Tue Jun 5 2007 - adding Kubuntu desktop, then Kubuntu

I was keen to try the KDE look and compare it to Ubuntu's Gnome interface. At first I intended to create a fresh installation of Kubuntu in a separate partition. But then I came across a couple of sites which pointed out that I'd be using a lot less space on my hard drive for essentially the same result if I simply installed the Kubuntu desktop in Ubuntu. That way I could log into either Gnome or KDE.

Here are a couple of useful links. You don't need them to follow in my footsteps however:
http://ubuntu.wordpress.com/2006/01/13/ubuntu-to-kubuntu-keeping-the-menus-clean/
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/9369

So I opened Synaptic, searched for 'kubuntu-desktop' and when it was found, checked it, ignored the warning and then hit 'reply'. Whoooh - nearly 200MB of download later, it was installed. Only one point worth mentioning - you'll be asked which desktop you want set as default. I chose 'gdm' - Gnome. 'kdm' refers to KDE.

Before I exited from Ubuntu, I noticed that many (if not all) of the KDE apps were already listed in the 'Applications' menu. If you google right, you'll find ways of avoiding this 'application crossover' - through both scripts and downloadable applets. I didn't mind. Anyway, my intention was to just uncheck the KDE apps I didn't want to see in my Ubuntu desktop in the main menu editor (system/preferences). (BTW, would those unchecked apps also be excluded from the Kubuntu menu? I tested that by unchecking 'Gwenview'. Turns out it still showed up in Kubuntu.)

So now I could log into either a KDE or Gnome session at login. I rebooted, and at login chose KDE. Hmmm - what would I see? Uh oh - that was Kubuntu alright. But the fonts were way too big. Come to think of it - so was the font on the login and password entry fields. Maybe they were related. I went hunting.

At http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-332101.html I found 2 separate pieces of advice. I tried the 2nd first - changing the entry font size in my theme settings. In a terminal I typed:
cd /usr/share/gdm/themes/Human
and then:
sudo gedit Human.xml

I changed the font size from 12 to 8 in this bit:

<item type="entry" id="user-pw-entry">
<normal color="#000000" font="Sans 8"/>
<pos y="2" x="2" width="-4" height="-4" anchor="nw"/>
</item>

That worked. But the KDE and session option fonts were still whopping. So I tried the 1st suggestion and added the suggested lines:
Options "UseEdidDpi" "False"
Options "DPI" "96x96"
into my /etc/X11/xorg.conf file in the screen section just under 'Defaultdepth 24'.

Then I rebooted. Whoops - that was a mistake. Disaster. I've cruelled my xconf.
DO NOT - I repeat DO NOT plonk those lines where I did.

Somewhere no doubt, someone has written a step-by-step guide to recovery from X-configuration failure. Unfortunately, I haven't found it... yet. After a few fruitless attempts at rebooting and issuing 'hope-for-the-best' commands at the prompt which resulted from each X-crash, I decided it would be better to cut my losses and just install Kubuntu in a new partition beside Ubuntu.

Sure enough, that went painlessly, and the outcome was a Kubuntu with the correct font size. Whatsmore I didn't have any overlap of KDE apps listed in Gnome menus and vice versa.

Of course, if I had been sensible and had backed up my xorg.conf file, it would have been a very simple procedure to replace the new error-laden file with the old one at a command prompt. But that was not to be...

So now I have Kubuntu as well. Shame about the lack of a desktop effects applet. Apparently you have to get your hands dirty with the console and commands to get that going. Another day maybe. And I noticed a rather noisy hum while using Kubuntu that never abated. I wonder what the story is there.