1. I like KDE and would like to run KUBUNTU.
2. As I read various forums and blogs, I see lots of "freeze" "lock up" and similar comments about Kubuntu 11.04.

Is it really that bad?

Okay, there won't be many posts saying "No Worries, Mon" and there
will be a majority of posts saying, "I have troubles" but I'm mostly
worried about the large number of troubles that appear to be some form of "freeze" or "lock up" or similar.

Thanks in advance,
~~~ 0;-Dan

I have been using kubuntu since 8.04 for daily work, and Kubuntu 11.04 is a good kde4 distribution.
I have not noticed any important issue, as kde 4.6 is much more stable than initial 4.0

had ubuntu 10.10, installed KDE workspace environment... was fine everything went well.
Upgraded to 11.04. Both my gnome and kde workspaces were slow and/or jittery.

Turns out you can look for 'compiz config settings manager' in ubuntu software center or synaptic package manager.
once you have that and are in it, there should be settings under a tab or button labled 'compostie' and 'opengl'..
in composite, you're gonna wanna make sure you have 'detect refrech rate' OFF / unchecked.
in opengl, you want to have 'sync to vblank' OFF / unchecked.

this has fixed my issues with 11.04 freezing up.
Although I had to make sure the settings were set within each environment.(i.e. fixed my 11.04gnome, then had to go into kde to fix that one too.)

also, there should be a LOT more settings for you to fiddle around with in compiz settings manager including settings specific to KDE.

I see you've used Mint. Have you tried their KDE version? It's based on Debian testing, not Ubuntu, so it's rolling release. Alternatively, staying in the Debian derivatives area, there's Mepis. That's based on Debian stable and KDE is the default desktop, both of which are a good sign. Personally, I rate using KDE only one step better than eating slugs, but if I had to do it, Mepis is the distro I'd use!

You can try kubuntu-desktop (or kde-full) if you want. You might have the problems others have reported, you might not.

Lint Mint Debian Edtion is Xfce and Gnome .iso only-

http://www.linuxmint.com/download_lmde.php

You can probably install KDE 4.X on LMDE, I've never tired it.

AFAIK the ubuntu based mint 11 KDE version isnt out yet, the only current mint KDE version is 10-

http://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=1676

I've been using U/Kubuntu for few years now and I use Gnome mainly, due to KDE is bit too heavy for average PC. I specially like the current Ubuntu as it boots very fast, but it keeps failing when loading some widgets, namely disk mounter and system monitor...etc., and finally the whole desktop crashed end up I install K-desktop for temporary use, but it locks up and sluggish response randomly for unknown reason, and the power switch not detected, I could not shutdown the machine by a quick press of the button, btw I am using a ThinkPad X220i with Intel Core i3 and HD graphics 3000 with full 8GB RAM, which suppose to handle any OS good enough.

My mistake! But there is a KDE version of Mint.

What about this guy's question?
They're asking about kubuntu being that bad.
My kubuntu installation is fine.. although i'm using ubuntu more often.

I'd say it's like fine with the chance of sluggishness or freezing up depending on your hardware and installation.
And like every linux, even if you do encounter such problems they can likely be fixed. (or options turned off to improve system performance)

So, kubuntu WILL freeze up more than regular ubuntu if your system can't handle it; based on your (SaintDanBert's) signature I think your system should do fine with kubuntu.

One of the strengths of linux in general is its ability to run reasonably well on almost any hardware. However, it is getting more difficult to sort that out to know when some piece of hardware is trouble for some piece of linux.

For some years, I've wanted a utility that would scan the hardware of a candidate system,
and then recommend a package download list:

1. which kernel -- 32bit or 64bit
2. which driver modules
3. whatever needed for "console" login
4. which startup and power management services (upstart, acpi, etc)
5. which services for network, sound, CD/DVD
6. which services for keyboard, display, pointer (enable basic GUI)

Given this list, additional processing might then recommend application suites that make sense. For example, given a wimpy yet functional video environment, is it likely one could make effective use of Blender or other high-end rendering?

Cheers,
~~~ 0;-Dan

Well, there is such a scanning tool.
If you Google 'cpu-z' you'll find a windows program that will tell you pretty well everything you would ever want to know about your hardware.

this would tell you which version to get (32-bit or 64-bit, if your system is 64-bit you may still be recommended to get the 32-bit version because of program compatability issues, but it also shouldn't be a problem to run 32-bit programs on your 64-bit system)

This guy tried what you're thinking of on another tablet >> http://www.linux.com/archive/articles/57199
It'll show you the problems you may encounter.

But there's hope yet >> http://apachelog.wordpress.com/2011/...es-sneak-peak/

Generally a kubuntu installation will have every service you will need ready to go. If not, it can be so easy to set up sometimes you don't notice.

Console login should just be an option that you can set / I wouldn't imagine it being too difficult switching from the gui login (with help from google).


Really, I'd expect it to be easier than it seems.
However, you'd probably want to look for any video card drivers if you'll need them (on-board video usually doesn't) or maybe for your pen(stylus?).

Anyway.... GET A LIVE CD OR USB. why don't you just try it? I imagine that all this negativity towards kubuntu 11.04 freezing up are coming from those who've upgrading from 10.xx, like I have. I believe it may have something to do with the change in linux kernel. both work fine on their own though.

http://www.kubuntu.org/getkubuntu/download
Click 'download kubuntu' and anything but the alternate CD download should have the live environment.

oh and yes 3d video rendering I found to be generally possible with any system, just that the system resources determine the time to render / speed of playback (which if you're developing 3d models and animation you should be able to change the method of rendering to suit your system)

I use Kubuntu 11.04 every day for my work with very few problems. I had to switch off some of the desktop fancy stuff as I am running it on a T61 Thinkpad. I have found it stable, reliable and fast. I run a Virtualbox windows machine on it and like it very much. I have used Ubuntu for years but did not fancy Unity so gave KDE a try. The only two short comings for me are Ubuntu One does not work seamlessly as it does in Nautilus (Gnome/Unity) and Dropbox Public folder does not get you the right mouse click options as in Nautilus. Other than that I find much to recommend it