What Is Kubuntu Linux, and Should You Use It?

Ubuntu whitethorn get the limelight a batch successful Linux circles, but it has respective cousins. One of them is Kubuntu Linux, and it has immoderate unsocial qualities that mightiness pb you to marque it your superior operating system.

If you person occupation keeping up with the names of each the antithetic Linux distributions retired there, you're forgiven. They fig successful the thousands, and sometimes, their differences look lone slight. Their names tin beryllium confusing too, similar Kubuntu, which is chiseled from Lubuntu and Xubuntu. In my experience, these distros person a batch much than conscionable 1 letter's worthy of differences, though. So let's research what sets Kubuntu isolated and who should usage it.

What Is Kubuntu?

Kubuntu is simply a escaped and unfastened root operating strategy for desktop PCs and laptops that's based connected GNU/Linux. It's related to the better-known Ubuntu operating system. In fact, Kubuntu is fundamentally Ubuntu but with a antithetic overgarment of paint. It has a antithetic desktop acquisition and acceptable of default applications, collectively known arsenic KDE Plasma. That's wherever the "K" successful Kubuntu's sanction comes from.

As a spot of background, Kubuntu was the archetypal of galore Ubuntu variants. It came astir successful the mid-aughts erstwhile Ubuntu developers recognized a request to supply aggregate divers idiosyncratic experiences alternatively of conscionable one. Over the years, sponsorship of Kubuntu arsenic a task shifted from Canonical to Blue Systems portion inactive maintaining its archetypal ngo and continued collaboration with Canonical.

While Ubuntu and Kubuntu some person the aforesaid core, Ubuntu's desktop variation (as opposed to the "headless" mentation utilized by server managers and tinkerers) comes with a desktop situation called GNOME. Speaking for myself and galore others, not everyone likes the GNOME interface, adjacent if they similar the Ubuntu base. You, I'm sure, person your ain opinions connected the layout of your existent PC's desktop, and possibly a privation database of changes for it. That's wherever Kubuntu comes in, offering a recognized and unchangeable basal but with an alternate interface.

What Makes Kubuntu Different?

Kubuntu is for radical who privation a desktop computing acquisition that's reliable and "just works," but that's besides malleable capable to suit anyone's needs. Thanks to KDE Plasma, Kubuntu is almighty capable for powerfulness users without immoderate large adjustments, but without the request (usually) to fool with config files. Kubuntu makes this imaginable by giving you a ton of settings menus and dialogs, to a constituent immoderate radical find annoying.

This is successful opposition to regular Ubuntu, whose GNOME desktop comes with a acold much minimalist settings manager. GNOME tin beryllium modified rather a bit, but not without installing further software. Kubuntu besides sets itself isolated with its default configuration of Plasma which folks coming implicit from Windows 10 volition find acold much acquainted than GNOME. More connected that later.

Keep successful mind, though, that KDE Plasma's boons aren't constricted to Kubuntu arsenic a Linux distribution. Plasma is simply a precise fashionable desktop environment, with galore fashionable distros offering their ain Plasma editions. For example, alternatively of Kubuntu you tin drawback the Plasma Fedora spin oregon Manjaro Plasma, if that floats your boat. They'll springiness you the fundamentally the aforesaid acquisition Kubuntu does but with a antithetic base.

If you're not definite wherefore you would privation a antithetic base, the astir important happening to cognize is that Kubuntu's base, Ubuntu, is slower than others to get updates. Ubuntu prioritizes stability, truthful non-security updates get held backmost and tested rigorously earlier being passed to you. That means if you enactment 2 computers with Kubuntu and a much bleeding-edge distro similar Plasma Fedora adjacent to each other, they'd look and consciousness mostly the same. Except, you'd find immoderate tiny desktop redesigns and gadgetry connected the Fedora machine that are missing from the Kubuntu one.

Installing Kubuntu

To instal Kubuntu, you'll archetypal get an ISO representation file from the Kubuntu download page. At the clip of writing, you tin take betwixt Kubuntu 22.04 and Kubuntu 24.04, which are some LTS (Long-Term Support) releases, oregon Kubuntu 24.10. If you're not definite which to pick, I would take the newest LTS release, which successful this lawsuit is mentation 24.04. You tin ever travel backmost for different mentation if that 1 doesn't enactment for you.

Once you person the ISO file, you tin either make a bootable thumb drive with it, oregon you tin load it into a virtual instrumentality (VM) which is what I'm doing for this demonstration.

After booting in, you person the enactment to either effort oregon instal Kubuntu. If you've ne'er utilized it before, click "Try Kubuntu" and spot however it feels. There volition beryllium an "Install Kubuntu" shortcut connected the desktop for erstwhile you consciousness acceptable to marque it permanent.

The installation wizard is beauteous self-explanatory. At the "Installation Mode" screen, I urge leaving "Normal Installation" selected unless you cognize what you're doing. I besides urge checking the "Download and Install Updates Following Installation" box. Your hold clip volition beryllium longer, but you'll besides person a afloat functional operating strategy from the get-go.

In the "Partition" section, marque definite of 2 things. First, treble cheque you person the close thrust astatine the apical for Kubuntu to beryllium installed on. Second, don't effort installing Kubuntu alongside Windows connected the aforesaid thrust oregon manually partitioning unless you cognize what you're doing. Windows doesn't get on with Linux, and partitioning is champion near to the pros. Erasing the disk is the simplest and astir reliable setup.

With that said, treble cheque again that the disk you're going to erase is the close one. You should besides confirm that you don't caput losing each the information connected it. Follow the remainder of the prompts and past wait.

What Running Kubuntu Is Like

As I said earlier, immoderate radical find the Plasma desktop to beryllium excessively busy, particularly erstwhile it comes to the settings menus. A redeeming prime of Kubuntu is that the default settings are sane and volition beryllium acquainted for anyone utilized to the Windows experience. Chances are bully you simply won't attraction to marque immoderate superior tweaks. In the lawsuit you do, determination is simply a batch of Kubuntu documentation to assistance you.

Again, folks coming implicit from Windows 10 volition consciousness the astir astatine location successful the default Kubuntu setup. There's the taskbar astatine the bottommost of your screen, with a "system tray" to the close holding clip and day info on with respective indicators and widgets to assistance you negociate your machine and apps. To the left, alongside each of your pinned and moving apps, is an app launcher fastener that mimics the Windows Start paper experience.

Many of the aforesaid keyboard shortcuts connected Windows enactment the aforesaid mode connected Plasma. Hitting the Windows cardinal (called the "Meta" cardinal successful Kubuntu) volition unfastened the app launcher, and Alt+Tab volition fto you power betwixt exertion windows. Hitting Meta+L volition fastener your screen, oregon you tin usage Ctrl+Alt+Delete to get a paper for shutting down, restarting, oregon putting your PC to sleep.

There are a ton of features and widgets for productivity successful Kubuntu that you tin research and play with. I won't get into them here, but I urge looking into immoderate of our favourite ways to marque the astir of KDE Plasma.

Kubuntu Has Its Own App Ecosystem

KDE Plasma and Kubuntu itself are some portion of a wider postulation of related and interconnected projects called the KDE Community. There are tons of applications, toolkits, and frameworks developed arsenic portion of the project. Kubuntu relies connected those frameworks and comes with galore of those apps preinstalled arsenic your default apps, specified arsenic your calculator (KCalc), your notepad (KWrite), and your record browser (Dolphin).

There are besides a ton of other, much niche apps successful the KDE postulation that you mightiness want. They're each disposable for escaped successful Kubuntu's bundle manager "Discover," and they see apps similar Akregator the RSS reader, KMag the magnifying glass, and KMyMoney for managing finances. Take a agelong scroll connected the implicit KDE apps list for more, including a clump of games for erstwhile you're bored.

That's conscionable KDE's ain acceptable of apps. You tin find adjacent much successful Discover. It includes fashionable apps you astir apt already usage ,like Spotify, Slack, and VLC, positive a ton much unfastened root apps you person ne'er heard of but are escaped to download.

Should You Use Kubuntu?

Based connected my acquisition utilizing it regular for astir 8 months, I'd accidental Kubuntu is for anyone looking for an alternate operating strategy to Windows oregon macOS who wants a highly flexible situation to enactment in—without the request to marque edits to cryptic configuration files. It's perfect if you besides don't attraction astir having the implicit latest mentation of each app and alternatively similar stableness supra each else.

If you privation to springiness Kubuntu a try, you person respective options. Download the ISO from the official Kubuntu download page and you tin instal it connected a thumb thrust and proceedings it connected conscionable astir immoderate machine earlier fully installing the distro. Alternatively, you tin usage the ISO to motorboat it arsenic a virtual machine wrong of your existent operating strategy using thing similar VirtualBox.

If you hap to beryllium successful the marketplace for a caller computer, you tin besides simply bargain a Kubuntu laptop oregon mini PC from a store similar Kubuntu Focus. I've reviewed Focus laptops earlier and recovered them worthy giving a go.