03 — Why Kubuntu?
The name Linux isn’t actually a thing, but a kind of thing. The underlying code base is there for anyone to build as they like. What you can build with it can be tweaked for specialized uses. Most of these projects are given away for free; the term for a “brand” of Linux is distribution. It’s distributed in a more or less coherent operating system together with various included software. While there are just a few major projects, each one is likely to have dozens more that make adjustments in the basic major distribution. So, for example, Debian Linux has a very large number of derivative projects. One of them is a group of projects released under the flagship name Ubuntu. The company behind it is named Canonical. They invest money in the product and sell support contracts and some advertising. This one comes with a default graphical user interface (GUI) that is wholly unsuitable for Windows refugees. It’s called Unity and it works fine if you think your desktop is a cellphone. While you can install one or more different GUIs, it’s usually easier to get one of the derivatives that come with a different interface by default. The name “Ubuntu” is changed to reflect that.
We will be using Kubuntu — the KDE desktop on Ubuntu. There are two particular advantages. First, it’s not actually under Canonical’s control; it’s a volunteer derivative project. That means we don’t have to deal with the advertising part of Canonical’s business. Second, this is the one GUI closest to Windows in terms of how the user experiences it.
Let’s face it: The traditional Windows desktop GUI is the standard. Way back before Microsoft was planning their GUI on top of DOS, they first copied some existing ideas while also investing a lot of time and money in research. This research was designed to detect instinctive human behaviors when first encountering a GUI. Lots of test subjects with little or no computer experience were allowed to play with the mouse and the researchers watched and evaluated. The net result was the Windows 95 desktop. Not perfect, but it did take into account typical human expectations. That was before most current computer users were born. It’s hard to say whether that basic GUI is still the best match for instinctive behavior, there’s no doubt it’s what most people are now used to seeing. Efforts to innovate too much don’t get very far in terms of popular acceptance.
So there’s no reason to depart much from the standard Windows desktop GUI. The K Desktop Environment (KDE) stays pretty close to that. It was even better in the past, but recent bright ideas from the not-so-user-friendly Open Source developers haven’t damaged it too much. It’s as close as we’ll get.
Another advantage is that we gain the highly automated and generally sane defaults that come with Ubuntu itself. Much of the Linux experience is very much DIY with defaults that make the developers happy. The underlying Debian design is mostly by and for systems administrators; it’s server software. It works okay on the desktop and can be adjusted to meet common expectations, but it’s not there by default, regardless of which GUI you put on top. The installation defaults exclude a lot of things for reasons that most likely mean nothing to you. It tends to cripple the functioning of the software on some hardware combinations. As I said, you can fix that and the extra goodies are available, but not included by default. You have to know what you need and do some extra work. Canonical decided to take Debian and polish it up, including all the extras by default. Most things you are likely to need from an operating system are already pretty close to what you might expect in Kubuntu.
But it’s not Windows. In fact, Linux is a type of Unix, and that affects the entire experience.
