Chapter 8. Using the KDE 4 Desktop

As mentioned in Chapter 7, "Using the KDE 3 Desktop," the K Desktop Environment is undergoing big changes with KDE 4. Kubuntu 8.10 and later ship with KDE 4. The official Kubuntu 8.04.1 LTS distribution ships with KDE 3.5.9, the last official and stable version of KDE 3.

To use or experiment with KDE 4:

  • Install Kubuntu 8.10 or later.

  • Use the Wubi installer on the KDE 4 CD to install KDE 4 as an alternate boot option on a Microsoft Windows system. Using the Wubi installer to install Ubuntu or Kubuntu as an alternate boot option on a Windows system is explained in Chapter 3.

  • (Not Recommended) Install Kubuntu 8.04 and install KDE 4 side-by-side with KDE 3.5.9. You can then use the Session Type icon to select between them when you log in. Press Alt+T to display the Session Type menu before you log in and select the version of KDE that you want to run, and then complete the login process to start a session using that version of KDE. I do not recommend this option because the version of KDE 4 provided with Kubuntu 8.04 is not up-to-date, and will never be.

This chapter provides an overview of KDE 4, its infrastructure and components, and selected KDE 4 applications. KDE 4 itself is still under development and somewhat incomplete. It is a visually attractive and easy-to-use desktop environment that will have even traditional Mac OS X devotees all ...

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