In Ubuntu, you can use synaptic pk mgr to choose all KDE packages and install, then you can choose to boot into KDE.
Therefore, can I say that Kubuntu is redundant?

Yep, I have no idea why these daft forks exist in the first place...

My Macbuntu installed with gnome/unity as default, I install KDE (450MB of my selections) later, the plasma desktop works well.

Funny. In Kubuntu, you can use Synaptic Package Manager to install ubuntu-desktop, then you can choose to boot into Gnome. Therefore, can I say that Ubuntu is redundant?

If you know that you will replace the default desktop with KDE, then it sames time to use Kubuntu. You only have to download KDE (not the default desktop, too).

Lots of possible reasons. IMO a lot of the reason for the *buntu 'offical' variants is so there is more chance that *buntu is covered by some tech writer.

Gah!

There is no 'macbubtu'...its just a theme. Well, youcan get a 'macbuntu' iso but its just ubuntu with the macbuntu theme.

What does that mean? Death by variant?

Well quite... another pointless variant with no reason to exist.

variety is the spice of life

Yeah, replacing one package list with another is not variety, it's redundancy.

LOL.

I just have this idea that the 6month release cycle and the number of offical/unoffical *buntu variants are designed to get the highest possible media exposure for *buntu/canonical. Its just my own opinion.

and why do .deb packages exist when there are also .rpm packages, or better yet why .deb and .rpm packages when there are tarballs? why not one standardized package format for all distributions?

that's the beauty of linux, choice and freedom. Some people don't want to go through the headache or spend the time installing a different desktop on their system, they just want to pop in the disc, run the installer and have a working system, it may seem pointless to you but obviously not pointless to enough people to actually maintain those distributions.

No, why do two people create an idential .deb package apart from the release notes? That's much closer to the *bunutu nonsense.

I see that most responding to this thread are not Ubuntu (or the rest of the Ubuntu "family") users. We can probably agree that Ubuntu is redundant.

Ubuntu users would probably disagree.

It is true that any of the DEs can be installed. There is one thing about KDE that we may be over looking. Qt.

Gnome, xfce and lxde run with gtk so if you add any of them to an install with one of the others there is no great influx of packages.

Adding KDE to a Gnome install is a big deal. Adding Gnome to a KDE install is a big deal.

Personally I think that Ubuntu may be glad to have Xubuntu in the stable with the release of 11.10. May keep some users that might other wise wander off somewhere out of their control.

Sounds like it however if you try it out it won't make big deal. The different pre-made distros are just to have direct correct install.

Absolutely.

I prefer the way Mandriva is packaged. Comes as a Live DVD. Always has 3 DEs on it. You can install 1,2 and/or 3 during the installation process. Last time I checked it out (2010-spring) I installed Gnome, KDE and Lxde all at once. Very nice way to do things.