Ubuntu vs Kubuntu, Feisty vs Edgy....what's the difference?

what's the difference between Ubuntu and Kubuntu? and which one do i want (your personal opinion)?

and what are Ubuntu Edgy and Ubuntu Feisty? what do "Edgy" and "Feisty" mean? again, which one do i want?

this stuff is still all foreign to me. thanks

 

Ubuntu and Kubuntu are essentially the same thing... the main difference being that they run different desktop environments. Ubuntu uses GNOME, whereas Kubuntu uses KDE (hence the "k"). They both have their advantages and disadvantages, especially if you're a programmer... if you're just a normal user, you'd probably just choose one depending on which one looks better. I'd say GNOME has more of a simple, OS-X like look to it. KDE is stylish and probably more similar to Windows... but that's just my opinion. They both look good, you just gotta choose one your prefer.

As for Edgy and Feisty... they're different versions. Feisty is the newer version of Ubuntu... it's like Vista versus XP. Each version of Ubuntu has a codename that goes along with its version number. Ubuntu 6.10 = Edgy Eft, Ubuntu 7.04 = Feisty Fawn. Older ones were Dapper Drake... Breezer Badger... etc.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that KDE and GNOME can run different programs... some programs run specifically in KDE, some specifically in GNOME. If you know of any particular programs you're gonna use and which desktop they run in, obviously you'll want to choose the version of (K)Ubuntu that can run it...

 

Ubuntu uses the Gnome desktop environment, while Kubuntu uses the KDE environment. Which one you want would depend on your preference for Gnome or KDE (if you don't have a preference, try running LiveCD's of both Ubuntu and Kubuntu, and you can see). There are also generally different apps in some cases for Gnome and KDE, so that can have an impact as well.

Edgy Eft and Feisty Fawn are basically just codenames for each Ubuntu release. Before Edgy Eft was Dapper Drake. They are just friendly names to correspond to the actual version numbers.

Edgy Eft is the current "stable" release, while Feisty Fawn is currently being finalized and is supposed to be officially released in April. At this point you'd probably be safe with either version....... either one you will be able to update easily.

 

so if i want to run the Beryl Cube Project (i think that's what it's called) then which OS is more suitable: Ubuntu or Kubuntu? i'm not a programmer by any means but i would really like a sexy looking GUI. but since i'm just an average user, i should probably stick to the more simple to use OS at this point. i still need sexy though

and you think Ubuntu Feisty should be ok to install at this point?

 

I am running Fiesty, but I would say stick with Edgy right now. In a few weeks, its easy to upgrade, but this way you don't have to deal with any problems in the Beta stage. I agree that KDE is more Windows Like, but also that GNOME has its own "sexy" side to it (I still don't like "sexy" to describe a GUI). I vote Kubuntu Edgy.

I take that back. You should look at Linux Mint (go for Bianca). That is probably the best one for you. Google for it.

 

I think Kubuntu looks bloated. Gnome + Beryl looks the best IMO.

 

Use which ever one you reckon looks better. On any system with 512MB of ram or up, they'll both run as snappy as the other.

 

yup yup, I'm with this guy on that!

in love with my 3D desktop...

 

"looks" bloated? How can you tell what bloat is by looking at it? Sheesh.

If you don't like the design, say so, but the fact is that Gnome is getting more and more bloated (and slower) with every release, while KDE goes in the other direction. Not to mention GTK+ is a horrid toolkit. Even Linus hates Gnome, and if anyone has authority on the matter, it would be him (at least from a technical perspective)

 

Come on Pita, us KDE folk don't need to stoop to cries of "bloated" and "horrid toolkit". GNOME has its place (you have to admit, it is slightly easier to learn to use. Some new users might find KDE has "too many" options) and I like GAIM. KDE has its place too. I use KDE for it's dock abilities, and extensive theming support.

 

Well, I try to use KDE, but when it comes to Kubuntu vs. Ubuntu, I have to give the nod to vanilla Ubuntu. First of all, it's less confusing to new users not just because it's a pretty simple interface, but also because the help files/wiki/forums are designed for Ubuntu, and while many things will work no matter KDE or Gnome, it may still be confusing.

Beyond that, I attempted my first Kubuntu install yesterday, and was not pleased. Adept is just not as intuitive as the Add/Remove Applications program in Feisty, nVidia drivers didn't install properly, I couldn't get the screen resolution right (despite selecting both Plug 'n Play and 1440x900 flat panel settings for monitor), and I missed GAIM and Firefox. But that's just me.

When it comes to other distros (BSD, etc), I can use KDE just fine. I dunno.

 

Indeed. Ubuntu's integrated tools are what sets it apart from other distros.

 

I'm just about to try out the Kubuntu Feisty Fawn beta LiveCD myself...

I'll probably do a clean install once 7.04 is released, and I intend to give KDE an honest shot. Just installing kubuntu-desktop over top of Ubuntu leaves the menus so ugly and cluttered, and generally off-putting. It's hard to tell what the developers intended the experience to be when taking this route.

 

I agree, which is why I attempted my clean install of Kubuntu Feisty Beta. It all worked well on the LiveCD, but upon first hard drive boot, it became immediately apparent that things were going to be quite different. While resolution worked flawlessly in the LiveCD, I never got my screen's native 1440x900 resolution to display upon booting from the hard drive. I had some kind of error with my nVidia drivers (which I'm assuming is due to the fact that I attempted to use the two commands that I did with Herd 5, but it turns out you don't need any extra commands in beta). Still yet, even when setting my monitor type to "1440x900 flat panel," I was never given the option of a 1440x900 resolution. WTF? I had resolutions available like 1280x720, 1280x800, 1280x 864 (???), 2560x1600, etc, but no 1440x900.

Well, I thought I would simply fix this be editing my xorg.conf file (which is sadly still required to get 1440x900 resolution in Ubuntu after nvidia-glx is installed), but apparently Kubuntu writes a different kind of xorg.conf file than Ubuntu, because when I went to change it, the modelines were incredibly complicated and filled with data that I had no idea how to obtain for a resolution of 1440x900. Therefore, I couldn't simply edit the xorg.conf file as I can in Ubuntu.

Going beyond that, I found the lack of common applications quite disappointing. I'm a Firefox user, through and through, and I really don't understand why Kubuntu doesn't have Firefox installed by default. Sure, you get Konquerer (which is good), but it's no Firefox. And to be honest, it's "do-everything" sensibility leaves it too cluttered and busy looking for a web browser IMO. It's great to be able to access a lot of stuff from one app, but it just doesn't make sense to me in that case. It's like the IE and Windows explorer conjunction that Microsoft has been criticized for numerous times. Firefox is one of the most popular, free, open, and compliant browsers available, and shunning it for something like Konquerer (which is beginning to fall behind in standards compliance since KDE4 development began) just because they're made by the same people is a little selfish if you ask me. It's also not conducive to new users since new users are familiar with Firefox, and not Konquerer.

Also, when I had Herd 5 running both Gnome and KDE, Beryl didn't work all that well. It would cause issues with menu shadows being left on the screen after the menus were gone. I would have to reload the window manager every so often to counter this.

I just don't find Kubuntu to be as polished as Ubuntu since it's more of a shoot-off project than the real deal. If I want to make the switch to KDE, Kubuntu is going to either have to step up for 7.10 (or 8.04), or I'm going to have to move to another distro with native KDE integration.

 

Yeah, I'm in the Live environment right now. I dunno, it's not bad at all. I don't plan to install it or anything right now, I'll wait for the final release. I like a lot of things about KDE, but I'm so comfortable with GNOME - now I remember why Windows people are reluctant to change.

Kontact seems way better than Evolution for my needs, among other things. I'll have to see. I'll have more time in the summer to play around with setting stuff up, so I'll see then.

 

That's what I think I am going to have to do, wait till the summer. I played with Kubuntu Herd 5, and Ubuntu Beta (both Fiesty), I liked both for their own reasons, but I am going to wait till the full release, and then try both again and see which is better.

Right now, Kubuntu, but thats only because in Ubuntu I couldn't restart my xserver, which is a problem.

 

ctrl+alt+backspace doesn't work for you, CalebSchmerge? What about "sudo /etc/init.d/gdm restart"?

 

<Ctrl><Alt>Backspace should work fine for this. I've never had a problem with that in Ubuntu.

 

Ctl-Alt-Backspace is an XOrg keybinding - shouldn't matter what desktop you're running. The only times it has failed for me is when I've locked the kernel!