You can have Ubuntu, Xubuntu, Kubuntu and Lubuntu all in the same computer

Human nature seeks variety. Ubuntu may be the most fascinating of the 4 variants but I like Xubuntu, Kubuntu and Lubuntu as well - for different reasons. However, if you have installed one, you won't be able to install other overwriting the older one. And a new installation means tons of downloads (Ubuntu first update downloads about 300-400 mb every time) and reinstallation of your favorite softwares like cheese, VLC, etc.

One way to get flavor of all your Ubuntu derivatives is simply installing the desktops of different distros (provided you have about 10 gb of HDD space).

By simply running the following command in the terminal, one can install Kubuntu:

sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop

It will download all the unique softwares along with KDE desktop of Kubuntu.

For Ubuntu, Xubuntu and Lubuntu run the following commands:

sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop
sudo apt-get install xubuntu-desktop
sudo apt-get install lubuntu-desktop

I have installed Lubuntu 12.04 LTS and Ubuntu 12.04 LTS over my base installation of Xubuntu 12.04 LTS in my PC and Kubuntu 12.04 LTS in my netbook.

At the start I get options which interface to use and I can choose one of the three as per my mood and purpose. Lubuntu installs with Lubuntu netbook interface as well. Fun isn't it?

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Ubuntu 12.04 vs Xubuntu 12.04 vs Kubuntu 12.04 vs Lubuntu 12.04: Results

Check out also my latest comparison:

• Ubuntu 12.10 vs Kubuntu 12.10 vs Xubuntu 12.10 vs Lubuntu 12.10

As mentioned in my previous post, tonight I tested all the Ubuntu sisters on my PC from pen drive. Specifications of my HP PC are:

Processor: 2.4 Ghz Pentium 4, single core
RAM: 1 GB DDR
HDD: IDE 250 GB
Build: 2003

A tabular view of the results is given below:

Distro	Xubuntu 12.04 LTS	Ubuntu 12.04 LTS	Kubuntu 12.04 LTS	Lubuntu 12.04
Booting Time	5 min.	7 min.	7 min.	3 min.
Speed	Immediately loads and fast	Initially hangs but fast once loaded	Initially hangs but fast once loaded	Immediately loads and superfast
Feel	Light, less RAM intensive and requires very little RAM to run CPU: 6-10% RAM: 130 MiB	Moderate, requires higher RAM to run CPU: 17-18% RAM: 340 MiB	Light, requires RAM lower than Ubuntu but higher than Xubuntu or Lubuntu CPU: 3-10% RAM: 235 MiB	Very light and requires the least RAM CPU: 1-11% RAM: 126 MiB
Desktop	XFCE	Unity	KDE	LXDE
Adobe Flash	Adobe Flash inbuilt	Flash needs to be installed	Flash needs to be installed	Flash needs to be installed
Ease of Use	Easy even for entry level	Easy	Difficult for Entry Level, mostly for Geeks  but highly functional	Easy even for entry level
Eye candy Factor	Less but looks good	Real eye candy	Eye candy	Minimalistic but looks good
Extra software required	Skype VLC Libreoffice Cheese	Skype VLC Cheese Adobe Flash Gimp	Skype VLC Cheese Adobe Flash	Skype VLC Cheese Adobe Flash Libreoffice Gimp
LAN/Wifi	Immediate	Immediate	Immediate	Immediate

Lubuntu & Xubuntu are the lightest using around 130 MiB of RAM whereas Ubuntu uses about 3 times more and Kubuntu two times more. I posted a detailed comparison at http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in/2012/04/ubuntu-distros-ram-cpu-usage-of-ubuntu.html

Screenshots of each distro is given below. Remember, these are from as-it-is distros and not a single change is from my side. A short review for each, without going into technical nitty-gritty (which you can get from the respective websites, as hyperlinked below), along with the pictures to tell an end-user's story:

Xubuntu 12.04 LTS:

Looks like a typical linux distro, based on extremely light XFCE desktop and super fast. Those who have low RAM old systems, Xubuntu is for them. Also, those who hate Unity, Xubuntu can be a viable option for them. It comes with Adobe Flash & GIMP pre-installed, which is good. I installed Libreoffice along with Abiword and Gnumeric as Libreoffice offers more functionality. Repository wise no worry - all the Ubuntu softwares are available here.

Ubuntu 12.04 LTS

As usual the best looking linux distro and now the Unity interface has really improved and become fast. It is the most complete linux distro I have ever seen, although a bit on the heavier side than the other three in comparison here. A lot of new functionalities have been added, which I'll cover in a later post.

Kubuntu 12.04 LTS

A distro for the KDE lovers! Although a bit geeky but amazingly good looking distro. Those who prefer Windows XP would definitely like it. Software list is more-or-less complete and definitely lighter than Ubuntu. But I felt, it is slightly heavier than Xubuntu though almost equally fast on my low resource system.

Lubuntu 12.04

Lightest and fastest of them all. Unfortunately, it is not an LTS, as John pointed out in the comments section. That means, no 3 or 5 years support for it but only 18 months of support, just like a regular release. But, if you have a low resource computer, Lubuntu is perfect for you. It is more-or-less rich in pre-loaded softwares and you can install what-ever softwares you like from the Ubuntu repository. I have a 2003 P-4 1GB DDR RAM running on Lubuntu 12.04 without any hassles.

Conclusion

Who's the winner? It depends. If you have an old, low resource computer (512 mb RAM, less than 1.5 Ghz processor), possibly Lubuntu and Xubuntu will win hands down.

If you have a modern computer, Ubuntu and Kubuntu would be the preferred distro. If you like eye-candies Ubuntu is a sure-shot choice. If you like functionality more and is a linux purist, one would prefer Kubuntu.

In essence, what I saw all the distros are really damn good. Much refined than 11.10 versions which came out. Somehow, I didn't like the 11.10 versions and felt that they were released somewhat uncooked with a lot of bugs. Especially Unity was a real pain and forced me to stick to Ubuntu Natty (11.04). Now, I guess it's the time for a change and 5 years of support from Canonical is too tempting to resist. I'll install either one of these four tomorrow evening.

I have decided which one to install - first Ubuntu, if unsuccessful - Xubuntu! My choice :).

Jun 11, 2012:

Please check my posts on Linux Mint, Bodhi Linux and Debian Squeeze as well before you decide which OS to install.

Oct 21, 2012:

Check out the comparison between Ubuntu 12.10 vs Kubuntu 12.10 vs Xubuntu 12.10 vs Lubuntu 12.10.

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Linux 12.04 LTS adventure tonight: Ubuntu, Xubuntu & Kubuntu

Tonight I am trying out Ubuntu, Xubuntu and Kubuntu 12.04 LTS on my desktop. These are the beta2 versions. I am narrowing down on what distro to install in my HP 2003 era desktop with 1 GB DDR RAM and 2.4 Ghz Pentium 4 processor. It still has enough life to pull off the modern linux OSs.

Already, as mentioned in my previous blog post, I have installed Xubuntu 12.04 LTS in my Asus Eee PC 1101HA and it works like a charm there. Possibly I won't install Xubuntu again in my desktop, just for variety. But if Ubuntu Precise is too much for it I'll install Xubuntu. I am not considering Lubuntu as I feel it is kind of a stripped down version and perhaps I need more from the OS I install.

Wait for my review with splendid screenshots from each distro. The two 4 GB Sony pendrives which I bought recently from Flipkart will come handy tonight :).

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