These instructions are for Ubuntu 12.04 running the Unity desktop on which the Kubuntu Desktop was installed using either the Ubuntu Software Center or sudo apt-get on the command line.

The instructions may be the same for other versions of Ubuntu, but no guarantee is made.

When the Kubuntu Desktop is installed in Ubuntu 12.04, it installs several packages and libraries it requires as well as some optional packages. Not all these packages and libraries are uninstalled when you uninstall Kubuntu Desktop. Several packages (like dolphin and kmail) do not get uninstalled.

Quick Uninstall

1) Open a terminal (instructions can be found here).

2) Enter the following command (it is very long and a single line):

sudo apt-get purge --auto-remove akonadi-backend-mysql akonadi-server akregator amarok amarok-common amarok-utils  apport-kde apturl-kde ark bluedevil cdparanoia cdrdao cryptsetup docbook-xsl  dolphin dragonplayer freespacenotifier gnupg-agent gnupg2 gpgsm gpsd  gstreamer0.10-qapt gtk2-engines-oxygen gtk3-engines-oxygen gwenview ibus-qt4  icoutils jockey-kde k3b k3b-data kaccessible kaddressbook kamera kate kate-data  katepart kcalc kde-baseapps-bin kde-baseapps-data kde-config-gtk  kde-config-touchpad kde-runtime kde-runtime-data kde-style-oxygen  kde-wallpapers-default kde-window-manager kde-window-manager-common  kde-workspace kde-workspace-bin kde-workspace-data kde-workspace-kgreet-plugins  kde-zeroconf kdegames-card-data kdegraphics-strigi-analyzer kdelibs-bin  kdelibs5-data kdelibs5-plugins kdemultimedia-kio-plugins kdenetwork-filesharing  kdepasswd kdepim-kresources kdepim-runtime kdepim-strigi-plugins  kdepimlibs-kio-plugins kdesudo kdm kdoctools khelpcenter4 kinfocenter klipper  kmag kmail kmenuedit kmix kmousetool knotes konsole kontact kopete  kopete-message-indicator korganizer kpat kppp ksnapshot ksysguard ksysguardd  ksystemlog ktimetracker ktorrent ktorrent-data kubuntu-debug-installer  kubuntu-default-settings kubuntu-desktop kubuntu-firefox-installer  kubuntu-netbook-default-settings kubuntu-notification-helper  kubuntu-web-shortcuts kvkbd kwalletmanager language-selector-kde  libakonadi-calendar4 libakonadi-contact4 libakonadi-kabc4 libakonadi-kcal4  libakonadi-kde4 libakonadi-kmime4 libakonadi-notes4 libakonadiprotocolinternals1  libassuan0 libattica0.3 libbluedevil1 libboost-program-options1.46.1  libcalendarsupport4 libcln6 libclucene0ldbl libdebconf-kde0 libdlrestrictions1  libdmtx0a libencode-locale-perl libepub0 libeventviews4 libfile-listing-perl  libflac++6 libfont-afm-perl libgadu3 libgpgme++2 libgps20 libgrantlee-core0  libhtml-form-perl libhtml-format-perl libhtml-parser-perl libhtml-tagset-perl  libhtml-tree-perl libhttp-cookies-perl libhttp-daemon-perl libhttp-date-perl  libhttp-message-perl libhttp-negotiate-perl libibus-qt1 libilmbase6  libincidenceeditorsng4 libindicate-qt1 libio-socket-inet6-perl  libio-socket-ssl-perl libk3b6 libkabc4 libkactivities-bin libkactivities6  libkalarmcal2 libkateinterfaces4 libkatepartinterfaces4 libkblog4 libkcal4  libkcalcore4 libkcalutils4 libkcddb4 libkcmutils4 libkde3support4  libkdeclarative5 libkdecorations4 libkdecore5 libkdegames5a libkdepim4  libkdepimdbusinterfaces4 libkdesu5 libkdeui5 libkdewebkit5 libkdgantt2  libkdnssd4 libkemoticons4 libkephal4abi1 libkexiv2-10 libkexiv2-data libkfile4  libkholidays4 libkhtml5 libkidletime4 libkimap4 libkio5 libkipi-data libkipi8  libkjsapi4 libkjsembed4 libkldap4 libkleo4 libkmanagesieve4 libkmbox4  libkmediaplayer4 libkmime4 libknewstuff2-4 libknewstuff3-4 libknotifyconfig4  libkntlm4 libkonq-common libkonq5-templates libkonq5abi1 libkontactinterface4  libkopete4 libkparts4 libkpgp4 libkpimidentities4 libkpimtextedit4 libkpimutils4  libkprintutils4 libkpty4 libkresources4 libkrosscore4 libksba8 libkscreensaver5  libksgrd4 libksieve4 libksieveui4 libksignalplotter4 libktexteditor4 libktnef4  libktorrent-l10n libktorrent3 libkunitconversion4 libkwineffects1abi3  libkwinglutils1 libkwinnvidiahack4 libkworkspace4abi1 libkxmlrpcclient4  liblastfm0 libloudmouth1-0 liblwp-mediatypes-perl liblwp-protocol-https-perl  libmailcommon4 libmailtools-perl libmailtransport4 libmessagecomposer4  libmessagecore4 libmessagelist4 libmessageviewer4 libmicroblog4 libmsn0.3  libmuonprivate1 libmygpo-qt1 libnepomuk4 libnepomukdatamanagement4  libnepomukquery4a libnepomuksync4 libnepomukutils4 libnet-http-perl  libnet-ssleay-perl libntrack-qt4-1 libntrack0 libokularcore1abi1 libopenexr6  libotr2 libphonon4 libplasma-geolocation-interface4 libplasma3  libplasmaclock4abi3 libplasmagenericshell4 libpolkit-qt-1-1 libpoppler-qt4-3  libprison0 libprocesscore4abi1 libprocessui4a libqalculate5 libqapt-runtime  libqapt1 libqca2 libqca2-plugin-ossl libqgpgme1 libqimageblitz4 libqjson0  libqrencode3 libqt4-qt3support libqtglib-2.0-0 libqtgstreamer-0.10-0  libqtscript4-core libqtscript4-gui libqtscript4-network libqtscript4-sql  libqtscript4-uitools libqtscript4-xml libreoffice-kde libreoffice-style-oxygen  libsocket6-perl libsolid4 libsolidcontrol4abi2 libsolidcontrolifaces4abi2  libsoprano4 libstreamanalyzer0 libstreams0 libsyndication4 libtag-extras1  libtaskmanager4abi3 libtemplateparser4 libthreadweaver4 libtimedate-perl  liburi-perl libvirtodbc0 libweather-ion6 libwww-perl libwww-robotrules-perl  libxml2-utils libxss1 libzip2 muon muon-installer muon-notifier muon-updater  mysql-client-core-5.5 mysql-server-core-5.5 ntrack-module-libnl-0 odbcinst  odbcinst1debian2 okular okular-extra-backends oxygen-cursor-theme  oxygen-icon-theme partitionmanager phonon phonon-backend-gstreamer pinentry-gtk2  pinentry-qt4 plasma-dataengines-addons plasma-dataengines-workspace  plasma-desktop plasma-netbook plasma-scriptengine-javascript  plasma-scriptengine-python plasma-widget-facebook plasma-widget-folderview  plasma-widget-kimpanel plasma-widget-menubar plasma-widget-message-indicator  plasma-widget-networkmanagement plasma-widgets-addons plasma-widgets-workspace  plymouth-theme-kubuntu-logo plymouth-theme-kubuntu-text polkit-kde-1  printer-applet python-kde4 python-pyudev qapt-batch qapt-deb-installer quassel  quassel-data rekonq shared-desktop-ontologies software-properties-kde  soprano-daemon system-config-printer-kde systemsettings tasks-icons  update-manager-kde usb-creator-kde userconfig virtuoso-minimal  virtuoso-opensource-6.1-bin virtuoso-opensource-6.1-common xsettings-kde

It is easiest to copy the line and paste it into the terminal (right-click on the terminal and select Paste from the popup menu).

Preferred Uninstall

The better way to uninstall it is to follow the directions on this page.

This will show you on how to uninstall only the packages that were installed when Kubuntu Desktop was installed. The instructions are generic and work for any installed package.

It involves:

1. identifying which packages were installed and
2. creating a command to uninstall only those packages

It leaves intact any packages you may have installed (like dolphin or kmail) or were installed previously as part of other packages instead of blindly assuming that they were installed along with Kubuntu Desktop.

The post Ubuntu 12.04 – How to Completely Uninstall / Remove the Kubuntu Desktop appeared first on Complete, Concrete, Concise.

These instructions are for Ubuntu 11.10 on which the Kubuntu Desktop was installed using either the Ubuntu Software Center or sudo apt-get on the command line.

The instructions may be the same for other versions, but no guarantee is made.

When the Kubuntu Desktop is installed in Ubuntu 11.10, it installs several additional packages and libraries. Not all these packages and libraries are uninstalled when you uninstall the Kubuntu Desktop. Several packages (like Dolphin) do not get uninstalled.

Quick Uninstall

1) Open a terminal (instructions can be found here).

2) Enter the following command (it is very long and a single line):

sudo apt-get remove --auto-remove akonadi-backend-mysql akonadi-server akregator amarok amarok-common amarok-utils apport-kde apturl-kde ark bluedevil cdparanoia cdrdao cryptsetup docbook-xsl dolphin dragonplayer freespacenotifier gnupg-agent gnupg2 gpgsm gstreamer0.10-qapt gtk2-engines-oxygen gwenview ibus-qt4 icoutils jockey-kde k3b k3b-data kaccessible kaddressbook kamera kate kate-data katepart kcalc kde-baseapps-bin kde-baseapps-data kde-config-gtk kde-config-touchpad kde-runtime kde-runtime-data kde-wallpapers-default kde-window-manager kde-workspace kde-workspace-bin kde-workspace-data kde-workspace-kgreet-plugins kde-zeroconf kdebase-runtime kdegames-card-data kdegraphics-strigi-analyzer kdelibs-bin kdelibs5-data kdelibs5-plugins kdemultimedia-kio-plugins kdenetwork-filesharing kdepasswd kdepim-groupware kdepim-kresources kdepim-runtime kdepim-strigi-plugins kdepim-wizards kdepimlibs-kio-plugins kdesudo kdm kdoctools khelpcenter4 kinfocenter klipper kmag kmail kmix kmousetool knotes konsole kontact kopete kopete-message-indicator korganizer kpat kppp ksnapshot ksysguard ksysguardd ksystemlog ktimetracker ktorrent ktorrent-data kubuntu-debug-installer kubuntu-default-settings kubuntu-desktop kubuntu-docs kubuntu-firefox-installer kubuntu-netbook-default-settings kubuntu-notification-helper kubuntu-web-shortcuts kvkbd kwalletmanager language-selector-kde libakonadi-calendar4 libakonadi-contact4 libakonadi-kabc4 libakonadi-kcal4 libakonadi-kde4 libakonadi-kmime4 libakonadiprotocolinternals1 libassuan0 libattica0 libbluedevil1 libboost-program-options1.46.1 libcalendarsupport4 libcln6 libclucene0ldbl libdebconf-kde0 libdiscid0 libdlrestrictions1 libdmtx0a libencode-locale-perl libepub0 libeventviews4 libfile-listing-perl libflac++6 libfont-afm-perl libgadu3 libgpgme++2 libgps19 libgrantlee-core0 libhtml-form-perl libhtml-format-perl libhtml-parser-perl libhtml-tagset-perl libhtml-tree-perl libhttp-cookies-perl libhttp-daemon-perl libhttp-date-perl libhttp-message-perl libhttp-negotiate-perl libibus-qt1 libilmbase6 libincidenceeditorsng4 libindicate-qt1 libio-socket-ssl-perl libiodbc2 libk3b6 libkabc4 libkateinterfaces4 libkatepartinterfaces4 libkblog4 libkcal4 libkcalcore4 libkcalutils4 libkcddb4 libkcmutils4 libkde3support4 libkdecorations4 libkdecore5 libkdegames5a libkdepim4 libkdepimdbusinterfaces4 libkdesu5 libkdeui5 libkdewebkit5 libkdgantt2 libkdnssd4 libkemoticons4 libkephal4abi1 libkexiv2-10 libkexiv2-data libkfile4 libkholidays4 libkhtml5 libkidletime4 libkimap4 libkio5 libkipi-data libkipi8 libkjsapi4 libkjsembed4 libkldap4 libkleo4 libkmanagesieve4 libkmbox4 libkmediaplayer4 libkmime4 libknewstuff2-4 libknewstuff3-4 libknotifyconfig4 libkntlm4 libkonq-common libkonq5-templates libkonq5abi1 libkontactinterface4 libkopete4 libkparts4 libkpgp4 libkpimidentities4 libkpimtextedit4 libkpimutils4 libkprintutils4 libkpty4 libkresources4 libkrosscore4 libksba8 libkscreensaver5 libksgrd4 libksieve4 libksieveui4 libksignalplotter4 libktexteditor4 libktnef4 libktorrent-l10n libktorrent3 libkunitconversion4 libkwineffects1abi2 libkworkspace4 libkxmlrpcclient4 liblastfm0 libloudmouth1-0 liblwp-mediatypes-perl liblwp-protocol-https-perl libmailcommon4 libmailtools-perl libmailtransport4 libmessagecomposer4 libmessagecore4 libmessagelist4 libmessageviewer4 libmicroblog4 libmsn0.3 libmuonprivate1 libmusicbrainz3-6 libnepomuk4 libnepomukquery4a libnepomukutils4 libnet-http-perl libnet-ssleay-perl libntrack-qt4-1 libntrack0 libokularcore1 libopenexr6 libotr2 libphonon4 libplasma-geolocation-interface4 libplasma3 libplasmaclock4abi2 libplasmagenericshell4 libpolkit-qt-1-1 libpoppler-qt4-3 libprison0 libprocesscore4abi1 libprocessui4a libqalculate5 libqapt-runtime libqapt1 libqca2 libqca2-plugin-ossl libqgpgme1 libqimageblitz4 libqjson0 libqrencode3 libqt4-designer libqt4-help libqt4-qt3support libqt4-scripttools libqt4-sql-sqlite libqt4-test libqtassistantclient4 libqtglib-2.0-0 libqtgstreamer-0.10-0 libqtscript4-core libqtscript4-gui libqtscript4-network libqtscript4-sql libqtscript4-uitools libqtscript4-xml libqtwebkit4 libreoffice-kde libreoffice-style-oxygen libsolid4 libsolidcontrol4abi2 libsolidcontrolifaces4abi2 libsoprano4 libssh-4 libstreamanalyzer0 libstreams0 libsyndication4 libtag-extras1 libtaskmanager4abi2 libtemplateparser4 libthreadweaver4 libtimedate-perl liburi-perl libvirtodbc0 libweather-ion6 libwww-perl libwww-robotrules-perl libxml2-utils libxss1 libzip1 muon muon-installer muon-notifier muon-updater mysql-client-core-5.1 mysql-server-core-5.1 ntrack-module-libnl-0 odbcinst odbcinst1debian2 okular okular-extra-backends oxygen-cursor-theme oxygen-icon-theme oxygen-icon-theme-complete partitionmanager phonon phonon-backend-gstreamer pinentry-gtk2 pinentry-qt4 plasma-dataengines-addons plasma-dataengines-workspace plasma-desktop plasma-netbook plasma-scriptengine-javascript plasma-scriptengine-python plasma-widget-facebook plasma-widget-folderview plasma-widget-kimpanel plasma-widget-kimpanel-backend-ibus plasma-widget-menubar plasma-widget-message-indicator plasma-widget-networkmanagement plasma-widgets-addons plasma-widgets-workspace plymouth-theme-kubuntu-logo plymouth-theme-kubuntu-text printer-applet python-kde4 python-pyudev python-qt4 python-qt4-dbus python-sip qapt-batch qapt-deb-installer quassel quassel-data rekonq shared-desktop-ontologies software-properties-kde soprano-daemon system-config-printer-kde systemsettings update-manager-kde usb-creator-kde userconfig virtuoso-minimal virtuoso-opensource-6.1-bin virtuoso-opensource-6.1-common

It is easiest to copy the line and paste it into the terminal (right-click on the terminal and select Paste from the popup menu).

Preferred Uninstall

The better way to uninstall it is to follow the directions on this page. This will allow you to uninstall only the packages that were installed when the Kubuntu Desktop was installed. The instructions are generic and work for any installed package.

This involves (1) identifying which packages were installed and (2) creating a command to uninstall only those packages.

This leaves intact any packages you may have installed (like Dolphin) instead of blindly assuming that they were installed along with the Kubuntu Desktop.

The post Ubuntu 11.10 – How to Completely Uninstall / Remove the Kubuntu Desktop appeared first on Complete, Concrete, Concise.

After a while, you start to see how similar they all are. In fact, they are just custom tailored versions of Ubuntu (which itself is a custom version of Debian). They come with a customized GUI, have their own look and feel (and pretty background picture), but ultimately rely on the Ubuntu Software Center and Software Updates to keep running. One I tried out, Elementary OS, even prompted me to upgrade to Ubuntu 11.04.

Two days ago, Linux Mint, released version 12 of its OS. I thought that was a bad idea. Not because I think there is anything wrong with Linux Mint – it’s a fine distro, just like many other Linux distros.

I thought it was a bad idea because the average person isn’t interested in installing a particular Linux distribution. They are interested in installing an Operating System (OS), applications and using that combination to do work. If they already have a Linux distro installed, then then they aren’t interested in replacing it, but upgrading it.

This is why Ubuntu was nice. When a new version came along, you could upgrade to it and keep all your data and applications.

When a new Linux distro comes out, you don’t have the option of upgrading, you have to delete your old installation (along with applications and data), install the new Linux distro, reinstall all the applications you were using and, finally, restore all your data. whew! That is way too much work for the average user.

When Ubuntu 11.10 came out, a lot of people were unhappy that Unity was the default interface (sure, you can change it, I even wrote instructions for it here). It was not possible to roll back the upgrade. This has caused Ubuntu to drop in popularity and other distros (like Linux Mint) to rise in popularity. Unfortunately, if Ubuntu is your main work computer, it has YOUR apps installed, it has YOUR data, it is configured to work the way YOU like it, why in the world would you want to destroy all that just so you can install a different Linux distro? It doesn’t make sense.

A better option, and one I haven’t seen exploited, would be to provide “upgrades” from one distro to another. If you are unhappy with Ubuntu 11.10 and Unity, then why not be able to “upgrade” to Linux Mint 12?

The reason is simple, each distro reflects a different approach or philosophy. Some focus on being lean, others focus on being cutting edge, others focus on being “pure” (in the sense of no proprietary software). Being able to install a “lean” distro over one considered “bloated” would kind of negate the reason for the lean distro to exist.

It could be argued that what I’m really going on about is just installing a new Window Manager or desktop (like GNOME or KDE or LXDE or XFCE) – which is pretty much true. Most users don’t care what’s under the hood, they care about how they interact with it – the look and feel.

Is Linux Mint interested in releasing a Linux Mint Desktop package for Ubuntu? Or Elementary OS in releasing an Elementary OS Desktop for Ubuntu? Or any other Ubuntu derivative interested in releasing their desktop to run on Ubuntu? Probably not – why would they want to position themselves as nothing more than an add-on to Ubuntu? The only Ubuntu derivative desktops you can install on Ubuntu are Edubuntu, Kubuntu, Lubuntu, and Xubuntu (which are all official Ubuntu derivatives).

The post Why aren't there Linux Upgrades? appeared first on Complete, Concrete, Concise.