Looking for Karmic? That page is available here: https://wiki.kubuntu.org/Kubuntu/Kde3/Karmic

Introduction

A semi-official remix of Jaunty Jackalope has been created with only KDE3.5 installed, for the convenience of users who are not quite ready to take the jump to KDE4.x.

The main focus of this remix is to keep the mature, stable, and familiar KDE3.5 desktop environment available for easy installation and use. Along the way, various bugs have been fixed, and small enhancements added--see below for more information.

This remix follows Kubuntu's release schedule, slightly delayed. Currently the finalized Jaunty 9.04 version is available, and can be downloaded from:

• http://apt.pearsoncomputing.net/cdimages (Main site with additional information)

• http://kde3.tokra.lv (Mirror site with latest images, by Inga Muste)

• http://mirror.pbastida.net/kubuntu-kde3 (Mirror site with latest images, by Pior Bastida)

Manual installation using apt-get

Adding the instructions here, because http://apt.pearsoncomputing.net/ seems to be down.

• To use, add these lines to your /etc/apt/sources.list file or add to a new file in /etc/apt/sources.list.d/kde35.list:

# For Karmic:
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/kde3-maintainers/ppa/ubuntu karmic main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/kde3-maintainers/ppa/ubuntu karmic main

# For Jaunty (yes, you need both jaunty and intrepid repositories):
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/kde3-maintainers/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/kde3-maintainers/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/kde3-maintainers/ppa/ubuntu intrepid main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/kde3-maintainers/ppa/ubuntu intrepid main

# For Intrepid:
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/kde3-maintainers/ppa/ubuntu intrepid main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/kde3-maintainers/ppa/ubuntu intrepid main

• Add the GPG signing key:

wget http://apt.pearsoncomputing.net/public.gpg -q -O- | sudo apt-key add -

• To install KDE 3.5:

sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop-kde3

New or Improved from Hardy

KDE 3.5.10

The KDE run dialog has finally been given proper filesystem autocompletion, in addition to the standard history-based autocompletion.

KPDF

Easy PDF rotation has finally been added.

KCpuLoad

Now supports an arbitrary number of processors, not just two as in the past

KDE4.x compatibility

KDE3.5 can be installed alongside KDE4.x with no problems. KDE3.5 automatically detects and adjusts for KDE4.x programs, so that users can easily run KDE4 applications from within the KDE3.5 environment.

Kubuntu Documentation

Needs thorough testing. Language support is minimal, and assistance would be greatly appreciated on this front.

If you are interested in helping out, please contact:

• Timothy Pearson

Known Issues

• KNetworkManager is as buggy as ever. nm-applet (from package network-manager-gnome) is recommended, but not installed by default.
• Language support is sporadic, as mentioned above.

• When using the RC1 disks on certain hardware (VirtualBox is one of the problem platforms), KDE refuses to start, citing ksmserver as the problem.
  RC2 CD images are now available; if you were affected by this issue you should download RC2, otherwise it is safe to wait for the final release CD images.

• Some uses who use Nvidia cards driving multi-monitor Xinerama setups may experience a bug causing multiple mouse pointers to appear. See https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/357901.

Mailing List

• There is a mailing list for Kubuntu KDE3.5 users available here: http://apt.pearsoncomputing.net/mailinglist.html
  This is a great place for users to share tips and tricks, and you can also sign up to receive announcements related to KDE3.5 under Kubuntu.

Long-Term Support

• I notice that some users are wondering if KDE3.5 will be available in Karmic Koala [Kubuntu 9.10]. The answer is yes, barring any unforeseen unfixable issues.

• If you decide to try KDE4, or even move completely away from KDE3, you can do that easily. Simply install the KDE4 kubuntu-desktop package, reboot into your new desktop, and remove the KDE3 packages with your favorite package manager.
  As an aside, KDE4 and KDE3 coexist almost perfectly, so you can even switch back and forth between the two just by selecting the desired environment from the login screen.

Upgrade from 8.04 [Hardy Heron]

• It is relatively simple to upgrade from Kubuntu 8.04 to Kubuntu 9.04 with KDE3.5, but the process has not been automated.
  You will therefore have to follow these steps to ensure a successful update without losing your KDE settings:

  • 1. Copy your /home/<username>/.kde folder to /home/<username>/.kde3 You will have to do this for all users of the computer that you are upgrading. Make sure that the permissions and ownership of these files are not disturbed in any way. Some KDE settings may still be lost during the transition.

  • 2. Perform the upgrade as you normally would. Eventually, the update utility will inform you that you need to reboot. After doing so, you will have a KDE4 desktop. Don't worry, this is temporary.

  • 3. Using your favorite package manager or a text editor, open your repositories list (/etc/apt/sources.list). Point your browser to http://apt.pearsoncomputing.net/, and add the four lines listed at the top of the page under "Jaunty".

  • 4. Below those lines, you will see two more lines for Intrepid, and then two commands regarding the GPG signing key. Ignore the Intrepid lines and run those two commands in a terminal. The computer should respond with "OK" after the second command.
  • 5. Using your package manager or the command line, perform a 'fetch updates' (sudo apt-get update).
  • 6. If you don't already have one open, open a new terminal and install the ' kubuntu-desktop-kde3 ' package.
  • 7. After the install has finished, take a look at the end of the output from the apt-get command. If everything went smoothly, with no errors, reboot your computer. You should now be able to select KDE3 as your window manager at the login screen. You can also remove the KDE4 packages with your favorite package manager if you do not want to have KDE4 installed.
• Once you have upgraded to either Intrepid with KDE3.5 or Jaunty with KDE3.5, you will be able to perform future upgrades without having to follow the above steps.

Note: During the install of the kubuntu-desktop-kde3 package, the computer may complain about packages which conflict, causing the apt-get command to (eventually) end with an error. If so, follow up with 'apt-get -f install' to finish the install process.

Installing KDE3.5 applications

• To install the KDE3.5 version of a desired application, append a -kde3 suffix onto the package name. For example, to install the KDE3.5 version of Amarok instead of the KDE4 version, install the 'amarok-kde3' package instead of the 'amarok' package. This will be persistent across future upgrades. Also, the KDE3.5 and KDE4 versions of most applications can be installed at the same time with no problems.

Executing KDE3.5 applications from another DE

• KDE3.5 applications now require a special environment to be set up in order to run properly; this prevents conflicts with any portion of KDE4. If you are using these applications from within KDE3.5, then this is automatic and you do not need to do anything to have them run properly. However, if you are attempting to use KDE3.5 applications from within KDE4, Gnome, or XFCE/Fluxbox, you will need to set the following environment variables before execution:
  • PATH=/opt/kde3/bin:/opt/kde3/games:/opt/kde3/bin:$PATH
  • KDEDIRS=/usr/:/opt/kde3/
  • KDEHOME=$HOME/.kde3
  • XDG_DATA_DIRS=/opt/kde3/share/:/usr/share/
  • MANPATH=/opt/kde3/share/man

• KDE3.5 applications and libraries now reside in the /opt/kde3 prefix. This means that you must have the kdelibs-data-kde3 package installed, as it creates the correct ldconfig path search file. Without it, none of the KDE3.5 applications will be able to find their library files, and will therefore refuse to run.

• It is very simple to create a shortcut that can properly run KDE3.5 applications. Simply type the following into the "command to run" textbox when creating a shortcut in your environment (all one line):
  PATH=/opt/kde3/bin:/opt/kde3/games:/opt/kde3/bin:$PATH KDEDIRS=/usr/:/opt/kde3/ KDEHOME=$HOME/.kde3 XDG_DATA_DIRS=/opt/kde3/share/:/usr/share/ MANPATH=/opt/kde3/share/man <original application command, e.g. k3b or amarok>

Feedback

We want to hear what you think about the current beta release of Kubuntu 9.04, the Jaunty Jackalope, with KDE3.5. We want to know if it Rocks, if it is just OK, or if it is flat out wrong. No matter the feedback, as long as it is in line with the Ubuntu Code of Conduct, we would like to hear it.

So what are you waiting for? Head on over to the Feedback Page and let us know!