Kubuntu 15.04: released with major issues - what's the logic?

[LinkBot]

About KF5 Launchers....

(Mouse/containment action/quick launcher) plasma-custom-desktop-menu

http://kde-apps.org/content/show.php...content=171299

Description:
A fully customisable desktop menu for plasma 5.

[dequire]

By the way, did Lancelot get ported to KDE5 ?
I find it a very handy tool compared to the standard KDE launcher.

I don't think Lancelot has been ported yet, or if there are any plans to do so, but here is the new Plasma 5.4 Alternative Launcher: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktDpkuEj3X4

[kubicle]

IIRC KDE 4 turned up in an LTS.

Not really:
1. It was possible to install KDE4 in 8.04 (if you really wanted to), but by default it had KDE3.
2. While Ubuntu 8.04 was an LTS release, Kubuntu 8.04 was not (because it would have been hard to support KDE3 for an extended period of time).

KDE4 (4.1.2) became the default in 8.10.

[artbar]

Long term releases are not particularly stable, when they first come out. IIRC KDE 4 turned up in an LTS.

That's exactly what happens in the change of "big versions" - it (LTS) does not guaranty the quality due to too many changed things. Things get better and better with each next LTS.

[jlittle]

With the KDE3-KDE4 experience in mind, I decided to wait until things settle down and get usable, and wait for the next long term release.
If you need to get work done or need a stable environment, stick to the long term releases.

Long term releases are not particularly stable, when they first come out. IIRC KDE 4 turned up in an LTS. For stability, adopting an LTS release a year or so after its release is needed.

Another point is that one of Ubuntu's strengths is how fresh the various packages are, compared to other distros. Sometimes, to get your work done you need recent versions. Sure, on a stable platform you can build the recent stuff you need, but it can be a lot of work, particularly if you have a hardware support issue.

[Teunis]

I've had some rather odd problems with 15.04 on this laptop (thinkpad w520).
The main one was that I had to do a hot reboot to get a stable system, a straight boot always ended in a lock up.
Three times I did a clean instal and the problem always showed up.

After my recent mishap of running out of disk space I had to remove ~/.config to get back to a full desktop and oh miracle, the old lock up has gone!
On some other hardware (AMD) I've not had any show stopper issues with 15.04

The remaining problem is a bunch of widgets and applications that need urgent porting.
Gwenview is one of the best picture viewers I know but under Plasma5 it is severely handicapped, it doesn't recognise the orientation of the camera and the KIPI plug ins are no longer available.

Little things I miss are the QuickAccess and CWP widgets and after a brief show the dropbox is again missing.

[mbohets]

With the KDE3-KDE4 experience in mind, I decided to wait until things settle down and get usable, and wait for the next long term release.
If you need to get work done or need a stable environment, stick to the long term releases.

By the way, did Lancelot get ported to KDE5 ?
I find it a very handy tool compared to the standard KDE launcher.

[artbar]

Hi there.

I had my on own rough experience with 15.04 (more here https://www.kubuntuforums.net/showth...-Kubuntu-15-04).

Big software companies like Microsoft, Oracle, Adobe, etc. have sizable budgets specifically for testing their products in hundreds, even thousands of configurations. Open source projects do not. The fine folks at KDE and the fine Kubuntu developers and packagers test what they can -- but the true tests come when tens of thousands of users start to use the bits across myriad hardware and software configurations. By using interim *buntu releases, you are tacitly agreeing to participate in this process. It's the only way to get a lot of hard-to-find bugs removed for the next long-term support (LTS) release, due in April 2016.

I agree with you on "big software companies" VS "KDE&Kubuntu" situation, but this is still bad excuse - "being right" should not exclude "being empathic" with users of your SW . Let me explain my point of view.

I also had (and I think other Kubuntu lovers too) unpleasant KDE3-to-KDE4 transition. It took time for developers, users and testers to hunt bugs and make Kubuntu stable for daily work, including critical&important tasks. And now we have "KDE4-to-KDE5(Plasma 5)" situation which is sort of deja vu - too many things broken (read - not ported to Plasma 5), instability, daily crashes, etc. "What's the problem? Plasma 5 is still new kid on the block!" you'd say. But wait, quote from kubuntu.org

The second set of updates to Plasma 5 are now stable enough for everyday use and is the default in this version of Kubuntu.

And this is not true - it is NOT stable enough for everyday use. What I miss in this whole story - extra disclaimer stating that 15.04 is more preview release for early adopters and this is not ready yet for stable, crash-free work. This is the lesson developers could learn from KDE3-to-KDE4 transition and such a notice or disclaimer would save nights for those users who had to spend time by PCs trying to make it stable again.

Said that, I really appreciate KDE&Kubuntu developers' work - I LOVE Plasma 5. I'll be installing and testing it this October with my hopes that it will work better.

Regards
ArtūrasB.

[SteveRiley]

They simply don't care what users think or want. They don't need your money. Committees and foundations trickle down the phony fiat currency so all they really need to do is obey the corporate codes of conduct... You'll get Kernel 4.1 when Linus finishes tanning his @ss on vacation, and not one minute sooner.

For someone who seems perfectly willing to avail him/herself of the work of others, you sure do complain a lot. Open source software projects don't owe you or anyone else a schedule.

[SteveRiley]

All this because 15.04 was released with what looks to me like a major glitch. . . .
My question: what's going on upstairs, that this sort of gotcha is considered perfectly acceptable? I really don't get it. Educate me, PLEASE.

Big software companies like Microsoft, Oracle, Adobe, etc. have sizable budgets specifically for testing their products in hundreds, even thousands of configurations. Open source projects do not. The fine folks at KDE and the fine Kubuntu developers and packagers test what they can -- but the true tests come when tens of thousands of users start to use the bits across myriad hardware and software configurations. By using interim *buntu releases, you are tacitly agreeing to participate in this process. It's the only way to get a lot of hard-to-find bugs removed for the next long-term support (LTS) release, due in April 2016.

[InsideJob]

My question: what's going on upstairs, that this sort of gotcha is considered perfectly acceptable? I really don't get it. Educate me, PLEASE.

They simply don't care what users think or want. They don't need your money. Committees and foundations trickle down the phony fiat currency so all they really need to do is obey the corporate codes of conduct. You should see how the Raspberry Pi Foundation guys respond to people begging for the official touchscreen. They've basically told customers to shut up and quit complaining, you'll get it when you get it. That's the type of attitude that prevails in Linux-land today. Don't even waste your time reading "The Cathedral and the Bazaar", it no longer applies. You'll get Kernel 4.1 when Linus finishes tanning his @ss on vacation, and not one minute sooner.

[NoWorries]

Thanks for that acknowledgement. I have never use encryption, as I was suspicious that it would give me problems with installation and also copying home partitions onto another installation.

For example, I was having trouble with getting Kontact to work on Vivid so I copied all of the Utopic home directory hidden files ~/.config, ~/.kde and ~/.local onto the Vivid system. I then had to reconfigure my desktop to what I liked and Kontact worked perfectly for me.

[Qqmike]

I agree with NoWorries on this. Not sure why I said 6 GB--thinking of absolute minimal guidelines, I suppose. But most users will use a lot more, and with drives so big and inexpensive, why not use 10-15 GB (or more) just for the heck of it? My usage is not typical:

~$ df -hT
Filesystem     Type      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda2      ext4       29G  [B]5.0G[/B]   23G  19% /

I partitioned / for 30 GB, but as you can see, I'm using only 5 GB because I don't install much, and the apps I do install don't take many bytes (like rEFInd). (I have a separate /home.)

Good catch there, NoWorries. Please jump in on stuff like this. He's also asking about encryption.

[NoWorries]

I wish to add my worth as you are getting excellent advice. I must confess that a 6GB root partition is a bit on the small size. I normally specify 10GB. I have 15.04 installed on a USB SanDisk and while it has some limitations, I tend to use it 90% of the time. My partitions on this system are:



As you can see, I am already over 6GB. I tend to keep it in check using "sudo apt-get clean" as, at times, I have less than 1GB free!!!

So make sure your root partition is bigger than 6GB

[Qqmike]

OK, good luck.

Have you used the Manual method when installing Kubuntu?
If so, stop reading.
If not, I'll just drop a few tips:

You choose the Manual install method from one of the first menus that appears during your 15.04 DVD installation session. So you choose Manual, then Continue.
Then you see a picture or list of your partitions, including the new partitions you created for 15.04.
You click one of the new partitions to highlight it.
At the bottom of this menu somewhere, you will see a chance to change or use that highlighted partition. Click that option (I think, as I recall, that option is "Change.")
Then over at the right somewhere are menus, including as I recall a drop down: you can figure out there how to use that highlighted partition as you wish-- say as / or as /home. Your choice will appear then in the list of partitions. Then you click another of your new partitions and repeat that sequence, indicating how to use it. (You may have a root / partition and a separate /home partition, or just a root / partition and no separate /home -- that's up to you.)
I'm not recalling the exact details, but that gives you the idea how to tell the installer which partitions to use and for what (/, /home).
When you created these new partitions for 15.04 using GParted, at that time you indicated a format for each one, probably ext4 (which is what most people use).
During the installation of 15.04, in that partition screen we are talking about, you may be given the option to re-format those; i.e., to reformat / and /home. There is NO need to do so since you did it fine in GParted. The installer MAY, however, tell you it is going to re-format the swap partition, and ask you, is that OK? Say yes to that--there's no problem doing that, and I don't see that the installer gives you a choice not to do so, anyway.