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

Note: If you have previously installed Dropbox in Kubuntu, rename the .dropbox-dist folder to .dropbox-dist-backup in order for Kilfebox to download the latest version of the Dropbox daemon.

To install Kfilebox in Kubuntu:

1. Go to the project’s Sourceforge website

2. Click the latest version (currently Kfilebox-0.4.5)

3. Click Ubuntu 10.04 (even if you have 10.10)

4. Choose i386 (32 bit) or amd64 (64 bit), depending on your hardware

5. When it finishes downloading, click on the deb file to install and enter your password when prompted.

6. When the installation completes, find “Kfilebox” in your menu or press Alt-F2 and type kfilebox

*Kfilebox will then automatically start downloading the Dropbox daemon

7. When prompted check the appropriate button to tell Kfilebox whether you already have a Dropbox account or need to get a new one.

Once you finish the configuration, you can set Kfilebox to start when you login and tell it which folder to use for synchronization. For more information about Kfilebox, visit the project website.

Related Posts:

• Kubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat Review
• How to Install KDE 4.5
• Rekonq: A Quick Glance At Kubuntu Next Default Browser
• How to Use Dropbox in a Non-Gnome Environment

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.

The Kubuntu developers do not modify the KDE interface at all. There is no Kubuntu theme for KDE. For those who like the default Plasma theme, this is ideal. For those who do not, they always have the option of changing it.

One tool that has improved is the Ubiquity installer. It is more aesthetically appealing and easier to use than ever, and it gives users the ability to install restricted media features (like MP3 playback support) during initial installation. This is probably as close as they will ever get to including that support within the OS itself.

Maverick Features

There are not a ton of new features with this latest version of Kubuntu, but there are a few significant ones worth mentioning.

1. New Message Indicator – The system tray message indicator now engulfs messaging icons like Kopete’s within its envelope. When new messages are received, the new indicator handles them and changes color to inform the user. The two problems I have experienced with it are that I can no longer exit Kopete with a quick right click and quit, and sometimes the Kopete window will not restore from the tray at all.

2. Rekonq – As was expected, Rekonq is now the default web browser for KDE. Rekonq adds many features that Konqueror users have long requested, and it mimics many Google Chrome design aspects. However, I have found their navigation/search bar to be a little slow compared to Konqueror. Otherwise, its features are very appealing.

3. New KPackagekit - I have never been much of a fan of KPackagekit, but this new version does have some nice additions. The biggest addition is the ability to browse through installable applications.

4. Introducing Pulseaudio – The word Pulseaudio all by itself makes some Ubuntu users cringe, while others would never part from it. Regardless of where you stand on the issue, it is now the default sound server for Kubuntu. For the most part, I like it. With it, I was able to get the microphone working on my laptop that I could not get working with plain Alsa.

Unfortunately, the positive features of pulseaudio are overshadowed by its apparent incompatibility with KMix. Sometimes changing the volume with function keys causes it to spike all the way up or down, and muting does not seem to work with function keys at all. Kubuntu developers have been delaying adding Pulseaudio to KDE until the compatibility was there, but it still appears to be lacking in KMix.

5. Netbook Edition - Kubuntu’s netbook interface comes installed with the regular desktop system, and it is easier than ever to switch from one to the other using System Settings. If you like it, the KDE netbook workspace is easy to use and versatile. I, however, do not like it and found its effects to be slow, even on my dual core Atom netbook with an Nvidia Ion processor. Still, it does look nice and functions reasonably well, especially with the addition of the new global menu.

6. Ubuntu font - The Ubuntu font is fun and cute, and it now comes installed by default.

7. Kubuntu Mobile Tech Preview – Another new variation to the workspace, at this time, it is not clear if there are actual intentions to package this interface and use it. Ubuntu Mobile, after all, died quietly. Therefore, this may just be a proof of concept, but it is an interesting one.

Kubuntu 10.10 appears to be more stable and ready for production than 10.04. The upgrade process was one of the smoothest I have experienced. But the few features that it added were not very compelling, and some may even turn off a few loyal users. Nevertheless, any upgrade has its technical benefits: a newer kernel, latest hardware support, and newer packages and updates. For those who waited until Maverick to upgrade to KDE 4.5, it will be a pleasant surprise. For others, it will just be a routine software upgrade.

Related Posts:

• Rekonq: A Quick Glance At Kubuntu Next Default Browser
• How to Install and Use Dropbox in Kubuntu
• How to Install KDE 4.5
• KDE Power Management 101

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.

Kubuntu

Kubuntu 10.04 packages are available in the backports repository, but they are not officially supported as part of the distribution. The development release (Maverick) 10.10 includes KDE 4.5 packages by default.

1. Add the following repository through KPackageKit or using apt-get in a terminal.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kubuntu-ppa/beta
Update: It should be the backport repository, not the beta.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kubuntu-ppa/backports

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

OpenSUSE

Packages for OpenSUSE are available in the 11.3 KDE repositories.

1. If you have not already, add the repository with:

zypper ar -f http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/KDE:/Distro:/Factory/openSUSE_11.3

2. Upgrade with:

zypper dup –from KDF

Mandriva

1. Remove repositories from previous versions, with a command like this:

 urpme.removemedia kde-4.5rc3

2. Add the KDE 4.5 repository. For 32-bit systems, enter as root:

urpmi.addmedia kde-4.5 ftp://ftp.kde.org/pub/kde/stable/4.5.0/Mandriva/2010.1/i586/

For 64-bit systems, type:

urpmi.addmedia kde-4.5 ftp://ftp.kde.org/pub/kde/stable/4.5.0/Mandriva/2010.1/x86_64/

3. Update repository list and test:

rpmi –auto-update –auto-select –test

4. Finally, type:

urpmi –auto-update –auto-select

Fedora

1. Enable the KDE repositories using the instructions found here

2. Enable kde-testing and kde-unstable in KPackageKit

3. In a terminal, type as root:

yum groupupdate kde-desktop

Slackware

AlienBOB has published instructions on upgrading to KDE 4.5. Users should follow them to get the latest packages.

Gentoo

According to the Gentoo KDE guide, an official release of KDE 4.5 will not be made until KDE-PIM, which was delayed, is made available. This will probably be in KDE 4.5.1. There are also other bugs that Gentoo developers said KDE developers have not yet address. Users who still want KDE 4.5 can compile it themselves, as they normally would, and just use KDE-PIM 4.4.5. A full explanation is available at the KDE4 guide website.

PCLinuxOS

At the time of this writing, PCLinuxOS developers were preparing KDE 4.5 packages, and they should be available soon. There was one bug in Konqueror that prevented YouTube from playing correctly, and they have already received help from KDE developers to fix it. You can receive updates by following them on Twitter.

Linux Mint

Linux Mint users can follow the Kubuntu instructions to upgrade to KDE 4.5. Simply add the Kubuntu backports ppa and run:

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

For other Linux distributions, FreeBSD, and other operating systems, you should check the official websites, wikis, announcement sections of forums, and mailing lists to see if KDE 4.5 will be included in their repositories and/or future releases.

Related Posts:

• How to Make KDE 4 Look Like KDE 3
• Sprinkle Some Eye Candy on your KDE Desktop
• How to Install and Use Dropbox in Kubuntu
• Kubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat Review

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.

What’s in It?

1. KDE Integration

One of the features sorely lacking in most browser alternatives is true KDE integration. Firefox, Google Chrome, and most other browsers are primarily integrated with Gnome’s file picker and themes (although Firefox integration is now very close).

Some of the KDE features that Rekonq has appropriated are:

• The ability to view a website’s source in a KDE text editor, such as KWrite
• Complete integration of the KDE file chooser / save dialogs
• Being a KDE application, it fully supports KDE styles and colors
• Drag and drop support for images and documents
• KDE web search shortcuts. With these, users can enter shortcuts like “imdb:” followed by a search term and automatically connect to the search engine associated with the the shortcut.

2. Webkit

As a Webkit-based browser, Rekonq comes with the standard Webkit features, such as:

Web inspector: A great tool for web developers that allows them to view each HTML element and its corresponding CSS style.

Javascript settings: Users can set specific Javascript settings, such as whether or not to allow Javascript to access the clipboard or open new windows.

Loading plugins: There are three settings for plugins (i.e. Flash player): autoload plugins, manually load plugins, or never load plugins.

3. Tab management

With Rekonq, users can clone tabs, detach them to open a new window, and drag and slide a tab to reorder it. In addition, each tab not currently in use will display a helpful thumbnail of its web page.

Upon opening a new tab page, Rekonq displays a page similar to Google Chrome containing the now famous Opera-like “Speed Dial” thumbnails, called Favorites. Furthermore, the page has three more tabs at the top that can display even more features: Closed Tabs, Bookmarks, and History.

4. Privacy

Rekonq has many modern privacy features, such as private browsing, similar to Chrome’s incognito browsing, where private data, such as history and saved forms, are not recorded. Users can also clear any private data and manage cookies. Like Konqueror, Rekonq has full support for ad blocking and comes with an extensive filter list, blocking most ads out of the box.

What’s Missing?

Despite its plethora of features, there are still some things Rekonq needs.

1. Extensions – What makes Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome so powerful is that they can be extended and serve virtually whatever purpose users want. Rekonq will have trouble getting many addons unless the KDE community falls in love with it.

2. Flash block – Although Rekonq has support for managing plugins, there is no whitelist feature that most flash blocking extensions have in other browsers, including Arora browser, Rekonq’s closest competitor.

3.Social Media Integration -Perhaps not an absolute must, but the ability to easily share sites and blog about them is something that would be nice to have as an extension.

4. RSS feeds – By default, RSS feeds are displayed without any styles. Google Chrome also does this, but there is an extension that formats the XML files and offers subscription options.

5. Better Javascript support – For whatever reason, some websites simply do not work correctly with this version of Webkit, while Chrome and other Webkit browsers display them just fine.

6. Future technologies, such as HTML5 video – The developers probably have plans for this, as it will be an eventual requirement to meet Web standards. Many other browsers have already added preliminary support for Ogg Theora, H.264, or both.

Rekonq looks very impressive, and adding it as the default browser or even as an installed option in the next Kubuntu should help build some more community support for the young application. Does this mean Konqueror’s days are numbered or that Rekonq will eventually be merged with Konqueror? Your guess is as good as mine.

Related Posts:

• Kubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat Review
• Preview of KDE 4.5
• How to Make KDE 4 Look Like KDE 3
• Search Sidebar Lets You Search Everywhere On Google

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.

Sign up for Ubuntu One

The process is the same as it would be if you were registering from within Gnome.

1. Visit one.ubuntu.com

2. Click “Subscribe”

3. Choose the free 2GB plan or the $10 per month 50GB plan

4. Sign in with your existing Launchpad account or create a new one

Once you are subscribed, you can see the web interface. All that is left is connecting your desktop interface to your account.

Download Ubuntu One KDE Client

You can download and install the client from launchpad.net or install it through the PPA using the following method:

1. Open Konsole (or your terminal app of choice)

2. Type the following string:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:apachelogger/ubuntuone-kde

It should add the repository and fetch the PPA’s key.

3. One the repository has been added, update your apt-get list:

sudo apt-get update

4. Install Ubuntu One KDE Client:

sudo apt-get install ubuntuone-kde

Note: You can also add the repository and install the client using KPackageKit or another graphical interface.

Getting Started

Now that you have the client installed, start it and make sure the installation worked.

1. Press Alt-F2 (or right click the desktop and click “Run Command”)

2. Type ubuntuone-kde and press Enter

3. An icon shaped like a hard drive with a cloud on it will appear. Right click it.

4. Click “Open Folder”

You should now have your local Ubuntu One folder open, and it should have automatically added a link to it in your “Places” bookmarks in Dolphin.  The path for the folder is /home/username/Ubuntu One.

5. Right click the icon again and click “Connect” to make sure it is connected.

6. Now, to test it, right click inside the Dolphin window of the Ubuntu One folder and click “Create New” and “Text file”

7. Name the file “test” and click OK.

Finally, open your web browser and return to the one.ubuntu.com web interface. Your test file should now appear under “My Files”.  With that you have successfully setup your Ubuntu One account within KDE.  Because the folder itself is on your local computer, you can link to it and even create a Folder View just as you normally would with any KDE folder. Just always keep in mind that Ubuntu One is an online service, so always keep local copies of any files you share on it. It is also still in BETA, so be extra careful. Now Kubuntu users can enjoy the benefits of Ubuntu One and share with their Ubuntu associates.

Related Posts:

• How to Install and Use Dropbox in Kubuntu
• Easy Samba Sharing Setup with KDE
• Kubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat Review
• How to Install KDE 4.5

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.

The Plasma Shell

Upon installation, KDE Plasma Netbook begins just like a regular KDE session. One of the good things about it is that it actually is a full KDE installation. The only essential difference is that the Plasma shell is catered for the smaller screens of netbooks.

The panel sits at the top of the screen with three primary sections: (1)Window Picker (2)Activity Bar and (3)System Tray. The window picker relies on Kwin’s “present windows” effect, zooming out to show any running applications. The activity bar switches between plasma activities. By default there are two: applications and newspaper. The system tray functions as it normally does in KDE.

Window Picker

I call it the “window picker” only because I do not know the official name for it. It functions perfectly well, although users who are used to a taskbar might take some time to adjust. You cannot see which windows you have open without activating it, but it will tell you how many are currently running.

This falls in line with the full-screen philosophy most netbook environments have adopted. If users tend to maximize windows on the small screen, there is no point in having multiple windows appear at once. When you select one window, the others disappear beneath the plasma shell.

Applications

Running applications is very easy with KDE Plasma Netbook. All of the categories are listed as icons right in the middle of the screen. To start a program, simply drill down through the categories as you would in a menu. Menus can be harder to navigate on laptops in general and sometimes just downright annoying on a tiny netbook.

Other methods of application launching do still exist. Click the binoculars icon in the top right, and a search box will open that seems to rely on the same back-end as Krunner. Typing in a partial application name or category will bring up a list the user can choose from. Krunner is also still available by pressing Alt-F2.

Newspaper

Rather than having the user drop widgets onto the desktop, KDE Plasma Netbook creates an entirely separate screen (or activity) for your widgets. They essentially exist within a desktop window that even has a scroll bar, so you could theoretically have pages of widgets. You can switch between the applications screen and the newspaper screen with the activity bar at the top. KDE shortcut keys also work for all functions, just as they normally would.

Issues

I did not notice any immediate access to file management, other than starting Dolphin from the application launcher. This might be an oversight on my part, but either way, it is certainly not as obvious as Ubuntu Netbook Remix, which has a right panel for file management. Since there is an area for icons, however, it would be very easy to add shortcuts to Dolphin and any of your favorite folders. The other issue was speed.  It seemed somewhat slow on my Eee PC 900, but it should perform better on Atom-based netbooks. On the positive side of Linux mobile computing issues, I had no problem connecting to my WPA-secured wireless network with the new network manager or dealing with the battery using the power management widget.

Recommendations

Overall, this desktop shell looks promising as an alternative to the standard KDE Plasma setup. Users will definitely appreciate the easy application launching and window switching. Although it is still under development, KDE Plasma Netbook appears fully functional, and I recommend anyone interested should give it a try.

Related Posts:

• How to Use Custom Tray Icons in KDE
• How to Integrate Google Gadgets With Plasma in Kubuntu
• How to Check Your Gmail Account with Kmail
• How to Make GTK3 Apps Look Presentable in KDE4

Installation

As with previous Kubuntu versions, you can install it from the desktop of the running live CD. The interface for the installation now follows KDE 4′s Oxygen Air theme and has new graphical representations of several options.

Booting and Login

Booting is faster than ever, and the new KDE Air theme login window is the default.

KDE 4.3

If you have been following my weekly posts, you already know about many of the features new in KDE 4.3. While it has been available in the 9.04 Jaunty backport repositories for some time, it will now be the default KDE version with 9.10.  Just to recap, here are some of the features new with KDE 4.3:

New Krunner features and layout

• New desktop effects, including the slide back feature
• New KDE games, including an Egyptian mummy theme
• New system tray that includes an improved notification system
• Several new plasma widgets, including one for Google Calendar

OpenOffice.org Integration

In previous versions, OpenOffice integrated with KDE 3 themes or not at all. Now, with OpenOffice.org 3.1, it is well-integrated with KDE 4 widgets and themes.

K3b

One of KDE’s most universally loved applications was one of the last to be ported to KDE 4. Kubuntu includes an early version of K3b that is fully KDE4-based. K3b is a CD and DVD burning program. It is not clear how stable this version is, and I did not have any CDs to test it.

Amarok and Codecs

Kubuntu has long suffered from the codec discrimination that nearly all Linux distributions have endured.  Proprietary codecs that cannot be packaged with a free operating system have often left users disgruntled, sometimes even blaming the distribution developers. It has always been relatively easy to install codecs with Kubuntu, but now, starting Amarok will give you a notice that you may want to install certain additional software packages. Check the ones you want and then click “Install Selected“. This is all processed through the new update notifier, which is integrated with Kpackagekit.

Kpackagekit

This is the application installation and management software for Kubuntu. Like its predecessor Adept and the GTK version Synaptic, Kpackagekit relies on apt-get as a backend and uses the repositories listed in Apt’s sources. In Karmic, installation is even easier, and it is fully integrated with the update system and KDE’s notification system.

USB Startup Disk

Kubuntu provides an easy-to-us KDE-based program to create a Kubuntu startup disk.

Web Browser

Kubuntu has always been about options. In fact, the very existence of Kubuntu could be considered an Ubuntu option for a KDE-based distribution. Konqueror is still the default web browser for the latest Kubuntu, but the developers have added some options. For those that want a slim, lightweight, Webkit-based browser, Arora is now in the official repositories. For those die-hard Firefox fans, Kubuntu now includes a handy installation program.  When you click “Firefox installation” in the “Internet” menu, you are presented with an installation screen.

Overall, Karmic Koala looks more polished than any previous Kubuntu version and probably any other KDE-based distribution to date. Nevertheless, it is still in Beta at least for another week, and an honest review will have to wait.  With this preview, however, you have a glimpse of what is on the horizon.

Related Posts:

• How to Give Any KDE Desktop An Ubuntu Makeover
• 5 Alternatives to Unity in Ubuntu Oneiric
• How to Install KDE In Ubuntu Natty [Quick Tips]
• How to Install and Use Dropbox in Kubuntu

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.

Before we start, please note that:

1) The purpose of this tutorial is to illustrate the flexibility and customizability of the Linux desktop. We are not advocate of Microsoft (or Windows 7).

2) If you are not comfortable with your computer looking like any other OS (especially the one that you hate most), do not read further.

3) The transformation pack only change the look and feel of your Kubuntu Jaunty. It does not give you the functionality of Windows 7. If you want to use Windows 7, download the RC1 and install it in your computer instead.

4) This transformation pack will create a new user profile in your system and install itself in the new profile. Your personal profile will be left untouched.

Step 1: Download the transformation pack

First, download the Windows 7 transformation pack torrent file. Then with your bit torrent client (such as KTorrent), download the transformation pack folder to your home directory.

Step 2: Make the installation script executable

Open the Konsole and type in:

cd /path-to-windows7-transformation-pack-folder
sudo chmod +x install.sh

Step3: Install the transformation pack

(Before you run the installation script, make sure you are connected to the Internet.)

Run the installation script by running the following command in the Konsole:

sudo ./install.sh

The installation script will do the following:

1. Add new software package to your existing software repository.

2. Install several plasma related software.

3. create a new user – vistar7.

4. prompt you to set password for the new user.

4. Extract the required files to the corresponding theme directory.

5. Change the configuration path.

When the installation is done, you have to switch to the new user profile – vistar7 to see the Windows 7 interface in action.

Screenshots:

Kubuntu’s menu bar.

Dolphin and Konqueror passing off as Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer 8.

List of Windows 7 wallpapers that come with the transformation pack

Install the theme in your personal profile

For those who want to bring it further and install the transformation pack in your personal profile instead of the new user – Vistar 7, here is the steps:

(This is not recommended as the transformation is not fully supported by the creator. Do this at your own risk.)

In the Windows 7 transformation pack folder, open the install.sh file in Kate.

At the third line, change the NEWUSERNAME to your own username

3

NEWUSERNAME="your own username"

Scroll down to line 30, put a # in front of the statement from line 30-33

30
31
32
33

#echo "Creating user."
#useradd -m $NEWUSERNAME -s /bin/bash && \
#echo "User created. Enter password for new user."
#passwd $NEWUSERNAME

Save the file.

Run the script in Konsole:

cd /path-to-Windows-7-transformation-pack
sudo ./install.sh

Log out and login again. You should be able to see the Windows 7 theme in action now.

Related Posts:

• KDE Plasma Netbook Preview
• Turn Your Ubuntu Hardy to Mac OSX Leopard
• GeoGebra, For Dynamic Geometry On Linux
• How to Integrate Skype With Ubuntu Unity

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.

All of these steps assume that you have the latest Kubuntu version 9.04 “Jaunty Jackalope”. It might work with earlier versions, although I make no guarantees.

The good news is that the Google Gadgets libraries are still in the kdebase source. You just have to rebuild the kdebase-workspace package.

1. The first thing that I recommend doing is creating a working directory:

Start Konsole and type:

mkdir kde4-build
cd kde4-build

2. Install the Google Gadgets library packages:

sudo apt-get install libggadget-qt-1.0-dev
sudo apt-get install libggadget-1.0-dev

3. Install the kdebase-workspace source package and its dependencies:

sudo apt-get source kdebase-workspace
sudo apt-get build-dep kdebase-workspace

4. Next, you will need to configure the kdebase-workspace source to prepare it for building:

cd kdebase-workspace-4.2.1a
cmake .

5. You only need to compile the Google Gadgets script engine portion:

cd plasma/scriptengines/google_gadgets
make

6. Finally, just copy the Google Gadget binaries to their proper locations:

sudo cp ../../../lib/plasma_package_ggl.so /usr/lib/kde4/
sudo cp ../../../lib/plasma_scriptengine_ggl.so /usr/lib/kde4/
sudo cp plasma-packagestructure-googlegadgets.desktop /usr/share/kde4/services/
sudo cp plasma-scriptengine-googlegadgets.desktop /usr/share/kde4/services/
sudo cp plasma-applet-ggl-photos.desktop /usr/share/kde4/services/
sudo cp plasma-applet-ggl-rss.desktop /usr/share/kde4/services/

7. Restart KDE

When you log back into KDE, you should now have support for Google Gadgets.

8. Open the add widgets dialog as you normally would, click on “Install New Widgets”, and then click “Download New Google Gadgets”.

When you add Google Gadgets from the Gadget Browser, they will appear in the normal Plasma dialog, which you can then use to add to your desktop. If, for some reason, you do not see all 61 gadgets, you might need to start Google Gadgets independently once, close it, restart plasma, and then try again.

That is all it takes to get Google Gadgets up and running in Plasma on Kubuntu Jaunty.

* Portions of this article were adapted from the guide writen by Francesco Santini, released under a CreativeCommons-Attribution-3.0 license.

Related Posts:

• How to Install Plasmoids In Kubuntu (KDE)
• 7 Ways to Beautify Your KDE 4 Desktop
• How to customize your KDE desktop with KDE-Look.org
• KDE Plasma Netbook Preview