Ubuntu Open Week - Kubuntu - Mon, Nov 27, 2006

see also Saturday Session.

09:09   imbrandon       Hello everyone, I'm gonna kinda do this informal like, I have about 15 minutes worth of things to let everyone know about , things I think you might be interested in as new comers then I will let every one do a Q & A session.
09:09   imbrandon       All I ask during the Q & A is that you speak one at a time so we can get as much covered in this timeslot as possible.
09:09   imbrandon       What is Kubuntu? Kubuntu is the KDE centric sibling to Ubuntu, We have the same Dreams and Goals as Ubuntu , we just go about getting their via a different desktop.
09:10   imbrandon       Kubuntu runs ( very well ) almost entirely community driven with very few core developers and at the moment only on canonical paid employee ( Johnathan Riddell )
09:10   imbrandon       Looking forward to Feisty we have some exsciting things going on, a lot of KDE4 development is taking place and we're working hard to make it so KDE4 and KDE3 can be
09:11   imbrandon       installed side by side so developers can work hard to port their app to KDE4 without worrying about compiling all of KDE just to work on their own app. ( of course the option to compile core KDE4 is still their too :P )
09:11   imbrandon       Also we have a lot of other new exciting things like plans to test and include KOffice 2 in feisty+1 and have ( and try to continue to make ) Useability improvements as suggested by the KDE Useability team that in turn gets absorbed upstream.
09:12   imbrandon       And also a lot of little things that just make life easier , such as automatic installation of codecs when one tries to play say an MP3 in Amarok and such.
09:12   imbrandon       and lots of other great things all packed into a single CD
09:14   imbrandon       are their any areas that you aparticularly interested in ?the community , the development ?
09:15   imbrandon       tsmithe: well there are a few things
09:15   imbrandon       1 we share the same ideas as ubuntu in that we strive to make everything as easy as possible but still have a free distrobution
09:16   imbrandon       we work very closely with upstream projects to try alot of useability features and default setting so  everything
09:17   imbrandon       works very smootly togather as a unified desktop NOT the best of bread , but more about intergration
09:17   imbrandon       and the ploiferation of KDE based applications
09:17   imbrandon       you will notice things like FireFox isnt installed but we work on konqueror and such

[robotgeek] does kubuntu have a task list, varying by complexity, like KDE junior jobs, etc?

• not at the moment but that is one of the things we worked on doing at UDS. it will be a reality in the next few weeks

[cbx33] what of utilities created for the gnome environment....are people availbale to help with porting them to KDE - or is that not a desired approach?

• that is a very desired approach, infact there are alot of opertunities for pykde devel in kubuntu at the moment ... the installer is the most noticeable but... there is a whole list i can provideon the wiki after the meeting

[metatecque] Does kubuntu have plans to develop for the mobile environment?

• [Lure] is "mobile environment" like laptop or you talking about ubuntu on gadgets?

  [metatecque] more in the line of gadgets - but as powerful as a laptop what mobile env? laptops ort phones/pda?

  [metatecque] phones / pda / "sony mylo" type devices well it would be nice but kde upstream dosent support those devices

<lotusleaf> I noticed now in Kubuntu, in KDE Control Center -> System Administration -> Windows Applications it configures WINE easily with one click following Wine installation. Can we expect any additional such quick and easy tools to be included in KDE Control Center in the future?

• yes you can look for ALOT , not just in the control center but all accross kubuntu. install on demand is a major thing we're tweaking for feisty [Lure] grub config was discussed for feisty, not sure of other plans

[cbx33] is kubuntu hoping to include compiz/beryl for feisty?

• not for feisty no, it will be an easy to install feature but not on by default in kubuntu

[mocker] Is the new start menu that SuSE made going to be ported over?

• it already is in feisty as an optional package, but likely wont be default

<dtamas> kde4 will arrive with feisty or later?

• our kde4 plans are to release it as the main desktop with feisty+1 but feisty will have it avaible for installation from the repo with just a few clicks [Lure] feisty kde4 will be targeted for kde apps developers, feisty+1 is for users

<mahtavamatt> will there be at any stage, the release of a DVD EDITION, containing Ubuntu and all its derivatives with the option to choose either gnome, kde or xfce on install? I am asking about the release of a dvd that you are able to install either Ubuntu, Kubuntu or Xubuntu off and also the ability to choose either Ubuntu, Kubuntu or Xubuntu for a live session. Is this likely to happen, will there be an official release

• that has not been proposed to my knolage and not in the works , but that dosent mean it wont happen sometime

  [mahtavamatt] for a system admins like myslef it would be very handy

[metatecque] what about developing for a device, even if we have to port it downstream?

• its really a question of man power, i see no problem with that but we need the interested developers to do the port of QT etc to make that viable

<Jucato> KDE development cycle, doesn't sync with Ubuntu's (which sync's with GNOME). How does this affect Kubuntu? weren't there talks/proposals about separting Ubuntu's and Kubuntu's releases?

[Lure] kde does not have fixed life cycle (yet), so it is hard to plan release on it - current approach is to pick what is current at ubuntu release time. this may change if kde moves to more predictable release cycles ( e.g when KDE4 makes a fixed cycle )

• there were talks at one time about splitting the kubuntu releases to sync them with KDE more closely but I dont think that will happen untill AFTER the next LTS

<vyoman> why did the team adopt KDE 4 so early (feisty), this "in between version time" could have been used to perfect stuff such as printing, boot screen, session switching etc...

• very much work is stiull going into kde3 and kde3 will still be the default desktop, kde4 will only be there as an option for developers , so they can start porting their apps early. kde4 wont be the derfault desktop in kubuntu for atleaste 1 more year. also, we strive to keep everything on one install CD so with that in mind things like kde3 and kde4 wont both be default and things like KOffice by default ( to promote both kde apps and save space and memopry ) are looked at but defered to later releases

09:33   imbrandon       with that said , what ar some of the things you all are looking for in the next release? ( please post to -chat )
09:34   imbrandon       do you feel the entry to help with kubuntu has worked so far? is there anything we can do to improve that ?

<somerville32> Are there any plans to improve Kubuntu performance?

• yea , infact just before this class i was looking at ways to opti the loading of files on the live cd and many other various improvemnts go into the loading every chance we get

<vyoman> is the team aware of the troubles caused by upgrading from dapper to edgy and if so have any lessons been learned?

• fesity will get update-manager like ubuntu which should cover upgrades

  [finalbeta] One of the Feisty specs seems to be directed at solving those problems. https://blueprints.launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/+spec/dist-upgrader-fixes yes we are aware of the issues, that is one reason we work ultra close with the ubuntu developers ( we are alot of the same team ) and also why there is a port of the upgrader tool to kubuntu for feisty

[|harry|] On the Ubuntu podcasthttp://ubuntuos.com/podcast/feed.xml, one of the hosts made a comment about the performance of SUSE linux as oppose to Kubuntu. Why is their a difference?

• that is not an official ubuntu podcast but yes there is one on ubuntuos.com ( i also hear rumors there might be one in the future TheFridge. shhh

<cbx33> Why does kubuntu appear to run faster from a live cd than the generic ubuntu?

• that is purely appearance afaik

<lotusleaf> Can we expect a frontend for iptables like Firestarter or Guarddog to be installed by default in future versions of Kubuntu without the user having to seek it out themselves?

• we have discussed this before at KCC meetings and decided against it, thats not to say it wot be revisited again, come to a meeting and tell us you want ti ! [Lure] firewall decision will probably depend on overall *ubuntu decision - so we may just follow it

  [fabio_] and a GUI for the nfs mount?

  • yes a GUI for NSF ( and samba ) mounts is in the works for kubuntu system settings. its oe of the many pykde apps ready for help

<barsanuphe> are there any plans to use (or adapt) the Kickoff menu instead of current K menu?

• it has been discussed but defered untill more testing can be done, but it is in talks, weeather ti will be default or not is still up for grabs, but it will be avail for an option atleaste

<Jucato> a lot of KDE users are complaining about how Kubuntu changes KDE too much (Konqueror, System Settings) or removes some things (Kuickshow). What are the developers' comments and reasons for this? How do they go about making such decisions and from where do they base these changes (studies, surveys, comments)?

• well thats depends on how you look at it, here is the process most kubuntu developers are upstream kde devlopers OR work closely with them, most of the defaults are sugested by ellen from KDE usability or celeste,( including system settings ). once they are proven to work out well they are given back to upstream. as far as how, they are decided , that is done for the mostpart at bi-weekly kubuntu meetings [Lure]lots of distros test new concepts now with kde3 as these ideas may be used for kde4 as default - suse kickoff is perfect example, kubuntu media:/ fixes may be another one

  [Jucato] ok... I guess the process isn't really just clear. A common misconception is that Kubuntu developers randomly remove/change things without much notice (even in release notes)

  • some changes may not be pleaseant to everybody, but you do not know this until they go out in the wild - /.hidden is good example which was backed out for feisty and yes, this should be better documented. yes that is a misconception and we'll try to make that more transparent for the feisty cycle

[gnomefreak] do we even have a kickoff package?

• yes i uploaded it yesterday ( it my still need approval from archiove admins )

<finalbeta> Qt is supposed to be offering a clear looks theme since recently. Will this only be used for compatibility towards GNOME. Or could this be standard. Because allot of GNOME users could be turned if KDE didn't look like a failed XP style attempt. (last part is my own opinion of course)

• no kubuntu will keep its own distinct look. this is only in Qt4, so not possible before feisty+1 (at least for users)

<vyoman> having installed kubuntu on grandads and the milk man's machine, one of the features family guys are missing from windows is prettier and faster session switching, what is the plan?

• i really dont know the plans for that but i do know there are plans in the works for kde4 to vastly improve that

<barsanuphe> will kuickshow ever come back?

• anything is possible but gwenview is serving us well at the moment. it was removed due to dependany issue - if this would be resolved upstream, we may include it again

<ivoks> What's Riddell's favourite drink? :)

• irun brew ? iron bru ! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irn_bru

[fabio_] will be implemented some like ubuntu media center like windows media center?

• [tenshu] there is a third party project called Ubuntu Center but at this time it is in planning phase

<nixternal> What is imbrandon's favorite drink ;p ?

• MT DEW

<Zerlinna> Is there any chance that kubuntu will have more than one paid dev? (Didn't Mark promise something like this on LinuxTag?)

• yes, we just dont know who or when it will happen ( i'm guessing very soon ), but better to ask mark tomarrow