Comments on The Perfect Desktop - Kubuntu 9.10

Guys, the article is called "The Perfect Kubuntu 9.10 Desktop". He does this just about every time a new Linux Desktop comes out and he's already done it with Ubuntu and Gnome 2.28. Do you honestly have to start flaming his whole reason for writing the article, are you that bored with nothing else to do? Some people prefer Gnome, others prefer KDE. Some GTK apps work a little better. Some QT apps work just a little bit better. I happen to use a mix of both depending on what I feel like at the moment. That's one of the great things about Ubuntu and Linux in general. You can install both desktops and switch back and forth at the display manager depending on what you feel like that session. Sometimes I feel like KDE. Sometimes I feel like Gnome. Sometimes I like to try something different like E-17 or LXDE.

Leave the dude alone. He's just trying to help people set up a full replacement for Windows. The newbie reading this doesn't need to be confused and turned off by people flaming the other's Linux Desktop, otherwise he'll go back to Windows thinking this whole thing is too confusing and you will have lost a potential 'nix convert.Work towards the common goal and against a common enemy. Eyes on the prize and not on beating each other up from the inside.

By the way, KDE 4.3 is a great desktop. It's much better than the previous KDE 4 releases and most of the accompanying software is pretty stable now, more than usable, and feature rich really catering to make the computer as user friendly as possible. And it definitely does rings around Windows 7 or any incarnation of Windows. That's the comparison which needs to be made and understood. 

While the selection of programs is pretty good, using Linux still means losing a lot of great Windows applications I love and some I absolutely need.  For example, I'm in China so I must use QQ.  The Linux version of QQ?  Outdated and unstable, it crashes within 5 minutes and disappears without a single error message (a chronic problem on Linux).  Empathy?  Won't connect to QQ, not sure why.  Pidgin works, but kicks me off ever 12 hours, doesn't support the voice, video, images, or file transfers.

Next there is Weather Pulse, a great program for collecting weather data.  I've used it for years.  Awesome program.  There is no Linux version.  Under Wine it crashes instantly.

Sorry, but no.  A Windows desktop replacement that can't seamlessly run Windows programs is anything a perfect desktop.  Linux is about making lots of compromises.  I don't want to compromise.  I want to use the programs that I want to use, not a collection of "wanna be" programs that you think are better.

"A Windows desktop replacement that can't seamlessly run Windows programs is anything a perfect desktop."

Don't you understand the meaning of the word replacement?

It is not a problem having a preference of one desktop over another but since you are writing a tutorial for KDE, a knowledge of KDE is required for the job, as it is a will to help people who want KDE, to use that desktop environment and it's applications ( unless there is a Gnome one which is vastly superior). As other comments pointed out,  you have basically taken the Ubuntu HOWTO, cut and paste and off you go with  Kubuntu instead,  not too mention that you are ignoring native KDE applications which are as good as (if not better) than the one you have mentioned. All in all, not a good job, please take this off  and (if  you want to provide a perfect Kubuntu desktop howto) do your homework and re post a real tutorial.

Have to agree with the comments and if you really want to use KDE why not use a distro with real KDE integration like Mandriva or Opensuse

I'm quite confused why you would choose Kubuntu over Ubuntu to do your customization with- if the vast majority of your desired apps are Gnome apps or desktop-independent, why aren't you going with a Gnome-based solution?

If you want ubuntu instead, then see the ubuntu article (this is the Kubuntu one for those folks that like KDE - however, earlier post about picking appropriate apps for KDE vs gnome is well placed)

https://www.howtoforge.com/the-perfect-desktop-ubuntu-9.10-karmic-koala

That transparent "window" you see at upper left is called "folder view". It's a big improvement over KDE3.5. It isn't limited to ~/Desktop. You can delete it, and recreate it via drag-n-drop from dolphin or whatever. But it falls down because it isn't a real window. You can't limit it to one workspace. You can't minimize it. You can't move/resize it by standard methods--you have to use those krazy slider things. Why not just make it a real window?

F-Spot. Digikam is wayyy better than this mono-infested application. Why would you recommend this?

 Thunderbird and Evolution don't do anything that Kmail does not. Besides Kontact is very nicely integrated into the KDE desktop, thank you. Just the threading feature of Kmail beats both thunderbird and evolution.

 Sorry, your choice of applications reeks of GNOME-ism to me! Let there be a flame-war. Basically KDE applications are better than GNOME ones. 

 Some key examples:

 Amarok, K3b, Kontact/Kmail, Digikam, . . .

 Also, for me at least, Chromium has replacted Firefox due to its blazing fast speed!