Ubuntu's main system has a toolbar at the top, a brown color scheme, and comes with Firefox preloaded. But Kubuntu has a nice calming blue feel, a Windows-like taskbar and start menu, and comes with a powerful new file explorer called Dolphin. And then there's Xubuntu, which has simple, streamlined look and uses the XFCE interface that's designed for quick performance on older, slower machines.
Well, it turns out you don't have to choose. Sure, you could pick one, download it and burn it to a disc and then install it. But you can also install all three desktops. After all, they're all pretty much running on top of the same operating system.
- If you've installed the default Gnome version of Ubuntu, just open a terminal by hitting Alt-F2 on your keyboard and typing "gnome-terminal"
- To enable Kubuntu, type "sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop," enter your password when prompted, and answer yes to any questions that pop up.
- To enable Xubuntu, type "sudo apt-get install xubuntu-desktop"
- If you're already using Kubuntu or Xubuntu and want to enable Gnome, type "sudo apt-get install gnome-desktop"
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-21-2007 @ 9:09AM
JB said...
I am running Xubuntu 7.10 and when I enter this command into the terminal I get a "Couldn't find package gnome-desktop" response. Why is This?
Reply
10-21-2007 @ 9:12AM
Brad Linder said...
You may need to make sure you're connected to the internet and/or you have the proper software sources enabled.
Reply
10-21-2007 @ 12:39PM
JB said...
Thanks, I just had to set up the repositories correctly.
Reply
10-22-2007 @ 11:19AM
Tush said...
How much space does adding three of those systems take up?
Reply
10-22-2007 @ 11:19AM
Brad Linder said...
I forget exactly how much space was required, but it wasn't too much. I think Kubuntu-desktop was somewhere in the 400MB range, while Xubuntu-desktop was under 100MB.
Reply
10-22-2007 @ 5:32PM
urayy1 said...
To install ubuntu, try:
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop
Reply
10-29-2007 @ 1:47PM
Alex said...
you should use aptitude instead of apt-get, so if you decide to remove the other desktop, it removes all the packages that were installed.
Reply
10-30-2007 @ 10:29AM
john said...
I've just installed ubuntu-desktop after initially installing ubuntu server. All seemed to go fine except I don't know how to start the graphical desktop (no options presented on reboot). How can I start the desktop from the command line? Thanks.
Reply
12-20-2007 @ 7:36AM
Igor said...
@John:
Typing "startx" should start the x window manager from the command line
10-30-2007 @ 11:44AM
john said...
I've just installed ubuntu-desktop after initially installing ubuntu server. All seemed to go fine except I don't know how to start the graphical desktop (no options presented on reboot). How can I start the desktop from the command line? Thanks.
Reply
11-17-2007 @ 10:23AM
Saurab said...
Where can we download the kubuntu-desktop file.. without using the apt-get command??
Reply