://kubuntu.org/news/plasma-5-14-3-update-for-cosmic-backports-ppa/
Note that you also have to be on 18.10
Information on how to upgrade here: https://linuxconfig.org/how-to-upgrade-ubuntu-to-18-10-cosmic-cuttlefish
Before doing all this, don't forget to backup your system
Linux has come a long way.
Try Kubuntu - https://kubuntu.org/ It's Ubuntu but with the KDE Plasma GUI. It's literally better and nicer to use than Windows. The only downside is that gaming on it is harder.
Or try one of the many Linux distro's for free.
I'd recommend Kubuntu, its Ubuntu with KDE as the desktop environment, opposed to Gnome 3, which I feel is crap out of the box, and still slightly crappy with good addons/tweaks.
​
Kubuntu, for other noobs in here could be a good alternative too! Based on ubuntu. Has lots of documentation, using the well-known linux Desktop Environment called KDE. Easy to install and use.
Often I show up in these kinda threads and I lecture people on backups, but it sounds like you know what's up, so here we go:
If you can physically remove the drive from the PC, you can connect it to another computer with a SATA cable or USB 3.0 to SATA dock to access your files.
If you can't, use another PC and a USB drive to create a bootable USB drive of Kubuntu Linux: https://kubuntu.org using the Rufus tool: http://rufus.akeo.ie
Then startup the computer by pressing whatever button on screen says "boot prompt" or "override", usually F2, F9-F12. Then boot from the USB drive and it'll look a lot like a normal Windows environment. Find your drive and save your files.
Then, you can use the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10 to make a USB disk to boot from and do a fresh Windows install.
> Should I switch to Linux?
I'd totally recommend switching to Linux, not because of drivers though but because of how unstable and buggy W10 is in general. I've used it for a short while after receiving my T520 and it had no problems with drivers at least.
> I am confused with all the choices since there must be like a hundred linux distros
Which Linux distro you choose doesn't matter all that much, as long as it's beginner-friendly. Some Ubuntu-flavor, KDE Neon, etc. will all be fine for you. What matters more is your choice of desktop environment (the user interface pretty much) and since you're coming from Windows, I'd recommend KDE Plasma. That means you can either use the KDE-flavor of Ubuntu which is called Kubuntu, KDE Neon (which is a distro made by KDE themselves for use with their desktop environment) or something else if you choose so. I've had a few problems in the past with Kubuntu and have read good things about KDE Neon, so I'd recommend you to start with that.
Since you mentioned Mint, that would also be an option, however the newest version of it has not been released with KDE yet, so you'd have to use their default environment Cinnamon (which is also pretty beginner- and user-friendly).
> How does one verify the ISO they downloaded on a Windows PC
This generally means comparing the MD5/SHA1 hash of the downloaded file with the one written on the website, to ensure that the downloaded file is exactly the same as the one provided by the developer. On Windows there's a command-line tool called FCIV, which you can use to calculate the hash of the file you downloaded.
I use OpenSuse (Leap & Tumbleweed), Ubuntu and Manjaro. I have often broken each of them. I just find that Ubuntu is best if you're not in interested in tinkering all the time. The package Manager is possibly better in OpenSuse if you like adding new repositories, but Ubuntu seems just the most stable for the inexperienced. https://kubuntu.org/ for the KDE version.
Ubuntu sites only keep the old Ubuntu ISOs, not flavors, so even Kubuntu 16.04 (along with other flavors) will not be available for very long anyway (it'll just disappear as Canonical re-use the space for newer ISOs).
The oldest supported Kubuntu is actually Kubuntu 20.04 LTS, as flavors get only 3 years of supported life (ie. EOL statement for Kubuntu 18.04 LTS can be found here, though nothing would prevent anyone from installing a Ubuntu system, removing the default desktop & installing a flavor they prefer.
I recall KDE2, but it was either on Debian or a very old Red Hat that I used it.
Also note: some 3rd party sites do keep older ISOs, eg. I know where to point you for older Lubuntu ISOs, but sorry I don't for Kubuntu ones.
Also, for anyone wondering:
WM: [awesome]
OS: [Ubuntu] (Kubuntu flavour)
Fetch: [CatFetch] (if you can, please improve this too!)
Audio visualizer: cava
Matrix-thing: cmatrix
Static thing and color swatcher: made by me, soon on github
A comprehensive guide to install a current driver for your card: https://www.itzgeek.com/post/how-to-install-nvidia-drivers-on-ubuntu-20-04-ubuntu-18-04.html#2_Install_Nvidia_driver_from_Ubuntu_repository
Systeminfo will tell you what operating system you have. Or if you open any terminal a
cat /etc/lsb-release
will tell you the OS version. You can launch a terminal by starting the "Konsole" app from the menu.
If you have 20.04 LTS:
Easiest will be to install 21.10. Don't forget to backup your data before.
(Here would be information for a step by step upgrade)
If you have 21.04:
To upgrade I recommend the terminal, just answer questions it presents you with Y or N (and should you open any details view, press q to close it)
sudo do-release-upgrade
If you have 21.10:
You have the latest Kubuntu. Install all updates, reboot and check if it works.
> the qrv thing is no issue. right? the problem is only with my graphics card.
correct
Spin up VirtualBox, and throw in Kubuntu. See how you go with it and if you you don't like it you can just delete the VM and try another one.
You're probably not going to settle down with the first option but Kubuntu is based on Ubuntu, one of the largest distros. If you get stuck you're more likely to find an answer for your problem than if you went with something else.
This is a helpful overview of the Ubuntu ecosystem, but the confounding factor here is the Kubuntu Backports PPA, which seems to be maintained by the Kubuntu team and is therefore a semi-official way to get more recent versions of Plasma.
The linked press release clearly states that Plasma updates are offered for the most recent version of Kubuntu. I am not clear what would happen if you added this PPA to a 20.04 LTS installation though. My suspicion is that you might have problems with unmet dependencies in libraries like libc and of course Qt. But that is lay person's speculation, as a 20.04 user, I'd be grateful if anyone could clarify how far back the PPA can be used.
I would recommend Kubuntu or OpenSuse Tumbleweed. The former is based on Ubuntu (which is based on Debian), but with KDE Plasma, which more closely resembles Windows. The latter is marketed towards developers and power users, and is also intended for use with Plasma (but other desktop environments are supported). OpenSuse Tumbleweed is a rolling release like Arch, but has its own tool called Yast, which allows a great deal of customization through the GUI, ranging from packages installed to kernel boot parameters. I've used both of these for development before. The only catch with Tumbleweed is it has frequent updates, some of which may not play nice with NVIDIA drivers. I've never had issues with it, but there is a warning in the installer about this.
KDE Plasma is a desktop environment that is great for Windows users, since it maintains the traditional start menu. However, it is also extremely customizable.
Just a note: KDE is great, but KDE PIM is not (in my opinion). To not get KDE PIM with Plasma on Tumbleweed, you may have to blacklist it.
yeah DigiKam is linux native, it's part of the KDE organization standard applications.
standard Ubuntu comes with the GNOME desktop which is the other major open source desktop suite. KDE is not as popular but it is also very good.
i unashamedly endorse Ubuntu as the best linux distribution, especially for someone new.
You can easily download both and try them both, go for the 21.10 version (released October 2021) to get the latest experience:
First of all, welcome! I switched to Ubuntu about four years ago and it literally changed my life! It's great to have you in the community, and this is a pretty helpful place.
Since you're using Kubuntu, I'd also recommend their community page and forum - the flavours all have their own communities that are part of the bigger Ubuntu community, and they can really help out with more specific questions.
The YT videos are pretty hit or miss. I can ask around the Kubuntu community to see if anyone knows of (or would be interested in making!) a getting started with Kubuntu video.
I have no idea how it's on Linux Mint as I don't use it because they don't have any edition that comes with KDE Plasma anymore, but on Kubuntu (the distro that I'm using) you can easily do it with the backports PPA, like it's expained here:
https://kubuntu.org/news/plasma-5-23-available-for-kubuntu-21-10-impish-indri-in-backports-ppa/
Maybe you can add this PPA on Linux Mint and upgrade the same way as on Kubuntu.
It should work.
Good luck!
There are spins on those distros that use KDE, or other desktop enviroments like Cinnamon, XFCE etc.
If you liked Ubuntu but not the UI, you can download the official KDE spin which uses KDE. (Windows like enviroment).
Fedora has a KDE spin too:
Here is one option: [Kubuntu](https://kubuntu.org/), you may like the KDE Plasma desktop it uses. You can try it on a Live CD before installing.
A fairly recent demonstration video on [Youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxhV2G5LmpA)
I don’t know how to solve the question, but you’re running a version of Kubuntu 18.04 that lost its support back in May. Flavors of Ubuntu often go “end of life” faster than Ubuntu proper (the Gnome version).
https://kubuntu.org/news/kubuntu-18-04-lts-bionic-beaver-reaches-end-of-kubuntu-support/
> I just installed Ubuntu 20.04 ... then I installed the kde plasma desktop environment
Although possible it is neither intended nor expected. For your convenience, there is already a well maintained Official flavour of Ubuntu with KDE Plasma as default Desktop Environment named Kubuntu which is Ubuntu under the hood so whatever you want Ubuntu for will work as expected on Kubuntu too.
I recommend:
Kubuntu (version 21.04 or higher)
It is based on Ubuntu
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu
But unlike normal Ubuntu, it comes with KDE Plasma desktop environment (graphical interface and core programs)
https://kde.org/it/plasma-desktop/
It's Windows-like, fast and customizable.
But for the installation I would actually unplug the other hard drives.
A new Linux user might make mistakes, so unplugging the other drivers or making a full back of everything first is recommended
Good luck !
make a usb key and put https://kubuntu.org/ on it
plug that into your pc, don't install it, just try love mode or whatever its called. you can play around in it and see whats its like without doing anything to your machine. there isn't much to learn for ordinary use. its a lot like android. you have a store you install stuff from and thats kind of it. if you want to install stuff thats not from the store there are various ways to do that but cross that road when you come to it.
Roblox barely works on WINE, which is similar to a emulator but not a emulator (as said in the name, Wine is not an emulator). But I've heard that Synapse crashes and when it doesn't just fails to inject, so I'm gonna say no I don't think it does.
But! when Wine 7 Stable is released Roblox may be more stable and Synapse may have a version made for Wine or the current version may be edited to work better on Wine
Also I'd recommend Ubuntu as a starter or one of the flavors (example I use Kubuntu, and heavily recommended it, user friendly, customizable, and uses around a gig of RAM. Site is https://kubuntu.org/ and I recommend sticking with LTS!
Also sorry if any of this is incorrect most of this info is from a month ago
Just FYI, you don't have to risk anything whatsoever in order to try linux. You can live boot, which mean booting the OS from a USB stick - this won't change a thing on your own hard disk and you can revert to windows with a simple reboot.
I just switched from Ubuntu to Kubuntu and I highly recommend it. Feel free to ask any questions 😎
When Ubuntu flips the switch on upgrades, though one can start it manually
https://kubuntu.org/news/kubuntu-21-04-hirsute-hippo-released/
how about using Kubuntu, lubuntu, xubuntu or ubuntu mate21.04? Their beta versions have been released on April 1 in a few days the latest stable versions will be out and I am pretty sure their wallpapers will be safe for a work environment
https://kubuntu.org/news/kubuntu-hirsute-hippo-21-04-beta-released/
When you install Linux it will give you the option of keeping Windows as well. After Linux is installed your PC will always boot to a menu giving a choice of Windows or Linux. OR you can erase the hard drive and just install Linux as your only OS.
Be sure and back up all of your Windows personal files (music, pictures, documents) before installing Linux.
You need to download Linux (it is free) and set-up either a DVD-R or USB stick installer and boot your PC with that. There are many versions of Linux available, my personal favorite for a beginner is kubuntu, but others are also excellent.
1: KDE Plasma is a desktop environment that lets you customize it pretty much however you like. There are already themes community members has made that looks EXACTLY like Windows 10 and even Mac OS. Most distros has at least a flavor (basically just cosmetic changes from a distro) with KDE. Should probably also add that Microsoft DEFINITELY used KDE Plasma as "inspiration" for Windows 10.
2: This isn't foolproof and has some kinks to sort out, but WINE works pretty well with running Windows programs under Linux. I haven't run WINE itself myself, the only Windows stuff I use under Linux is games through Steam which has its own fork of WINE called Proton, but it works pretty seemlessly and haven't run into much issues with it besides not being able to play multiplayer games due to anti-cheats.
Old programs shouldn't have much issues with WINE (just that WINE creates a fake C: drive and it can look a bit messy).
It has its limits, so Adobe programs, Visual Studio, etc. don't work at all or are very unreliable. Kernel 5.11 brings "syscall user dispatch" which should help a lot with this.
As for DOS games, I did some research and dosbox seems to be your best option. Very easy to use and should work right out the box (pun intended).
3: Taking all things above into account, I would probably recommend Kubuntu or KDE Neon (both based on Ubuntu). They aren't pre-configured with all of this, but they come with KDE Plasma, are targeting new users so you'll not have to deal with the terminal that much (if at all). Programs are installed through a GUI rather than terminal, and I believe both of them comes with AppImage and Snap support right out the box (kinda like APK on Android).
At this point I'm afraid I may sound like I'm trying to defend KDE, when I am really not.
Anyway it's important to point out that the issues you're mentioning might not be KDE's fault, but the distro's that put it together. If you have a look at this screenshot of Kubuntu you'll see that the panel is different and will probably please you more: https://kubuntu.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/2fe7/GroovyPlasma800.png Or maybe this one from Neon, assuming one may find this as vanilla as it gets: https://neon.kde.org/content/home/laptop.png
I'm sure you'll find some other pixels that are not aligned as you wish, or question why KDE even allows setups you disagree with, but I'm not a KDE developer or user, so I'm not really qualified to justify its design.
The truth is most things suck one way or another.
Heyo! long time Linux user here. Linux mint is always a safe bet, it's based on ubuntu (which is in turn based on debian) and so it should be relatively similar to the debian chrome os container. Unfortunately they killed off their KDE edition a while ago, so the only desktop environments you can get are GTK based, Cinnamon being the most common. while they can run Qt apps they won't integrate as well as in KDE. Kubuntu is a nice ubuntu based distro that uses KDE as the desktop, which is great for Qt (as the entire thing is built using it). Manjaro KDE is also another good option (and is what I am using now to write this) but I'm hesitant to recommend it for a couple of reasons. one, it isn't debian based, rather it uses arch which has more up to date packages using pacman (it's package manager) at the cost of not being as familiar to you as apt might be. And secondly it's had some issues in the past in terms of managment, and the developers have made some questionable choices to say the least. I'd recommend whatever distro you choose, it should have KDE as it's based on Qt and has a very similar interface to windows which should ease the transition.
TL;DR: Kubuntu is good especially if you want Qt, but whatever you choose KDE should be a priority.
Why?
KDE is the most feature-rich desktop environment on Linux. If you're familiar with Windows 7-10, you will immediately feel comfortable with KDE, except that KDE is way more customizable.
Like all Ubuntu distros, Kubuntu is basically Ubuntu with a different desktop, so you have the best hardware support and the largest community to help you, if things go wrong.
two of your criteria clash, a minimal install with basic utilities and the packages manager would not have a GUI installed, let alone a full desktop environment.. a "real" minimal install could be a rough way to start, depending on your level of experience and expectation.. most, if not all distos should have a "minimal install" tickbox during the install to minimize the amount of stuff installed by default
I'd 2nd the suggestion for Regolith to get your feet wet with using a window manager(spoiler alert: it's awesome!), Pop!_OS for all the amazing work system76 is putting into it, or maybe Kubuntu if you don't like the look of i3/GNOME
Neither distro will cherry pick patches before KDE releases the next bugfix version. So you have to wait a few weeks or months once a bug is discovered and fixed. Both distros might use an older release for longer if the newer Plasma release has a really bad bug. However they'll usually use the latest version of Plasma even if the
Manjaro updated to Qt 5.15.0 a week or so after it came out. 5.15.0 has a memory leak I think in qtdeclarative (or the widgets I use caused the leak). A month later when Qt 5.15.1 was released it caused a weird segfault in my eventcalendar widget even though the code was fine in Qt 5.15.0 and below. Manjaro will get bugs sooner, but also get fixed quicker usually. I used Qt and 3rd party widget bugs as an example, not Plasma bugs though. Plasma bugs will get introduced sometimes in the major version releases (5.20.0) that don't get found in the Beta. You'll get the bugfix release 5.20.1 a week later. Sometimes Manjaro will skip the 5.19.0 release and jump directly to 5.19.1.
Kubuntu doesn't update to the next feature release of Plasma (5.xx.0). So if a bug was fixed after 5.19.5, then you'll need to install the Kubuntu Backports PPA to get 5.20.0. Kubuntu is more "stable" in the sense that it doesn't change as often. However the bugs won't be fixed as quickly as there's a longer duration between releases. Right now Kubuntu 18.04.1 has been out for a while so the major bugs should be fixed by now.
> Added plasma backports to have the same thing. Neon, but without the rough edges.
Not exactly true at the moment. Kubuntu 20.04 will not get backports for newer KDE releases due to the higher Qt version now required. And I don't know if LTS will ever get upgraded Qt?
Not that its bad, LTS KDE and LTS Ubuntu, rock solid combo, but be stuck on this version of KDE until the next Ubuntu LTS (or just upgrade to 20.10 next month).
You are true about the fact that when messing with the DE of non arch distros they do mess things up. I'm just a casual gamer so I really didn't understand the importance of suppressing mouse acceleration.
Based on my understanding of your needs, you need a stable distro, don't want any young small distros, should have full control of your system (kinda like arch), Gaming is a factor, don't want a distro which is gnome centered.
If I am correct, you should use debian or ubuntu based distro because on others its a bit hard to get games up and running and these distros have reputation of not crashing often. Ubuntu did have a spyware issue but they resolved that few years ago. If you are still skeptical of Ubuntu you should use Debian based distros though gaming will be a bit harder. Since you don't want to use a gnome centered distro you have to use some kinda respin of ubuntu like Kubuntu. ^(But my best suggestion will be to use the) ^(Ubuntu Server Edition) ^(if you can install command line operating systems.)
First of all, you should be using sudo apt install nvidia-drivers-440 to install your nvidia drivers (I don't think 450 are available for the Ubuntu version Neon is based on).
Second, I would see if Kubuntu does have the correct screen resolution. It will also have a newer kernel, so possibly even better hardware support for your hardware. At least try from a LiveUSB!
I don't know your distro history, but have you tried Kubuntu? I loved it. Lightweight, KDE Plasma, Ubuntu repos. Ran it from 14.04-20.04. I'd still be running it if (reasons).
Kubuntu is Ubuntu with a different desktop environment called KDE Plasma. It's fairly Windows like, so it feels familiar, but it's closer to the Ubuntu experience as far as packages and updates. You may have better support since it's an official Ubuntu "flavor", whereas Mint is not associated with Canonical at all. Here's the website: https://kubuntu.org/
You're correct in that Manjaro is not Ubuntu based, but that means we're trying something that has different packages, usually newer ones with better hardware support. I don't usually recommend Manjaro, but in this case I think it's worth booting into a LiveUSB of Manjaro to test if it works better with your network card than the more stable approach that Ubuntu has.
If you want a distro, that is "close" to windows in its look and feel, you should have a look at Kubuntu
It uses the KDE Desktop, which is more like Windows as e.g. Gnome, that is used by Ubuntu or Pop_OS! Kubuntu is an official flavour of Ubuntu.
Another thing would be Linux Mint, or Manjaro KDE.
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Here you find info about Steamplay/Proton, which helps you to play Windowsgames on Linux.
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You should be aware, that not all games run on Linux and gaming on a VM is not recommendable.
You can use a VM for a lot of things, but gaming is not recommendable. For example you can use VM Ware Workstation Player. It is free for private use. I use it for planning hiking tracks with Basecamp.
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But if Linux is the right thing for you, is hardly to say, with this little info you gave.
- Which games do you play?
- Which programs do you use on Windows?
- What do you want to do with a VM?
I don't think you'll have any problems installing linux. Just because Linux is unsupported, doesn't mean it won't work.
Also, if you're coming from Windows, I'd suggest checking out Kubuntu (https://kubuntu.org/) or another distro with the KDE desktop environment. Saying that, gnome looks a lot better on 20.04 than it has done in the past.
You can use ubuntu-drivers to install the proprietary drivers for your GPU.
I feel ya.. Sound is a big deal for me too. That's why I compile the latest pulseaudio version myself and why I got upset with this version 14 prerelease thing.
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>Just not sure if it's big enough to go down that rabbit hole and use gnome which feels to me like a glorified android ui lo
You can use Kubuntu.
You could use pretty much any Linux distro.
If you dont have a lot, or any Linux experience and mainly use Windows. I would use https://kubuntu.org/ its and official flavour of Ubuntu. The KDE Plasma desktop is similar to Windows.
If your learning computer science and want to learn a lot more about how to how Linux works check out Arch Linux.
It seems like fractional scaling only is properly supported when running KDE Plasma.
You could try out Kubuntu, which is an official flavour of Ubuntu that ships with KDE Plasma.
>I first started with Ubuntu then wasn't happy with how much it felt like macOS
Just a side note, the "feel" I think you are talking about here is the "desktop environment" the default one for Ubuntu is a modified version of the GNOME desktop environment, the default for Mint is Cinnamon (which is based on GNOME but more Windows like) and what you downloaded for Manjaro is probably using XFCE or KDE Plasma.
There are actually multiple official versions available for these distros though. For example, Kubuntu is Ubuntu with KDE and looks like this: https://kubuntu.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/7c6a/FocalPlasma800.png
Hmm, this points toward this issue being a general one with your internet connection - Are any other sites unavailable? What about something similar like this:
Linux is not the best or the worst, this goes for Windows and MacOS too. If you don't make apps with exclusive API (ex. DirectX or Apple ecosystem) then pick whatever you're more productive with. In your case, as Linux-based distros gives you granular control over your system compared to others, you could try using it. About lags, try installing "Gnome Tweaks" then open it and disable animations. If it will not work, I saw other people mentioning the Kde Plasma worked better for them, so you either install a distribution like Kubuntu https://kubuntu.org/ or try to install Plasma in your current distro (but there is chance your system will get borked) https://support.system76.com/articles/desktop-environment/ Cheers.
Looking at it on their site, plasma is in beta, not Kubuntu. https://kubuntu.org/news/plasma-5-18-lts-beta-5-17-90-available-for-testing/. Kubuntu itself is probably still in nightly which is pre alpha just like Ubuntu currently is. Beta isn’t until April 2nd. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/FocalFossa/ReleaseSchedule. To answer your question, you are running barely alpha software and it will be alpha for almost another month
Considering Kubuntu's latest announcement was about the 5.18 beta (5.17.90), I'm guessing it wasn't fully backported yet. You might need to reboot too.
You can download a Linux image file like a regular Ubuntu installation image for free, which come with a "LiveCD" mode, that is, if you put them on a CD (or a USB stick via a specific program) and select this drive as boot drive in your BIOS/Boot Menu as if you were to install the OS, then you will get the option to start a full Linux from the USB stick without actually installing it on any of your hard drives. Here is a guide how to do that and what it does. That way, you can test if all your hardware is still working, you can access and backup files from your hard drive via the Linux system as well if you want.
You could, alternatively, try to start a Windows installation medium as well, and see if that starts up successfully, and offers you sensible recovery options. I'm not very versed with Windows recovery though, maybe someone else here can help you with that.
I switched, from Windows10, to Kubuntu (Ubuntu with the KDE desktop environment) about six months ago. Started with the LTS version and have upgraded to 19.10 and absolutely freaking love it. If you're into customising your desktop, check out r/unixporn. IMO, KDE craps on the Gnome desktop environment, the default desktop environment for Ubuntu. Mint is often recommended to newbies as well.
EDIT: info on Kubuntu here: https://kubuntu.org/
Samsung Galaxy 12.2 (inches), $350. Thanks for the lead! Here is a Kubuntu Focus 16.1" model. Excellent specs, and the keyboard looks top-notch.
> there aren't any distros that actually make use of them for the long term.
https://kubuntu.org/news/kubuntu-18-04-has-been-released/
> Debian for example could greatly benefit from them.
Debian chooses EOL releases instead.
The message says you installed Kubuntu 19.04.
Thats an old version which is not supported anymore.
Many bugs have been fixed in 19.10, the current version.
You can get the current kubuntu from https://kubuntu.org/
there is a way to verify the checksum of the download to insure the download was correct.
that is what the md5sum and sha256sum numbers are listed on the downloads page.
https://kubuntu.org/alternative-downloads/
download the iso, run the right tool to generate the checksum, see if it matches the posted sums. if so, the iso file is good.
it is also.possible the imaging tool writes to the USB wrongly. or the USB flash has issues.
I always use Etcher to make that USB, it can verify the imaging to the USB.
good luck.
If it's any consolation, Linux is free, so you won't be losing any more money. In any case, it's probably best to create a new partition on your HDD/SSD and dual boot Windows/Linux until you get used to Linux. This is the advice I provided to another 'newbie' a couple weeks ago. I typically recommend Kubuntu to newbies (Ubuntu with the KDE desktop environment). You can learn more about it here and here. I recommend it because it's more similar to Windows. Other options people usually recommend include normal Ubuntu and Mint.
Wayland is not ready for use by the "average" user at least in Kubuntu 19.10:
A Plasma Wayland session can be added by installing the package plasma-workspace-wayland, but is not officially supported. This will add a Plasma (wayland) session option at the login screen. Users needing a stable desktop experience should select the normal ‘Plasma’ (without Wayland) option at login.
Source: https://kubuntu.org/news/kubuntu-19-10-is-released-today/
Ignore what everyone is saying about your laptop needing a 'lightweight distro'. You have a true quad-core i7, plenty of RAM (although replacing the 2GB stick with a 4GB one will give you more dual-channel room and a nice speedup) and a dedicated graphics card. That thing will run basically any Linux desktop like a champ.
If you want the most Windows-like experience, you could try Ubuntu MATE with the "Redmond" desktop layout, or Kubuntu.
LibreHunt is a nice site that will ask you some basic questions and determine what the best distro might be for you. I've found that I generally agree with its recommendations.
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P.S. To all y'all who are going to yell at me for recommending KDE because it's hEaVy, KDE 5.17 uses less RAM than XFCE in some circumstances.
No you don't, I'd recommend Kubuntu since it'll look like Windows (which can ease the transistion and you can run it live for a while without changing your computer until you feel more comfortable.
> So you're saying that Linux automatically installs the drivers I need in most cases? What if some drivers cannot install? Will I just have to accept defeat and hope that the devs fix it?
New software versions are created for Linux daily to weekly with advacements and new hardware support. generally LTS or Long term Support Linux kernel versions are offered for stability but the mainline stable Linux kernel can be used depending on the distro chosen.
How difficult that is to accomplish or how that can affect system stability varies from distro to distro. The newest version of a software program available for Linux is NOT always the best suited for your requirements or everyone's benefits.
For example Kubuntu has 18.04 LTS available and that's considered stable yet 19.10 is available and 19.10 would generally not be considered a stability improvement.
https://kubuntu.org/getkubuntu/
Development of software for Linux is completed by volunteers and enthusiasts more frequently than commercial software vendors.
>Okay cool, but is this encryption actually good and reliable? I previously used 256-bit AES encryption for certain files, is Luks just as safe to use?
If someone doesn't have the password to a Luks encrypted volume they aren't recovering any data from that disk or volume. Arch Linux frequently has several wiki guides for Liux that are regarded as some ofnthe most thoughough available.
Luks requires using another software feature named dm-crypt that Arch Linux Wiki explains Read that for some more technical details or watch some youtube videos on Luks encryption.
Yes, you should definitely switch to Linux! A distribution like Kubuntu or Linux Mint Cinnamon would probably feel most natural and provide the easiest transition from Windows. I would recommend starting with Kubuntu.
Hi /u/7empest82/, your consideration is good and I recommend you to try Kubuntu first. Kubuntu, unlike Windows, can run completely from USB without installation while you can also install it. I believe tour wife and daughter would love it. See Kubuntu here https://kubuntu.org.
Je te trouve bien critique, t'as des exemples précis ? L'ergonomie et l'UX c'est aussi parfois simplifier et unifier des menus, autant pour les débutants que pour que les power-users perdent moins de temps.
Si t'aime pas t'as des alternatives comme KDE qui me fait l'effet d'une usine à gaz mais reste un des bureaux Linux les plus appréciés.
Ubuntu, or one of its flavous like Kubuntu. Ubuntu, and its derivatives are the best bet for a Linux newcomer, imo. The difference between the "flavours" lies in what Desktop Environment they use.
E.g.:
- Ubuntu uses Gnome.
- Kubuntu uses KDE.
- Xubuntu uses Xfce.
- Linux Mint (a Ubuntu based distro) uses Cinnamon.
The best way to see which you like is to test it via a live USB, or try searching for screenshots. Gnome is Mac-ish, while KDE by default looks more like Windows. Gnome is a bit more "locked down" by default, while KDE offers (sometimes overwhelming to new users) more customization.
And don't feel that you like "the wrong" DE :) There's many strong opinions going around, and many will swear by The One True DE, but you do you. If you like KDE, great. If you prefer Gnome, great. If you like Cinnamon, that's great too. They all have strengths and weaknesses.
With regards to privacy, any Ubuntu distro (or any Linux distro in general for that matter) is a good choice, especially over W10. I personally use Kubuntu / KDE, and one of the design goals of the KDE team is "privacy by design". I can only assume that most other distro and DE developers have the same goals.
Ubuntu is very easy to get into, the package management is easy to use, GUI for most stuff, and most issues you may have will very likely already have been asked at askubuntu, stackexchange or reddit.
TL;DR: I would very much recommend a Ubuntu distro. Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Mint. Whicever you like best in terms of look and feel. All are good for privacy. If not, then I'd bet money that either /r/privacy or /r/linux, likely both, would nuke that distro quite swiftly.
Make sure you install a LTS in case you end up sticking to it :)
- Linux comes in different “flavours” as you might want to call it. I already mentioned these flavours, but let me introduce you to the creativity side of Linux.
Ubuntu by default now uses GNOME (19+,), but it used to use its own display manager. If you think it currently looks ugly, this isn’t an issue! After all, it’s all open source and available to be edited.
You might have heard these terms before:
- Xfce
- Kde
- i3 (Don’t recommend this for desktops and especially not beginners)
- Deepin (Similar to macOS)
- Gnome
- (more others I don’t use/remember)
Check out kubuntu, it’s a modified variant of Ubuntu with the KDE setup. I can’t honestly explain to you what these different setups are called (I don’t know how to describe it), but imagine them as different skins for your operating system. See: https://kubuntu.org/
If you don’t like KDE? No problem. Check out Xubuntu, which is a XFCE variant of the operating system. See: https://xubuntu.org/. There are many, many different configurations, these are just beginner friendly.
Research these desktops and see what you like, but bare in mind people might have customised them as opposed to being stock. r/unixporn is a great place to see some nice configurations.
If you want to explore more of Linux (and a different package manager), check out Manjaro Linux. Being based of arch, it allows for easy installation of apps using the AUR and Yay, just without the manual configuration of display managers and manual installation. Essentially it’s great for beginners. It’s my personal recommendation, although this is up for debate due to it being based on arch.
If you need any help as I said, message me or reply here. By no means am I a Linux guru, just a avid endorser of it!
>Kubuntu 18.10
18.10 is End Of Life. No more updates. You have to live with what you have or upgrade.
https://kubuntu.org/news/kubuntu-18-10-reaches-end-of-life/
Kubuntu has short term support and long term support releases. Long term support versions have LTS after them.
Try one of these : https://kubuntu.org/getkubuntu/
Kubuntu 18.04.2 LTS if you are looking for stability and long term support, or the latest version if you need latest software and drivers.
Enjoy your new Kubuntu my friend :-)
What model is your laptop? It should be more or less like installing Windows with most linux distributions.
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If you'll still need Windows (I would imagine it would come in handy for you) you can install it in a KVM.
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As far as specific distributions to use, it's mostly preference. I'd recommend sticking with something pretty mainstream and user friendly unless you have a good reason not to.
Kubuntu is more of a heavy distro, I use this.
Xubuntu is an excellent lightweight distro.
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Honestly though, the difference between "light" and "heavy" in terms of linux distros doesn't matter very often. Kubuntu is known for being very "heavy" and "bloated" for a linux distro, yet it runs like a dream on my 7 years old dual core i5-3320m. Current RAM usage is 2.13GB, with several browser tabs open.
I typically use a lightweight distro for servers that I still want a GUI on but rarely use, otherwise I don't care. I personally can't stand the standard Ubuntu desktop environment, which is the only reason I recommend Kubuntu and Xubuntu over Ubuntu, but that's purely personal preference.
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There certainly are some distro's that will be more suitable for certain tasks and use cases but that too is personal.