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Linux Mint Debian Edition KDE
Linux Mint Debian Edition KDE (LMDE KDE) is an unofficial spin of Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE) which is, as the name suggests, based on Debian and uses Gnome. LMDE KDE uses, as you might have guessed, KDE.
Note, I say it’s based on Debian. Kubuntu is based on Ubuntu which is based on Debian, so there are differences between using LMDE KDE and Kubuntu.
History
I’ll let LMDE KDE creator Schoelje give you the background to his baby: “The unofficial LMDE KDE, like most new things, was born out of frustration. I loved LMDE but I did not like Mate or Cinnamon. It felt like trying to revive an abandoned technology. As if Frankenstein had gone digital, but needed practice on its stitching. I liked Mint KDE, but I missed LMDE's stability. There’s been many rumors that Clem [creator of Linux Mint] had intentions to create LMDE KDE, but that never happened. So, I decided to create my own Boris Karloff: strong, stable and… beautiful. First, it was just a bunch of scripts and packages gathered from several Debian and Ubuntu repositories, but then I thought that there may be some people out there who are experiencing the same frustration of having no LMDE KDE, and that's when I decided to create the live DVD. Although, I, too, need some stitching practice, but I think the result has some merit.”
Install
The first thing to note is that as of 12.10, the Ubuntu family now uses PAE as part of the kernel and booting process. This means that older hardware will not boot 12.10+. I noticed this when trying to install Kubuntu 12.10 on to an old EEE PC. Kubuntu 12.10 wouldn’t even boot. The 32-bit LMDE KDE comes with two kernels that you can choose from on boot. The newer PAE version and also a non-PAE version. So this is handy for older hardware.
LMDE KDE installs pretty much the same as the Ubuntu family does.
A nice addition is that you can ping several repositories (after installing):
sudo mint-choose-debian-mirror
and the result is that you can choose, from a list, the fastest repository. By default, LMDE KDE uses the LMDE repositories.
Welcome
On first boot, LMDE KDE will present you with the welcome window (shown above) which automatically detects third-party hardware with the option to install proprietary drivers. It’s something that’s taken for granted these days with the ease of use in K/Ubuntu, but it’s not the defacto standard in Debian.
Another nice addition to LMDE KDE is the Plymouth Manager which lets you tinker with the loading screen by choosing a resolution and relevant image from the lists provided.
The desktop looks as you’d expect – default KDE with a Linux Mint wallpaper – so no surprises there.
Software
The usual great suite of KDE applications (as well as LibreOffice) are installed; K3B, Amarok, digiKam, Gwenview, and, if you like to import/export to photo sharing/hosting sites, you can install the extras package which will let you natively use Facebook, Picasa, et al from within digiKam and Gwenview. One unusual change is the lack of Kmail, but with the addition of Thunderbird. Might not suit all, but suits me fine and dandy.
Updates
Rather than having a dozen or more updates every day, LMDE KDE will use the same system as LMDE with update ‘packs’ which will mean fewer updates, but this is to ensure extra stability.
Conclusion
Not having the Ubuntu repos/PPAs is a bit of a downer. I can’t deny it. KDE 4.10 is around the corner and LMDE KDE is using 4.8, which makes me a bit sad. But, having said that, since it shares features with Debian, it may skip 4.9 altogether and use 4.10 (as they did with 4.5). With regards to PPAs, not having them does stop me trying more experimental applications, which means that, in the long run, my system is far more stable than previously. Yes, I’m not forced to install those unstable packages in Kubuntu, but when they’re there, and so easy to install… I’m sure you know how it is.
It’s still a youngster, but I’m definitely a fan of LMDE KDE. UP6 isn’t far off, and it’ll be interesting to see what its creator, Schoelje, will introduce.
Pros: Based on the granddaddy of them all.
Cons: Can’t use K/Ubuntu repos/PPAs
Download and info: http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=61&t=113571&p=633324
UPDATE FROM SCHOELJE
In one of Clem's recent blog posts (http://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=2237), he had this to say about LMDE KDE and LMDE Xfce: “Going forward, LMDE ISOs will be released in two versions: MATE and Cinnamon. The decision was taken not to maintain a KDE version of LMDE and to stop maintaining the Xfce version. This was a painful decision to make considering the quality of LMDE Xfce and unofficial LMDE KDE, but one that made sense for Linux Mint since LMDE Xfce represented only 4% of the Linux Mint audience.”
Together with the unofficial LMDE KDE, I (Schoelje) have decided to also take up maintenance of the unofficial LMDE Xfce. I have now started an “unofficial LMDE Xfce thread” here: http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=61&t=118890