Kubuntu instability...

[Branko Vukelic]

Hi list,

This is not really a problem relating to anything in particular... It's more 
like my cumulative experience of using Kubuntu...

THIS IS RATHER LONG. IF YOU GET BORED DON'T SAY I DID NOT WARN YOU! AND THIS 
IS NOT A DISTRO COMPARISON, FLAME WAR STARTER, OR A TROLL. :-)

I have used Ubuntu as my very first (excluding Red Hat that lived for 20 
minutes on my main disk a few years ago) linux experience. Love on first 
sight, I might add. Since then, everything but work is done under Linux in my 
house. :)

After a while, I discovered the KDE, and all the wonders of an well organized 
and highly customizable desktop environment.

After a few months (actually, I think it was about half an year), I was up to 
my neck with various software I pulled off the repos, drivers, codecs. Ubuntu 
couldn't handle it any longer and broke down completely... I got frustrated 
trying to fix it and accidentally erased all my photos (wedding, kid's birth, 
everything)... So I finally gave Kubuntu a kick in the butt off my PC and 
switched to Slackware.

Meanwhile, search for the perfect distro continued leading me to Suse, 
Kanotix, ELive, Puppy, and Arch Linux. In Arch I found the stability and ease 
of use I was looking for...

I used Arch for about six months, but found it difficult to have to compile 
less common pieces of software from scratch. I did enjoy it in Slackware, but 
I have a small kid and a job, so I can't spend so much time compiling stuff. 
So, here I was using Kubuntu again.

But here in Kubuntu, system instability is a pain in the back. I have only 
installed a few things off unofficial repos (which are, however, mentioned in 
the wiki), but the system just isn't as snappy as an Arch fully loaded with 
codecs, apps and drivers. Moreover, I frequently experience unwanted and 
unexpected behavior from all apps that I use daily.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not an average computer user (or at least I like to 
think I'm not). I'm not a geek either, but I like to fiddle with insides of a 
system when time permits. But this time, time is not something I have.

I don't have enough spare time to tweak the s**t out of a distro until it 
works as it should. Arch, for example, was quick to install and set up. And 
the pacman package manager pulled off the repo the stuff I needed and 
installed everything without an error... Every thing worked out of the box 
and even Compiz worked as per wiki directions. I was amazed by how much less 
effort it required compared to a Slackware, for example, or other immature 
distros out there. That ease of use far surpasses what Kubuntu was meant to 
achieve. The only thing I lacked in Arch was 16,000+ programs in the 
repos. :)

So, I'm thinking of going back to Arch again if Kubuntu continues to behave 
badly as it does now. I just can't afford to spend so much time doing nothing 
but fixing the bits. But before I do, I'd like to give Kubuntu a benefit of a 
doubt. (Yeah, I am a bit sentimental when it comes to Kubuntu.)

What are your experiences with Kubuntu? I would especially appreciate comments 
from those users that used or are using multiple distros. Is it really 
somewhat unstable, or I'm just not doing things right?