PPA Installing the latest KDE 4.8 in (K)Ubuntu 11.10

PPA Installing the latest KDE 4.8 in (K)Ubuntu 11.10:

http://kde.org/announcements/4.8/

Looks like a new version of KDE is out.

The KDE Education Project - KAlgebra - Graph Calculator

The KDE Education Project - KAlgebra - Graph Calculator - http://edu.kde.org/applications/mathematics/kalgebra/

Here is a nice graphing scientific calculator type app from KDE in Ubuntu. I have been mainly using this as a graphing/scientific calculator for sin, cos, etc. It doesn't have and explicit square root function, but you can always do ^(1/2) or any other power. It has a nice autofill/autosearch feature. That is, when you begin to type it brings up a list of functions based on your input. Fro example, type "arc" and it brings up "arcsin, arccos, etc."

KAlgebra is a fully featured calculator that lets you plot different types of 2D and 3D functions and to calculate easy and not so easy calculations, such as addition, trigonometric functions or derivatives.

The application has been thought to be easily understandable for students, so that they don't need to read a boring manual. The language is deeply integrated in the UI, providing a dictionary with representations for all the available operations, code highlighting and code completion.

My screenshot:

What is the difference between GNOME, KDE, Xfce, and LXDE? - Renewable PCs

A good article on Linux DEs.

What is the difference between GNOME, KDE, Xfce, and LXDE? - Renewable PCs

Quad Monitors in Linux

Well, I couldn't get it to work in Unity yet. I do have a work around for my setup which works for Ubuntu GNOME classic and KDE. This is what I posted in the Ubuntu Forums so far.

Ubuntu 11.04 + Gnome Classic + 4 LCD Monitors - http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1743715&page=2


July 7th, 2011:
Ugh, can't get 4 to work at all. I have NO problems with a dual setup. I want 1x4.

Running 8800GTS for ASUS 22" both DVI, Twinview works fine.

Other card is an 8400 GS, two Acer 19", one DVI, one VGA. I see everything fine in in nvidia x server settings, but the two Acer screens have a red tint to them when I enable them.

I've also had both Acer's working with the 8800. I wanted to add two more displays for multi-tasking so I got the ASUS screens and the 8400 (no particular reason except the ASUS's were cheap open box on newegg and the card was just something that seemed like it would work fine for what i wanted).

Running Ubuntu 11.04 Unity, I have also had the same issue in both KDE and XFCE desktops. Not sure if I've had dumb luck with duals and Ubuntu because I haven't had any issues, knock on wood.

Sorry, nothing to really add. Just wanted to log my setup and issue. Still a noob to Linux/Ubuntu (been using about a year), but I'm not looking back, I love it so far!!

Oh, and I am pretty sure I am not running any of the fancy Compiz stuff (3D, etc.). I don't want/need it.

Today/Yesterday: Sunday, August 14, 2011

Update: Still no working solution.

So I did get quad monitors to "work" but ran into the issues others have posted about (not sure if it was here or not). It was weird. I had live screens on all four monitors, but the far two "duals" on the right had the tool bar one the left of the two screens. So monitor 3 of 4 had the tool bar as if the screens had shifted from what I thought I had setup to be 1-4 starting from the far left. However, I had to click on the left two "duals" in blank space (I had a desktop background just no windows or the tool bar) which showed up on the right duals. So in order to restart or change the configurations back, I had to blindly click in monitor 1 of 4 to execute what I saw in monitor 3 of 4. Or it may have been the other way around. I forget, it has been probably a month since I did it. Sorry, should have posted when it was fresh, but I was so DAMN frustrated!! I want to say I enabled Xinerama to get the four monitors to "work" or at least display something on the screens with two TwinViews(???) since I have two monitors on one card each.

Anyways, still chugging along fine with dual monitors TwinView, except, I get black blocks every now and then on windows where I had to shrink or move the window to get everything to show again. I also noticed that Ubuntu Unity 11.04 allows the window snap feature of the half screen to work in the middle of the TwinView for both screens. I don't think that was working before, but maybe I missed it too. Thought that was pretty sweet. So if they are fixing stuff like that, then I think 11.10 and 12.04 are going to be so much better (well I am not sure if it was an Ubuntu update or nVidia or both since I did update my driver to 280.13, but I still think the next Ubuntu releases will be a big fix). Try to hang in there guys with Unity. I like it. At first I was ehh, but I got used to it. Of course everyone has their personal preferences for their needs, and I am definitely not going to "force" someone to use it or say that it is better than blah, blah, blah.

Anyways, hopefully next post will have a fix!

edit: Now that I think about, I remember I had the left two screens stretched as one screen at one point. Not sure if this was with the other two screens "working" or not. Maybe I'll try GNOME classic or KDE, but I relly like Unity now that I am used to it, .

edit2: ok, so a work around! GNOME classic and KDE allow quad monitors for my setup. However, I have "two" stretch "screens" for the left and right pair of monitors, but I can move windows to all four monitors. You have to have Xinerama enabled. Even if the pairs are treated like separate X screens then the monitors are still stretched. Also in the "separate" mode there is no bar across the right pair of screens nor can I move windows between pairs. This might be the best solution for now. At least I can use the real estate now. I can even use snap windows in KDE so I don't have to manually resize too much which I thought might be a problem with the stretched screens!! I am guessing XFCE might work in this way too. Sticking with KDE for now since a) I love blue, and b) I use Kile and Kopete anyways.

I'm new to KDE so I don't know all of its tricks. I am liking it so far.

Screenshots:

edit3: Ok, so KDE was running slow. Not sure if it had to do with the screens or not. Quads do work in XFCE and Xubuntu. I am going with Xubuntu for now.

Next steps: 1) see if I can get separate screen for each monitor and be able to move windows amongst them all and 2) get this to work in Unity!!

Installing Kile on Mac OS (Windows too)

Here are a few links which might help with installing Kile on Macs. Heck, I didn't know Kile was "cross-platform" in this manner. You can even, supposedly, install Kile on Windows. Another way to possible run Kile on Mac or Windows OSs is to use a virtual machine.

Compile failed installing kile on Mac OS X 10.6 • KDE Community Forums

An older site and post.

How to install Kile on Mac OS X - http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20071024061901344

Howto install KILE on Mac OS X natively - http://projectsymphony.blogspot.com/2008/03/howto-install-kile-on-mac-os-x-natively.html

Kile on Windows.

Installing Kile on Microsoft Windows - http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/kile/index.php?title=KileOnWindows

Some info on gdm and kdm in Ubuntu

When installing KDE and/or XFCE (Kubuntu and Xubuntu in Ubuntu) you may have some questions about gdm and kdm. Here is a good forum link with some helpful information.

Changing default from kdm to gdm

Another link on Ubuntu/Kubuntu/Xubuntu and the GNOME and KDE display managers,

How to Switch from Ubuntu/Xubuntu to Kubuntu - http://www.spotht.com/2010/08/how-to-switch-from-ubuntuxubuntu-to.html

Edit: 8-22-11

Some more on GDM and KDM.

How To Switch Between GDM, LightDM Or KDM In Ubuntu [Quick Tip] - 28 Jul
2011 - http://www.webupd8.org/2011/07/how-to-switch-between-gdm-lightdm-or.html

Installing Kubuntu and Xubuntu (KDE and XFCE desktops) in Ubuntu

Just upgraded to Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal distro, and many changes have occurred. One, which I think I understand, is that Ubuntu has switched from the GNOME classic desktop to Ubuntu Unity desktop (which is still GNOME?). Apparently in the next release, the GNOME classic will not be available but GNOME version 3.0 will be the default (as Unity?). Anyways, the Unity desktop is a pretty big change from 10.10, and it has taken me a few days to get use to it. Some features I love, some are a little awkward, but like I said I am slowly getting use to it.

Basically the differences between Ubuntu, Kubuntu, and Xubuntu are the desktop interfaces and installation packages that come with each version. For example, Ubuntu uses the GNOME desktop, Kubuntu uses the KDE desktop, and Xubuntu uses the XFCE desktop which I just read is a more lightweight desktop than the others. Ubuntu now uses the Unity desktop, but you can still use GNOME if you don't like Unity. I am posting this because Unity has scared off some users so some people might want to check out other desktops. I personally like Unity and think it just takes some getting use to.

A link on how to install Kubuntu

How to install KDE on Ubuntu

The simple terminal command is:

sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop

and Xubuntu

Installing Xfce on Ubuntu

The simple terminal command is:

sudo apt-get install xubuntu-desktop

From the same website, http://www.psychocats.net, a post on going from Unity to GNOME

How to return to classic Gnome in Ubuntu

and a post on the difference between GNOME and KDE

KDE and Gnome Comparison

This site, http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu, also has several other post concerning Ubuntu so you might want to check it out!

Some additional links from howtogeek - http://www.howtogeek.com/:

Install KDE (Kubuntu) on Ubuntu - http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/ubuntu/install-kde-kubuntu-on-ubuntu/

Install Xfce (Xubuntu) on Ubuntu Linux - http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/ubuntu/install-xfce-xubuntu-on-ubuntu-linux/

A good, but short, post on the different desktops in Ubuntu 11.04 from http://scottlinux.com/:

Ubuntu 11.04 Change From Unity To Classic Gnome - http://scottlinux.com/2011/03/05/ubuntu-11-04-change-from-unity-to-classic-gnome/

http://www.xubuntu.org/

Xubuntu is a community developed operating system that is well-suited for laptops and desktops. Whether you use it at home, at school or at work Xubuntu contains all the applications you'll ever need, from word processing and email applications, to web server software and programming tools.

Xubuntu is and always will be free of charge. You do not pay any licensing fees. You can download, use and share Xubuntu with your friends, family, school or business for absolutely nothing.

We issue a new Xubuntu release every six months. That means you'll always have the latest and greatest applications that the open source world has to offer.

Xubuntu is designed with security in mind. You get free security updates for at least 18 months and with the Long Term Support (LTS) version you get three years support. There is no extra fee for the LTS version, we make our very best work available to everyone on the same free terms. Upgrades to new versions of Xubuntu are and always will be free of charge.

Everything you need comes on one CD, providing a complete working environment. Additional software is available online.

The graphical installer enables you to get up and running quickly and easily. A standard installation should take less than 25 minutes.

Once installed your system is immediately ready-to-use. We provide you with a desktop offering that includes a full set of productivity, internet, drawing and graphics applications, and games.

http://www.xfce.org/

http://www.kubuntu.org/

Kubuntu is a community developed and supported project. Since its launch in October 2004, Kubuntu has become one of the most highly regarded Linux distributions with millions of users around the world.

Kubuntu will always be free to download, free to use and free to distribute to others. With these goals in mind, Kubuntu aims to be the most widely used Linux system, and is the centre of a global open source software ecosystem.

http://www.kde.org/

Plasma Desktop

http://www.gnome.org/

GNOME Ubuntu Classic