Hands on: Making Ubuntu even easier

Installing Kubuntu from CD is just as easy as Ubuntu. Just download the appropriate CD image. The desktop CD offers a GUI-based install program, just like Ubuntu.

Post installation
A similar set of tasks apply to Kubuntu as with Ubuntu. If you have followed the steps recommended in a previous article on Ubuntu – mentioned above – and have installed Kubuntu on top with apt-get, nothing more needs to be done.

A fresh Kubuntu installation will need the steps done in a slightly different way.

The first thing to do is add the Universe and Multiverse repositories. Unless you specifically know you don’t need these, always perform this step on any Ubuntu setup.

Ubuntu automates the addition of these repositories if you choose to install any application (such as the Xine Codecs) with the Add/Remove Applications utility.

Kubuntu’s version of the application unfortunately does not.

It is possible to edit the /etc/apt/sources .list file through Adept or directly with any editor, and add ‘universe multiverse’ to any uncommented line. To do this run at a command promt:
$ sudo kwrite
/etc/apt/sources.list

A better option, however, is to create new entries in /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ for each of the repositories.

This takes a little longer but makes it much clearer which repositories are in use, and is the way Ubuntu handles the automated addition as described above.

To add the repositories this way, run at the command line:
$ sudo kwrite
/etc/apt/sources.list.d/dapper-universe.list

Add in the text shown at the end of this article – Code to create repositories – click save and exit. Repeat for dapper-universe.list and dapper-commercial.list.

The Commercial repository adds in some third-party commercial applications, such as the Opera web browser and Realplayer.

When the repository lists are changed, update the information in the usual way:
$ sudo apt-get update

KDE and Amarok updates
Kubuntu comes with KDE 3.5.2 and Amarok 1.3.

The Dapper release came too late to include the latest KDE 3.5.3 version or the improved Amarok 1.4 series.

The good news is that the Kubuntu project provides semi-official updates for both of these, and installing them involves adding a couple of new repositories.

I’d recommend installing the Amarok update, as support for Apple iPods and other mp3 players is better.

KDE 3.5.3 provides little in the way of extra features compared with 3.5.2, but does include many bug fixes and some performance enhancements. You can install both.

Check the Kubuntu website for instructions on how to add the repositories, either directly to /etc/apt/sources.list or as new files in /etc/apt/sources.list.d/. Both Easy Ubuntu and Automatix work on Kubuntu too.

Code to create repositories
Add the lines beginning ‘deb’ below to each of the files described.

For the file dapper-universe.list only:
deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ dapper universedeb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper-security universedeb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ dapper-updates universe

For the file dapper-multiverse.list only:
deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ dapper multiversedeb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper-security multiversedeb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ dapper-updates multiverse

For the file dapper-commercial.list only:
deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu dapper-commercial main

Amarok 1.4:
deb http://kubuntu.org/packages/amarok-latest dapper main

KDE 3.5.3:
deb http://kubuntu.org/packages/kde-latest dapper main

Edgy Eft update
Dapper Drake was delayed in release, originally planned for April and coming out in June, thus taking its version number from 6.04 to 6.06.

The next version, Edgy Eft, was expected to appear in December, following the usual six-month release cycle.

However, with the Gnome project’s six-month cycle, the decision was made to bring forward Edgy’s release to be in line with Gnome’s, resulting in a much quicker October release.

Edgy’s version will therefore be 6.10, with the planned final release date of 26 October 2006 and the first beta on 28 September.

With only a four-month turnaround, Edgy won’t be quite as cutting-edge as originally planned. The timescale is too tight for significant changes.

However, major software updates will be provided, still making it an exciting release.

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