How much leeway does Kubuntu have to deviate from Ubuntu?

[vw72]

I was wondering, with the move to Blue Systems and yet remaining the KDE version of Ubuntu, how much leeway does Kubuntu have to deviate from design and package decisions that Canonical makes for Ubuntu.

For instance, the current nvidia drivers are broken for many nvidia cards. If this would have occurred in a future version of Blue-Kubuntu, would Kubuntu have the option to ship the previous, but working version of nvidia drivers, even though it would be different than what Ubuntu is shipping? Obviously, it would probably require a different package name to avoid a conflict.

What about init scripts? Kubuntu has a reputation of being somewhat slow and bloated because it inherits a lot of core Ubuntu scripts that load automatically. In the future, will Kubuntu still be tied to this, or can the Kubuntu Team determine which are really needed for Kubuntu and which are really there because of Ubuntu?

In otherwords, sometimes Ubuntu makes decisions which are best for Ubuntu but not the other derivatives. Under the new setup, does Kubuntu have to be faithful to these changes or can it impliment only those that benefit Kubuntu users?

Just some thoughts/questions to help Kubuntu become one of the top 10 distros!

[bsniadajewski]

Well, since the KDE packages will move to universe from main (going from 12.10 on); my guess would be that could be somewhat more leeway.

[bra|10n]

I was wondering, with the move to Blue Systems and yet remaining the KDE version of Ubuntu, how much leeway does Kubuntu have to deviate from design and package decisions that Canonical makes for Ubuntu.... In other words, sometimes Ubuntu makes decisions which are best for Ubuntu but not the other derivatives. Under the new setup, does Kubuntu have to be faithful to these changes or can it impliment only those that benefit Kubuntu users?

I believe quite a few Kubuntu users are waiting for information of this type.

[woodsmoke]

mebbe Blue is thinking about blending red with Blue for a whole NEW twist to ......

http://freebsd-image-gallery.netcode.pl/_daemonette/bsd-devilettes.jpg

tweaking the Debbil's(Microsoft's) tail! lol

Just KIDDING FOLKS!! :)

woodsmoke

[SteveRiley]

The apostrophe in that sign is particularly alluring. I didn't notice anything else in the photograph at all.

[Snowhog]

I didn't notice anything else in the photograph at all.
There's more in the photo? Hmm.

[claydoh]

As to leeway, there will be some more perhaps, but do note that Kubuntu as a KDE-centric distro by choice and design will still stay basically the same as it is for core application selection. As we use the same core, anything there will obviously be the same - kernels, boot system, installer, base libraries, drivers and the like.

Examples of some of these Ubuntu decisions you are talking about might help me clarify this better.

[vw72]

The apostrophe in that sign is particularly alluring. I didn't notice anything else in the photograph at all.

It's not an apostrophe, it is an accented space.

[SteveRiley]

It's not an apostrophe, it is an accented space.
How does one pronounce an accented space? ;)

[dibl]

How does one pronounce an accented space?

I kinda guessing a little bit, but I think it would be something like "yummers". ;-)

[vw72]

How does one pronounce an accented space? ;)

It's pronounced just like its spelled, with the accent on the space!

[SteveRiley]

It's pronounced just like its spelled, with the accent on the space!
Spáçè ;)

[vw72]

As to leeway, there will be some more perhaps, but do note that Kubuntu as a KDE-centric distro by choice and design will still stay basically the same as it is for core application selection. As we use the same core, anything there will obviously be the same - kernels, boot system, installer, base libraries, drivers and the like.

Examples of some of these Ubuntu decisions you are talking about might help me clarify this better.

What really got me thinking on this was that both Kubuntu 12.04 and Ubuntu 12.04 had to ship with the same nvidia driver, even though it is broken from many KDE users (and therefore kubuntu users). The broken part doesn't impact Ubuntu/Unity, so there was no reason for Ubuntu to use the prior, working version.

This "Ubuntu" decision effectively breaks Kubuntu for many people. With Kubuntu no longer receiving commercial support from Canonical, I was wondering if this had occurred, say, with the next release, if the Kubuntu developers would have been free to ship a working nvidia driver, even if it wasn't the same driver Ubuntu was shipping (obviously, the package name would need to be different).

As I pondered that question, I also reflected on the time I was developing another distro that was based on Ubuntu, but with an Xfce desktop. We were having numerous performance issues starting with a core Ubuntu system and instead started with a minimal install of Ubuntu and built upon that, only adding scripts and packages that we specifically wanted. The improved performance was unbelievable (as were improvements to boot times). Building the system this way still maintained compatibility with the Ubuntu repositories, but unless someone installed something that depended on specific packages or scripts, they weren't installed.

So, this led to the second part of my question about whether or not Kubuntu, freed from Canonical commercial support, will be in a position to add/remove scripts packages to the core Ubuntu setup or to tweak scripts and config files to work in the way Kubuntu wants/needs them instead of the way Canonical wants them for Ubuntu? Kubuntu already does this once X starts by using KDM instead of LightDM and choosing KDE and QT packages for the desktop environment. I'm asking as to whether or not it is possible to take this customization to a lower level (below the gui)? I'm really interested in structural and performance issues, not things like shipping codecs or not.

Kubuntu is a very good product. I'm just thinking that with a few tweaks, here and there, it could become even better. I just am curious as to how much of that decision is still up to Canonical/Ubuntu versus Blue Systems/Kubuntu.

[ubersoft]

Since Canonical is kicking Kubuntu to the curb (i.e., no longer paying for development of it) I'd say they have no decision in it at all. Ubuntu is free software, the code is available, and what anyone does with it is their business, not Canonical's.

I suspect if Kubuntu tried to meddle with the "commercial bits" (the cloud services, etc.) there might be some ramifications and restrictions. I don't know for certain.

[claydoh]

Kicked to the curb is a bit strong of a phrase for where kubuntu is :)

Xubuntu et al do well and thrive as community distros, and I think kubuntu will too, even If we didn't have paid people working on it, we already did a whole release without Riddell .


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