Fwiw Kubuntu is probably the worst KDE distro. Fortunately, it takes about 30 minutes to replace it (including the time to download the ISO over a decent connection(.

Bug...

I agree with you completely. Why Kubuntu is concentrating on a laptop when their own OS needs serious attention is beyond me...as with all things Ubuntu(and Mozilla)...I can no longer understand what these people are attempting to accomplish.

In the last six months I've tested every single KDE distro out there in the wilds and the only four I would consider using are from Manjaro, Debian, Solus, and OpenSUSE.

I ranked them for speed, efficiency, compatibility, and stability.

I'm personally using Manjaro as my daily driver. My new laptop(once it's repaired) will be running Debian KDE.

The Steam Deck, when it arrives....well everyone knows what it will be running.

:),

Liquid Cool

There so many Linux operating systems

Liquid CoolBug...

I agree with you completely. Why Kubuntu is concentrating on a laptop when their own OS needs serious attention is beyond me...as with all things Ubuntu(and Mozilla)...I can no longer understand what these people are attempting to accomplish.

In the last six months I've tested every single KDE distro out there in the wilds and the only four I would consider using are from Manjaro, Debian, Solus, and OpenSUSE.

I ranked them for speed, efficiency, compatibility, and stability.

I'm personally using Manjaro as my daily driver. My new laptop(once it's repaired) will be running Debian KDE.

The Steam Deck, when it arrives....well everyone knows what it will be running.

:),

Liquid Cool

I'm running KDE on top of Arch, but the difference to Manjaro is mostly nil.
I think KDE Neon is also worth a nod. If you're after stability.

But again, Kubuntu is a mess. Ancient Qt, resource hog... I mean, it's usable, but when you look elsewhere, the difference becomes clear.

Liquid CoolBug...

I agree with you completely. Why Kubuntu is concentrating on a laptop when their own OS needs serious attention is beyond me...as with all things Ubuntu(and Mozilla)...I can no longer understand what these people are attempting to accomplish.

In the last six months I've tested every single KDE distro out there in the wilds and the only four I would consider using are from Manjaro, Debian, Solus, and OpenSUSE.

I ranked them for speed, efficiency, compatibility, and stability.

I'm personally using Manjaro as my daily driver. My new laptop(once it's repaired) will be running Debian KDE.

The Steam Deck, when it arrives....well everyone knows what it will be running.

:),

Liquid Cool

I prefer Ubuntu‐based distros for the PPA support, I want my Inkscape installation to update automatically (albeit late), but FlatPak or Snap releases sometimes have troubles theming, I encountered this mainly in LibreOffice (however, I don’t use LibreOffice or Scribus PPAs for their requirements). I personally use KDE Neon.

ratajsI prefer Ubuntu‐based distros for the PPA support, I want my Inkscape installation to update automatically (albeit late), but FlatPak or Snap releases sometimes have troubles theming, I encountered this mainly in LibreOffice (however, I don’t use LibreOffice or Scribus PPAs for their requirements). I personally use KDE Neon.

Ubuntu (and friends) are more about stability. Older packages, but patched up and stable. PPAs are nice, but they fly in the face of stability. In the sense that if you actually need stability, PPAs offer no guarantee. IME, PPAs work fine, I only moved on because I needed too many of them.

Bug...

I'm not a fan of snaps and flatpaks, that is why KDE Neon isn't on my list. They're pushing them on users so hard, I don't believe a new person to KDE could find their way around them. I considered my choices carefully. I think all four could serve as a daily driver for anyone interested in a KDE desktop experience.

My actual favorite...is hard to pick. I like all 4 for different reasons. Although, it also depends on the hardware I'm running and what I'm intending to do with said hardware. For me, Manjaro and Solus(especially for speed/gaming) are the standouts, but would probably recommend OpenSUSE for a business platform. While debian is just an all around solid choice. Not the best in anything, but very stable.

The specific reasons I use manjaro as my daily driver are: Access to the AUR, being able to manually turn on/off snaps/flatpaks, very consistent speed and overall stability. It's been rock solid since day one. I have zero complaints.

In closing....I wanted to personally thank btarunr for posting an article involving ANYTHING to do with linux. I almost fell out of my chair when I was scrolling down the page and saw an article about a linux mobile workstation.

Very appreciative sir. Thank you for making my day.

:),

Liquid Cool

I was daily driving Kubuntu for years, and still generally install it on machines where I need Linux with a GUI.

Because I'd want to keep pace with later versions of the KDE Platform (their release schedules are generally off with the timing of the distro release), I'd just apply the Kubuntu Backports PPA and I'd receive the latest version. It always worked pretty well for me having the latest Ubuntu base with all the familiarity I had with using Mint and stock Ubuntu from years prior, as well as having the latest KDE release on top. It's a great platform IMO.

To each their own though.

s3thraI was daily driving Kubuntu for years, and still generally install it on machines where I need Linux with a GUI.

Because I'd want to keep pace with later versions of the KDE Platform (their release schedules are generally off with the timing of the distro release), I'd just apply the Kubuntu Backports PPA and I'd receive the latest version. It always worked pretty well for me having the latest Ubuntu base with all the familiarity I had with using Mint and stock Ubuntu from years prior, as well as having the latest KDE release on top. It's a great platform IMO.

To each their own though.

Like I said, only after you install Neon can you see how much junk Kubuntu lugs around (iirc, RAM after startup went from ~900 to ~500MB). And while Kubuntu Backports will give you the latest KDE, it won't give you the latest Qt, which must also be kept up to date. The downside is that while Neon fixes cruft and Qt, it sticks to Ubuntu LTS releases, so other packages are even older.

It's like you said, to each their own. In my case, needing up-to-date KDE, Qt and a bunch of other stuff, the writing was on the wall: rolling release distro.

@bug for you Arch is definitely the way to go then. Back around 2015 I ran it exclusively on my system with KDE also. Setting my system up using Arch was an awesome way to learn how everything plugs together and works. Over the course of the year I learned more about Linux that I ever had in the years prior running Ubuntu systems. For one reason or another though I slipped back to Ubuntu and friends after I just needed to install something and get on with my work.

I guess I never really noticed Kubuntu using more resources than other comparable distos given my systems have always had more than enough RAM so I haven’t paid any attention to it. Out of curiosity I will compare the latest Kubuntu and Neon in separate VM’s to see what Kubuntu is loading extra in the background.

s3thra@bug for you Arch is definitely the way to go then. Back around 2015 I ran it exclusively on my system with KDE also. Setting my system up using Arch was an awesome way to learn how everything plugs together and works. Over the course of the year I learned more about Linux that I ever had in the years prior running Ubuntu systems. For one reason or another though I slipped back to Ubuntu and friends after I just needed to install something and get on with my work.

Pretty much my experience as well. Only Arch gained a basic installer in the meantime, installing it is supposedly much easier now. I wouldn't know, this thing doesn't seem to need reinstalling ;)

s3thraI guess I never really noticed Kubuntu using more resources than other comparable distos given my systems have always had more than enough RAM so I haven’t paid any attention to it. Out of curiosity I will compare the latest Kubuntu and Neon in separate VM’s to see what Kubuntu is loading extra in the background.

See whether you can take a look at Neon's build scripts, you may spot there what they are removing/deactivating. Iirc, it was about stuff Ubuntu needed for running Mir and Unity, that Kubuntu didn't remove properly.
RAM wasn't an issue for me either, but what I immediately noticed was the difference in startup time.