Kubuntu 9.10

FAQ

What is Kubuntu?

Kubuntu one of the distributions from the Ubuntu family (alongside Ubuntu Desktop and several other variants). Our Kubuntu CDs are made up of Ubuntu's base plus KDE. You can get exactly the same effect by installing Ubuntu and adding the KDE packages (and removing the Gnome packages) from the Ubuntu archives.

Is this a fork of Ubuntu?

No, it is an official part of Ubuntu. All our packages are in the same archives.

What does Kubuntu mean?

It means "towards humanity" in Bemba. Coincidently it also means free (as in beer) in Kirundi, spoken in Burundi. Kubuntu is pronounced "koo-boon-too".

I already have Ubuntu installed, how can I get Kubuntu?

Install kubuntu-desktop either with Synaptic or the command line apt-get install. See InstallingKDE for a full explanation.

Are Kubuntu CDs available from shipit?

Kubuntu CDs for PC and 64-bit PCs are now available from https://shipit.kubuntu.org.

What's new in Kubuntu 9.10

  • As always Kubuntu ships with the Latest Greatest Bestest KDE 4 release available: KDE 4.3.2
  • Karmic comes with a KDE 4 version of PackageKit.
  • Karmic brings with it a more polished smooth Network Manager
  • Social Tools to reach out and meet more people and Notification management to handle them all! .
  • A OpenOffice.org install which is better integrated into KDE 4.
A more complete list of changes as well as known problems is on the release announcement

How do I play MP3s?

Since 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex)

  • Install the libxine1-ffmpeg package
  • To burn MP3 files with K3B install the libk3b2-extracodecs (8.10 or 9.04) or libk3b6-extracodecs (9.10).
See RestrictedFormats for more details.

What is the default root password?

There is no root password set as default. If KDE needs administrator privileges you should use your user password instead. You can also edit files as root from Konqueror with right click -> Actions -> Edit as Root. See the Root Sudo wiki page.

I miss KDE 3: Why did it go away?

Good news! It didn't go very far. Thanks to the work of Kubuntu users like you there is a KDE 3 Remix for Kubuntu. It has updated packages and installs nicely alongside KDE 4 so you can use KDE 3 while testing KDE 4 releases. Lend a helping hand and see the power of Free Software to do what you like with your computer as long as you like! Be Free!

Help with partitioning

You should take a look at this if you need a partitioning guide.

How do I dual-boot with Windows?

If you have Windows installed on your computer and you want to have Kubuntu on a separate partition, please see this.

Cannot boot into Kubuntu after installing Windows

This is caused by overwriting Grub in the MBR by the windows bootloader. Read here for a comprehensive HowTo on how to fix this.

Can I Sell Kubuntu CDs or Computers with Kubuntu on?

Yes, Kubuntu is Free software in the sense of freedom, so you can sell it on CDs or pre-installed on computers. You must however freely supply the source code if your customers ask for it, you can get source ISOs from If your product name or advertising uses the word Kubuntu or the Kubuntu logo you must get a trademark licence from Canonical which is usually available at no cost.

How can I get help?

Ask on the mailing list kubuntu-users, the IRC channel #kubuntu on freenode or the Kubuntu Forums. For questions not related to KDE in Ubuntu (such as hardware problems) you are better asking on general Ubuntu lists or channels such as ubuntu-users or #ubuntu.

I have found a problem

Report bugs on Launchpad.

This is great, how can I help?

Please see the Helping Kubuntu wiki page.