So, I've read reviews of Ubuntu Intrepid, and it looks pretty good, easy to use, and very stable. The problems is, I find GNOME ugly. As one review put it, it looks a lot like Mac OS9, and if I want something ugly, I'll just run in terminal mode.

Then there's KDE. I've used KDE3 for quite a while on Debian Lenny, and like it, but after trying KDE4 on a livecd, I love it, the interface, the plasmoids, etc.

However, I've heard terrible reviews about the stability of KDE4. It's still experimental in Debian. However, Kubuntu features KDE4. So, the question is, is KDE4 in Kubuntu 8.10 more stable (well, 4.1 I guess...), or did the developers put it in before it was ready?


Thanks!

Some distributions are trying to ride the bleeding edge.
KDE 4 is still continually being worked on and is not considered ready for prime time ... though 4.1.2 is pretty stable, though not complete.

I would think that Kubuntu would include both versions ... v4 just to check out.

I think KDE release 4.2.0 will be the release to wait for.

No, 8.10 ships with KDE4 by default, KDE3 might be available...

How dangerous is its instability? Are we talking data loss, frequent crashes, or just a little glitch here and there?

I have been working with KDE 4.1.2 for a couple of weeks now. I have not had any app's crash, or hang on me.
As it is still in working development, some of the features are still being worked on that you would expect.

I have upgraded Kubuntu 8.04 to 8.10, facing many installation problems, on a Dell Latitude D620 with Intel graphics.
I don't recommend the upgrade on production system: in my opinion KDE4.1.3 is still highly immature. In daily usage, plasma crashes every 15 minutes, on average, and data loss is quite irritating...
I keep the system updated daily; I don't really know if someone has same problems.
The other irritating thing is that the Xserver doesn't manage dri2 on Intel, and applications like Google Earth are unusable with kwin native desktop effects enabled.

AA

I also had problems with the upgrade and with a new install of Kubuntu Intrepid 8.10. I got tired of all the crashes and switched desktop over to Ubuntu and have not crashed since on either computer of the upgrade or new install. THe KDE 4 needs help! My two cents worth