The latest release of Ubuntu has hit the streets.  The much-acclaimed “Karmic Koala” (Ubuntu 9.10’s codename) is now out in earnest, bringing many usability enhancements as well as technical ones.

Really, there’s not much to say except get it.

www.ubuntu.com

Make sure to use the torrents if you can, just to relieve server tension.

Because I can’t update incredibly often, I’ll use this post to point you to OMG! UBUNTU!, probably the best Ubuntu blog I’ve seen out there.  Regularly updated, OMG! UBUNTU! gives you the low-down on everything Ubuntu-related, including upcoming plans.

So I was thinking about one particular thing that I wrote about in my review of the GNOME shell, when I said that you should drop the ideas you have about how a desktop should look.  This was how artificial the “desktop” concept is.  Back in the Stone Age we came from the desktop paradigm:  it’s what we understood in terms of productivity.  However, a computer is much different, much more powerful than a desk.  On a desk you have a finite space which contains only the information and objects you put on it.  It doesn’t fetch data, tell you anything, give you opinions or options.  It’s a tool.  A computer is different in that it has the power to fetch information, to move it, and to bring it all together and present it to the user.  It can handle any type of media:  where a desk could only handle text and photos (unless you put a boom-box on it) the computer can do text and photos and sound and video and social interaction through Twitter and other feed-based services.  We need to embrace a paradigm that suits the computer. Continue reading

For starters, throw away all your conceptions about desktops.  They no longer apply.

Also remember that I am reviewing a highly experimental piece of software.  It may look unwieldy but that’s because it has no customization options yet (or at least, no GUI).

And lastly, remember that because there is a whole new paradigm introduced here it may seem that GNOME Shell’s whole concept is flawed.  However, after playing with it I can safely say that I can’t wait for it to arrive and believe it will increase my productivity.

So what am I talking about?  This (click for full view).

GNOME Shell with Google Chrome in foreground

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The reason I haven’t posted in forever is that I’ve been planning to bring you a huge review of different Linux distros and specifically how they implement KDE.

Well, that’s the “reason”…

I was planning to do that, but got sidetracked.  However, there is news on that front:

I am now a Konvert (this, to the uninitiated, is a reference to the sometimes annoying habit of KDE developers naming their apps with K, like KMail, amaroK, AKregator, etc).  When I decided to update Ubuntu from 32 bit to 64 bit I decided to try installing Fedora while I had a clean computer.  Fedora and I, well we just didn’t get along.  Package management was confusing.  So I went to more familiar territory:  Kubuntu.  And fell in love.  Now, it should be said that package management is the same as in Fedora, but as soon as you start installing GNOME packages (like Cheese) you get Ubuntu’s Add/Remove and Synaptic Package Manager.  It’s cheating, yet, but nice cheating.

Anyways, I’m here to show off my nice shiny KDE 4.2 desktop.

This is my KDE4 desktop with Qwit running my Twitter stream

Just a short overview of the desktop:

I’m running Kubuntu 9.04 64 bit.  I added a few Folder Views to contain the icons.  My twitter application is a gem called Qwit.  I have a few Photo plasmoids as well to personalize my desktop.  I’m using a plasmoid called STask to make all my open apps only use an icon instead of a windows-like bar.

I love it.  Kubuntu’s installation is easy, and though I had to wrestle with Jockey (Ubuntu’s Restricted Driver Manager) for a while, it’s great.  The plasmoids really sell it for me.  They can do just about everything.

I’m using a theme called Bespin that you have to compile from source but doesn’t like 64 bits.  I happened to find, however, a DEB of the respository while absolved me of having to compile the code.  Much much much nicer than the default Oxygen.

I grew up on GNOME so this is new to me.  But I love it.  There are a few problems, mostly to do with artefacting on some windows, but I’m looking into fixing it.

btw, new blog policy:  I know I haven’t posted in *forever* but the new rules are a Post A Day.  Yep.  Let’s see how far this goes.