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-   -   How well does KDE work with Debian Lenny? (https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/debian-26/how-well-does-kde-work-with-debian-lenny-624862/)

danbuter 02-29-2008 07:34 PM

How well does KDE work with Debian Lenny?
 
I've been using OpenSuSE for a while now, and I like it. However, I'm kinda missing aptitude (after using Ubuntu for a year). Ubuntu was way too buggy for me, so I'm thinking of trying Debian, but with KDE. Do any of you have much experience with this, and what are your thoughts on it? I know OpenSuSE is really good for KDE, so I'm not really sure I want to switch.

JimBass 02-29-2008 08:03 PM

Many people use KDE, or one of the many other desktop environments that are available. KDE works just as well with any type of Debian as it does with any other linux. I use KDE personally without issue. The desktop environment isn't really "tied" to the OS at all, meaning you won't see functions on Suse that you won't with Debian. KDE on Debian, Ubuntu, Suse, and Fedora all side by side would look and behave identically on identical hardware.

Peace,
JimBass

hitest 02-29-2008 11:39 PM

Debian functions equally well with Gnome, KDE, XFce, etc. You shouldn't have a stability problem with Debian and KDE, it has always worked well for me.

Flab0y352 02-29-2008 11:50 PM

works great for me

jay73 03-01-2008 12:03 AM

<rant>
Well, if you don't like buggy, then by all means don't install Debian testing (a.k.a. Lenny). I detected no less than seven (for my purposes) critical bugs within two days after installing it. How ironic that I'm now back to Ubuntu because I got fed up with the instability (including several nautilus crashes and its gparted failing miserably). Now maybe it's just gnome that is buggy but creating .kde with incorrect permissions doesn't sound like a gnome feature, nor does a constantly crashing jvm (the one I downloaded from sun in the end worked perfectly fine, by the way), nor does reporting drives as corrupt when all my other distros don't find anything wrong at all. Your mileage may vary, just bear in mind that it can apparently vary a lot.
</rant>

samael26 03-01-2008 01:11 AM

Unfortunately, jay73 is right. ATM, Lenny is quite a PITA to install. I managed to do it, with only KDE (see debian.org for the d/load). You have to start all services anew when you upgrade from etch (because a straight Lenny install never completed for me), and use KsysV if you don't want to edit the init file by hand.
But once it is installed, you can keep it working by installing apt-listbugs as well.
cheers

jlinkels 03-01-2008 07:26 AM

Not my experience. I did various fresh Lenny installs on i386 and AMD64. Always running KDE, no problems at all.

I have to admit that usually Lenny runs better with a fresh install that after a dist-upgrade, which sometimes gave problems, mainly with configuration files which were not upward compatible.

On the other hand, I once did an upgrade from a mixed Sarge/Etch/Sid system to Lenny and that worked flawlessly as well.

When comparing Debian to Ubuntu, Debian should be preferred. It is more stable, and most important Debian is managed the Linux way, while Ubuntu tries to hide that.

jlinkels

pliqui 03-01-2008 09:05 AM

I'm running debian lenny with gnome atm, but i installed it on a friend pc as web, mysql server for our thesis, i'm used to gnome and he wanted KDE, instead of using the default instalation from dvd i download the netinst cd and choose without graphic interface, then at prompt i typed
Code:

aptitude install kde
and all went smooth, no errors, nothing. It's pretty stable as any other distro with kde.

Perhaps if you have the cd/dvd choose without desktop enviroment and then install kde via aptitude, kde will install the x-server and all that you need by himself.

I don't know if kde4 is on repos now, didn't check it out, but you can check and if there is you can install it and try it :D

craigevil 03-01-2008 10:59 AM

KDE works just fine. Heck if it works in sid it should work perfectly in Lenny.

Qt: 3.3.8b
KDE: 3.5.8
kde-config: 1.0

KDE4 is only in experimental at the moment as it is rather broken and not all the apps/functions work.

AlucardZero 03-01-2008 04:04 PM

I run Lenny/Sid and am running fine. I use XFCE, but Gnome and KDE will work fine too.

sonichedgehog 03-02-2008 05:27 AM

I have found Debian installs well on 4 very different boxes age from 1998 to 2008, and have had some problems with ubuntu, but, as has been said mileages vary. I like ubuntu as a live cd.

Debian Lenny has an installation bug at the moment: see http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=704107&page=2 for fix & don't let it put you off, no doubt a later iso will eliminate it. I prefer lenny iso to etch + upgrade, result has been a more comprehensive system.

Graphics card & monitor configuration seems to be an issue with several Linux distros & it's hit & miss which ones work best, fortunately there are fixes.

Ubuntu has users with admin privileges whereas Debian requires root user for system changes, I think it's a better discipline.

I think desktop options are available in Ubuntu? Anyway in Debian you can have what you want. I use K on the modern boxes & Gnome on older ones to keep the system lighter (there's about 1gB difference).

-Phil

4TElevn 03-03-2008 08:02 PM

Go with Debian Etch and KDE if you prefer rock solid stability. With Lenny, I got a little tired of daily mega updates and reading bug reports to see if I was going to break something. Etch is a dream for me and KDE is lovely on it!

AlucardZero 03-04-2008 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4TElevn (Post 3077232)
and reading bug reports to see if I was going to break something.

apt-listbugs lists critical bug reports and integrates with apt-get/aptitude.

4TElevn 03-04-2008 01:13 PM

No kidding dude - but you still have to read to figure out what's what at least I did. But thanks for stating the obvious.

Flab0y352 03-04-2008 08:04 PM

YO......Debian Testing work flawless and and very easy to install...nothing has stopped working or is broken so not really sure what all the fuss is all about it being hard to install or not working prolly the operator :D

digerati1338 03-04-2008 08:14 PM

I use Debian sid with KDE and have very few problems. sid seems better than Lenny for me since it gets fixes for bugs faster. If you're using netinst, there is a boot option to automatically install KDE in place of gnome.

AlucardZero 03-04-2008 10:59 PM

er lol

If you don't want to read that's your prerogative.

4TElevn 03-05-2008 12:27 PM

that's prolly so :D

danbuter 03-08-2008 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pliqui (Post 3074782)
I'm running debian lenny with gnome atm, but i installed it on a friend pc as web, mysql server for our thesis, i'm used to gnome and he wanted KDE, instead of using the default instalation from dvd i download the netinst cd and choose without graphic interface, then at prompt i typed
Code:

aptitude install kde
and all went smooth, no errors, nothing. It's pretty stable as any other distro with kde.

Perhaps if you have the cd/dvd choose without desktop enviroment and then install kde via aptitude, kde will install the x-server and all that you need by himself.

I don't know if kde4 is on repos now, didn't check it out, but you can check and if there is you can install it and try it :D

Will aptitude install kde 3.9 work? Or something similar? I'm not too keen on trying 4 yet. I've had some issues with what's been ported into OpenSuSE, and I'd prefer to avoid it for a few more months.

jlinkels 03-08-2008 06:49 PM

KDE 4 has not made it to Lenny yet. A few weeks ago, the KDE team released the stable version of KDE 4. It entered Debian in Experimental. That says someting about Debian policy considering something stable. The latest version in Sid seems to be 3.5

jlinkels

danbuter 03-08-2008 08:55 PM

Oops. I meant 3.5.9. So they are at 3.5.0?

jlinkels 03-09-2008 08:59 AM

I only know it accurately down to the first decimal position. But you can check at debian.org

Re-reading your original post:
Quote:

Originally Posted by danbuter (Post 3074424)
However, I'm kinda missing aptitude (after using Ubuntu for a year).

Debian has aptitude, it originates from Debian, not from Ubuntu

Quote:

Originally Posted by danbuter (Post 3074424)
Ubuntu was way too buggy for me, so I'm thinking of trying Debian, but with KDE.

Like I said, what others consider stable is considered experimental in Debian, not even unstable. Therefor I don't understand why you are interested in getting the latest KDE version from Sid. Debian Testing is generaly considered as very stable and that includes the KDE environment. If you want to have a stable system, don't go hunting for the latest features and the highest version number.

jlinkels

sonichedgehog 03-10-2008 04:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jlinkels (Post 3082941)
If you want to have a stable system, don't go hunting for the latest features and the highest version number.

jlinkels

definitely. Sometimes I find that a particular application isn't working for eg a recently issued peripheral- like a mobile phone- and after research it emerges that there's a version in unstable designed to accommodate that hardware. That's a good reason to get the latest version, and one of the advantages of apt/synaptic is that it's easy to remove the app. if it doesn't work.

masinick 03-10-2008 06:58 PM

I am a Sid fan myself
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by digerati1338 (Post 3078373)
I use Debian Sid with KDE and have very few problems. sid seems better than Lenny for me since it gets fixes for bugs faster. If you're using netinst, there is a boot option to automatically install KDE in place of gnome.

I like Debian Sid, too, but I have an even more effective way that allows me to have my "cake" of Sid and eat it too - without any indigestion! :-)

The sidux distribution was created with the specific intention of tracking and fully utilizing Debian Sid packages as is, as long as they are working, but using sidux fixes - which they generally send to the Debian Sid team, plus their own tools and utilities, which make installing, configuring, and managing the system a very easy task. For users wanting a cutting edge experience which truly tracks Sid activity, I highly recommend sidux. Just as with Debian Sid, sidux is a true rolling upgrade release. Install it once, then use the tools.

If you just cannot handle a cutting edge system and you want a stable system, but for some reason Debian Stable isn't doing it for you, also consider SimplyMEPIS 7.0, which you can download at no cost. The hardware support in this system, which is once again based on Debian Stable, is excellent, and the packages included add a few from Debian Volatile, giving you a somewhat newer system than plain Debian.

Frankly, from my perspective, you cannot go wrong with Debian Stable, SimplyMEPIS 7.0 on the stable end, or Debian Sid or sidux on the cutting edge. It all depends on what your interests and tolerance is. All four are excellent.

drokmed 03-16-2008 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danbuter (Post 3074424)
I've been using OpenSuSE for a while now, and I like it. However, I'm kinda missing aptitude (after using Ubuntu for a year). Ubuntu was way too buggy for me, so I'm thinking of trying Debian, but with KDE. Do any of you have much experience with this, and what are your thoughts on it? I know OpenSuSE is really good for KDE, so I'm not really sure I want to switch.

Yes, I run Debian Lenny KDE on several machines. This laptop I'm typing on was originally Etch, and did an upgrade which went smooth enough. No problems since I upgraded in November. This is my primary machine, I use it heavily every day.

I also bought a new laptop last month, installed Debian Lenny KDE on it. Had to fetch the nvidia drivers and install those. Keep in mind, Debian doesn't have proprietary drivers in the installer, so you might have to install them yourself.

If you are relatively new to linux, and expect your linux distribution to find and support all of your hardware automatically for you, I suggest you might want to consider staying with opensuse. More experienced linux users don't mind installing drivers, and don't judge a distro by it's installer.

btw I ran suse for years, since 9.3, switched to debian last year. Debian is WAY faster than opensuse. Huge difference. Worth a look.

If you want KDE 4.x, word is it will be in Lenny, before Lenny shifts to the stable archive in September (tentatively).

wificraig 03-17-2008 03:17 AM

Debian Lenny Fine For Me
 
I'm using Lenny on HP Pavilion dv5000 using the wireless Broadcom card. The only problem I've had was trying to integrate a Gnome applet while running KDE as default, just screwing around. I've almost always used KDE with Debian distros, and personally prefer it over Gnome. If you want to take a test drive with KDE Debian, try out Mepis 7.0 which uses the Debian repositories, as long as you don't mind using the proprietary drivers which come with Mepis out-of-the-box working. As far as stability, Lenny is great using the 1/28/2008 dvds.

Ricio 03-17-2008 08:44 AM

I use debian lenny with KDE works like a charm.


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