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Page 1 of 5 Every now and then a particular Linux distribution appears and causes a splash with its stability, usability, support of myriads of pieces of hardware, abundance of features, etc. Although it does not fit exactly in the above description, one of the recent splashes is the Debian-based Ubuntu Linux and its derivatives Kubuntu and Edubuntu.
Ubuntu and Its Derivatives I am far from thinking that Ubuntu, Kubuntu, and Edubuntu are the stars of today only because they are fashionable. On the contrary, they are really nice distros and in my opinion are suitable for many Linux newbies, who do not require a database server or a development environment on their desktop but rather a minimal distro with an office packet, Web browser, a CD/DVD burner, music and video players and some other small pieces of software for fun and work. Ubuntu and its derivatives Kubuntu and Edubuntu offer exactly this – a basic system that fits on one CD and that offers an office packet (Open Office), some image viewing and processing programs, a couple of Internet and multimedia packages and of course, some useful utilities like archiving tools and popup notes. Before we start reviewing Kubuntu and Edubuntu, there is one important clarification that needs to be made. Kubuntu and Edubuntu are not forks of Ubuntu. Actually, they are part of the same project, run on the same kernel, have many common packages. The only difference is that Ubuntu and Edubundu use Gnome as the desktop environment, while Kubuntu is KDE based. If you get Ubuntu and later download and install KDE, you will have the same functionality that is offered by Kubuntu. Kubuntu – The KDE Variety of Ubuntu As already mentioned, the main difference between Ubuntu and Kubuntu is the desktop environment. For a newbie, this can be a big issue, because there are significant differences in the assortment of programs that are included in Ubuntu and Kubuntu. Of course, you can always download and install additional packages, so it is hardly a problem that the default installation of Kubuntu does not include Games, for example. First Impressions of Kubuntu
Having seen the previous versions of Ubuntu and Kubuntu (5.10) and the 6.06 Beta of Ubuntu, I presumed more visual differences between Kubuntu 5.10 and its successor. Not that it is necessary to make a total revamp of the GUI but unlike Ubuntu 6.06 Beta, which has a big Ubuntu Dapper Beta bar in the lower right corner of the desktop, there is no visual indication of the version of Kubuntu you are running. Still, this is actually a minor issue (if an issue at all) and what is more, since the build I reviewed was still a beta, this might change for the final version. 
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