Kubuntu 9.04 Falls Short

Apr 28, 2009, 00:02 (20 Talkback[s])
(Other stories by Jeremy LaCroix)

[ Thanks to Jeremy LaCroix for this link. ]

"Unfortunately, while what I wrote so far sounds really good, this release is not perfect. One let-down (though a more minor one) is the lack of any real polish, as there are no custom themes in this release whatsoever. Everything is vanilla KDE, looking exactly the same as if you compiled everything yourself from source. The Kubuntu team used to include some very beautiful custom artwork in each release, but what happened? Ever since KDE4 came into the picture, these custom themes have completely disappeared. Granted, the default theme is usually the first thing people change; However first impressions matter quite a bit, and the first impression generated here is that Canonical just doesn’t care to go the extra mile with Kubuntu anymore. Ubuntu got new community themes, a new wallpaper, AND a new GDM theme. Xubuntu received some visual attention as well. Why couldn’t Kubuntu get some love too?

"It gets worse. Kubuntu 9.04 received a new network manager plasmoid that is added to your panel by default, which replaces knetworkmanager of past releases. The problem is, this new utility won't connect to pretty much any wireless network. I have tried several routers, and several computers, and the new network manager just doesn't work. In fact, on the laptop that I'm typing this article on right now, I can't connect to my wireless router under Kubuntu; Yet Ubuntu has no problem with it, on the same system! Many have complained about knetworkmanager, however I would gladly take that over this new one any day. The new network manager is quite possibly the worst piece of technology I've ever seen in a Linux distribution in the decade I've been a Linux user!"

Complete Story

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