How to Install and Use Dropbox in Kubuntu

By | December 24, 2010 |

Kfilebox iconWe have gone through how you can upgrade your Dropbox to version 1.0 in Ubuntu, but that method won’t work for Kubuntu (which is running KDE). The frontend for Ubuntu included with Dropbox currently has Gnome dependencies, namely Nautilus. If you are using Kubuntu or any other KDE-based distribution, you probably do not want Nautilus running, even in the background.

Kfilebox (formerly Kdropbox) is an easy-to-use utility that automatically downloads the latest Dropbox daemon and integrates Dropox with your KDE system.
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Kubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat Review

By | October 27, 2010 |

Kubuntu logoOn October 10, Canonical released its latest installment of Ubuntu, codenamed “Maverick Meerkat”. Like previous iterations, Maverick also includes variations from the standard Ubuntu Gnome interface. Kubuntu is the KDE variation of Ubuntu, and last week, I decided to upgrade from 10.04 and give 10.10 a try.

Eye Candy is Yummy

Maverick ships with KDE SC 4.5 installed, the most stable and attractive version of the KDE 4 series to date.
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How to Install KDE 4.5

By | August 18, 2010 |

Package manager iconKDE 4.5 is a milestone release that took several months to complete, fixing over 16,000 bugs. While it also added new features, the selling point of this release is the stability that typically comes with a x.5 version of KDE. The desktop, applications, and development platforms have matured, and many of the outstanding bugs have been resolved.

Not all Linux distributions will offer packages for KDE 4.5 upgrades, and none of them, at this time, are supporting them in their official repositories. This takes time, and most distros will include a version of KDE 4.5 with their next official releases. Therefore, keep in mind that the packages you are about to install may not be supported by your distribution. Some are included in their distribution’s “unstable” or “testing” repositories, while others are from third-party packagers.

I tried to include as many major Linux distributions as possible, but if I missed your favorite distro, feel free to add instructions for it in the comments section.
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Rekonq: A Quick Glance At Kubuntu Next Default Browser

By | May 19, 2010 |

Rekonq iconThe talk of the town is that the next version of Kubuntu (10.10, codenamed Maverick Meerkat) will have a new default browser, replacing Konqueror, the longtime KDE favorite. The replacement browser may very well be Rekonq, a browser that could be viewed as a next-generation approach to Konqueror.

At first glance, Rekonq’s interface design looks very similar to Google Chrome, and like Chrome, Rekonq has the Webkit layout engine at its core. Webkit, originally developed by Apple, is actually derived from KHTML, the layout engine for Konqueror. To make matters more confusing, KDE developers began working on Webkit with talks of replacing KHTML in Konqueror. That did not occur, but Rekonq has managed to bring Webkit to KDE via an entirely new browser experience.
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How to Install And Setup Ubuntu One In Kubuntu

By | March 15, 2010 |

Ubuntu One logoLast year MTE gave you a hands on review of the beta release of Ubuntu One, Canonical’s answer to the popular Dropbox file syncing service. Ubuntu One allows users to have a local folder on their computers linked and synced with a folder on an Ubuntu One server. They can also share files with their other computers and even with other users.

This was good news for many mobile Ubuntu users who needed the flexibility that online storage space affords them. Unfortunately, KDE users, those who use Kubuntu, were left out of the initial release. In order to use Ubuntu One, they would have to install the Gnome client or use only the web-based interface.

Now, all of that has changed with the development of Ubuntu One KDE Client.  It is easy to download, setup, and install, and MTE will take you through the entire process.
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KDE Plasma Netbook Preview

By | December 7, 2009 |

knetbook1

With the growing popularity of netbooks, it is no surprise that many Linux distributions and software developers have created customized versions of their software to run on them. Some of the popular choices include Ubuntu’s Netbook Remix and Intel’s Moblin.  Not to be counted out, KDE now has a version of their desktop environment designed for netbooks. While it is still under heavy development, I thought now would be a good time to get a little preview of what is to come. For the purposes of this preview, I installed Kubuntu Netbook Edition, but you can conceivably use any distribution that will support your netbook.
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Preview of Kubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala

By | October 19, 2009 |

KubuntuLogoThe release of the newest version of Ubuntu is only 10 days away. Many sites, including MakeTechEasier have covered its pending arrival and given you a glimpse of the Beta version. Today we are going to take a look at Kubuntu, the KDE-based version of Ubuntu.
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Transform Kubuntu Jaunty to Windows 7 In 3 Simple Steps

By | June 19, 2009 |

kubuntu-win7 One thing that I love about Linux (and Ubuntu) is that it is fully customizable and I can configure it to the way that I want it. Previously, I have already illustrated its flexibility by showing how you can transform Ubuntu Hardy and Intrepid into Mac OS X. Today, let’s bring a step further and see how we can transform Kubuntu Jaunty to Windows 7 in 3 simple steps.

In this tutorial, we will make use of the Vistar7 – Windows 7 transformation pack to perform the transformation. This transformation pack has a nice collection of Windows 7 themes and comes with an installation script to make the whole transformation a breeze. [Read more...]

How to Integrate Google Gadgets With Plasma in Kubuntu

By | May 18, 2009 |

google-gadgets-plasma1-scaled

When Google Gadgets were released for Linux, many people once again praised Google’s support of free and open source software, but there was just one problem. The two major desktop environments for Linux, GNOME and KDE, both already had desktop widget components that were better integrated into their overall desktops. Fortunately, the Google developers were well aware of this and built in the interoperability that would allow the GNOME and KDE developers to seamlessly integrate the two.

With the release of KDE 4.2, Google Gadgets became fully integrated into Plasma. You can add them to your desktop with a few clicks of your mouse, unless you happen to be a Kubuntu user. For reasons that are outside the scope of this article, Kubuntu developers decided to remove the Google Gadget code from Plasma.  Being the stubborn hackers that we are, however, we are going to get them back.  This will require a little compiling of software, but I will walk you through each step.

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