interesting manner.
This chapter focuses on complete desktop environments, using each one’s
default window manager. In addition, because this is an Ubuntu-focused
book, this chapter concentrates on Ubuntu-refined versions of environments
such as KDE and Xfce rather than their default versions, although the default
versions are also available in the Ubuntu repositories in case you want to seek
them out.
KDE and Kubuntu
The KDE project began back in 1996, with the goal of creating a quality
desktop environment for Linux that was free, worked well, and was well
integrated, meaning that programs and interfaces would have a consistent
look and feel, with all the parts fitting together seamlessly rather than looking
like a jumbled compilation of a bunch of assorted bits.
The KDE project has always been focused on end users rather than creating a
simple GUI for the system administrator. This is an important point because
since the beginning, the intent has been to make any computer user
comfortable and able to do what he or she wants to do without necessarily
requiring a full grasp of what is happening behind the scenes. This focus
continues today and is shared by other desktop environments, notably
GNOME, which was started in 1997 by people once involved in the KDE
project, who left after a dispute over software licensing.
The cause of that dispute no longer exists as the licenses today are
equivalently free, but the projects diverged a bit in their focus: GNOME
offers a desktop of zen-like simplicity with simple and elegant defaults and
use, whereas KDE presents more flash and configuration options. Honestly,
they are both great desktop environments that are well integrated with a high
degree of professionalism and quality and are easily the top two in the Linux
world. If you have never used either, try them both and see which you prefer.
Kubuntu is a project that started in the Ubuntu community very early, on with
the simple goal of enabling users to install and use KDE in Ubuntu. To make
this even easier for people who already know they prefer KDE over GNOME,
you can download an install disk for Kubuntu, which is Ubuntu minus
GNOME plus KDE plus a few Kubuntu-specific enhancements. You may also
install Kubuntu in standard Ubuntu and alongside GNOME by installing the
kubuntu-desktop package from the Ubuntu software repositories.
Kubuntu (Figure 7.1) uses a different set of default programs for most tasks:
web browsing, email, and so on. Most were written specifically for the KDE