kde4 or kdemod 4?

playdafunkimuzic · 2009-02-11 18:19:38

I always used kdemod 3, until kde 4 came out, it was too buggy for me, and I've been working in gnome ever since. I'm ready to go to kde 4.2, it seems as if kde 4.2 and kdemod 4.2 are so very similar? Can anyone enlighten me on the differences, and opinions?

aglarond · 2009-02-11 18:58:53

I personally prefer kdemod 4.2, since you can do a fairly minimal kde install and then add only what you want. The base Arch 4.2 package pulls in everything, so you can end up with a bunch of stuff you'll never use.

I've used both and haven't noticed a performance difference, but I definitely like the lighter package.

-mS

Mogger · 2009-02-11 19:45:15

... while the KDE4 packages are almost vanilla, apart from some little fixes and the occasional small backport here and there.

About KDEmod.

playdafunkimuzic · 2009-02-11 20:59:27

why is kdebase substantially smaller than kdemod?

afonic · 2009-02-11 21:20:08

aglarond wrote:

I personally prefer kdemod 4.2, since you can do a fairly minimal kde install and then add only what you want. The base Arch 4.2 package pulls in everything, so you can end up with a bunch of stuff you'll never use.
I've used both and haven't noticed a performance difference, but I definitely like the lighter package.
-mS

You can always say "no" when pacman asks if it should install the whole kde group and then choose only the components you need. But yes, still KDEmod is more modular.

Mikko777 · 2009-02-11 21:43:41

Kdemod:

-More ppl, more (kde)devs using / maintaining it
-separate forums, easier to discuss kde problems features
-Not tied to arch rules (good sometimes)
-modular
-backports / fixes
-buildsystem for the adventurous
-extragear / playground repos accept suggestions from users

minuses:

-mirrors might be slower for some ppl

bwh1969 · 2009-02-11 23:44:06

Using kdemods 4.2 in Arch is much smoother and faster and say using regular kde 4.2 packages in Ubuntu, though it is like comparing apples and oranges due to the fact tht is it a totally different distro. However, I will say kde 4 mods in Arch is very very fast, so I make the assumption that the mods are tweaked to run on Arch so it would make sense to be the better choice.

JawsThemeSwimming428 · 2009-02-12 00:08:44

KDEmod is definitely the way to go. I just installed it in VBox and it is pretty stable.

Ranguvar · 2009-02-12 03:52:05

bwh1969 wrote:

Using kdemods 4.2 in Arch is much smoother and faster and say using regular kde 4.2 packages in Ubuntu, though it is like comparing apples and oranges due to the fact tht is it a totally different distro. However, I will say kde 4 mods in Arch is very very fast, so I make the assumption that the mods are tweaked to run on Arch so it would make sense to be the better choice.

While I agree with the choice of KDEmod, I have to disagree with some of your points.

1.) It's not good to have software patched much to run on a particular distro. If you need that, then the original software is broken. That said, KDEmod is barely patched at all, and I don't think there's anything Arch-specific in the patches. Then why is it Arch-only? Because modular packaging is basically all KDEmod is, and it takes a good deal of work, which would also need to be done to work with other distros' package management systems.
2.) The only real visible difference between Arch KDE and KDEmod should be modularity. KDEmod is barely patched and modular - those are the only differences.

mcmillan · 2009-02-12 07:25:17

playdafunkimuzic wrote:

why is kdebase substantially smaller than kdemod?

Since this didn't seem to get a direct answer, I'll go back to this. I think you're comparing different things if you did something like compare what gets installed with a pacman -S kdebase versus pacman -S kdemod. A better sign of the least you need from kdemod is what's in the group kdemod-minimal.

As has been said the real advantage of kdemod is the modularity if you don't want all of kde installed. To give a specific example, I like having a periodic table available so I installed kdemod-kdeedu-kalzium which also needs the kdemod-kdeedu-common. These two packages together are ~3.2 MB to download and ~12MB installed (I'm ignoring other dependecies to make this a little faster but it gives you a general idea). If I installed kdeedu that would 55MB to download and 116 MB to install, when I really only want one program from this group. This is a little on the extreme end, but is a situation that's not too unusual for me with most of the other kdemod groups.

b0uncyfr0 · 2009-02-12 08:54:42

I have noticed that kdemod is crashing alot more frequently than Arch kde. I i still go for kdemod because its way lighter. When does 4.2.1 come out? The systray needs fixing asap.

zyghom · 2009-02-12 08:58:03

b0uncyfr0 wrote:

I have noticed that kdemod is crashing alot more frequently than Arch kde. I i still go for kdemod because its way lighter. When does 4.2.1 come out? The systray needs fixing asap.

I don't know about kdemod but kde4.2 from Arch repo did not crash for me even once since installed

aglarond · 2009-02-12 13:37:44

b0uncyfr0 wrote:

I have noticed that kdemod is crashing alot more frequently than Arch kde. I i still go for kdemod because its way lighter. When does 4.2.1 come out? The systray needs fixing asap.

I'm running kdemod and the only crashes I had were when I first started configuring the plasmoids. I finally blew away plasmarc and plasma-appletsrc and restarted the config. Everything's been smooth since except for icon corruption in the systray (which looks to be fixed in QT 4.5).

YMMV, but it's been as stables as I'd expect from something that I still consider somewhat experimental.

-mS

Dead Code · 2009-02-12 13:52:24

kdemod is stable for me. i have no problem whatsoever. if you wish for a modular approach, give kdemod a go.

arch_nemesis · 2009-02-12 14:52:47

Just as a tiny piece of counterpoint to most of these responses --

kdemod4.2 on my Arch64 system was continuously losing my settings regarding widget (plasmoid) placement, configuration, and status(deleted plasmoids would come back, added plasmoids would vanish on logout/login), as well as wallpaper. I struggled with reconfiguring my desktop once or more per day while trying various advice from this forum and elsewhere regarding deleting config files, checking permission settings, and etc. The problem was sporadic, and sometimes I'd think I had it fixed only for it to come back.

At least one thread at the chakra forums seemed to indicate that I was not the only one with this issue, and it seemed limited to 64bit users -- I'm not claiming this as evidence of a widespread problem or even that it was the "fault" of kdemod devs/packagers, I'm just telling you what I know.

In any case, I uninstalled it and replaced it with kde4.2 vanilla from the Arch repos, and the problem vanished. I've also not noticed any significant differences in appearance, functionality, or speed due to making this switch, though I acknowledge that there are likely changes I'm not aware of.

So while I'm sure kdemod is fine for just about everyone, having tried both back to back I really wouldn't know the difference were it not for the chakra branding being gone.

-- Joe

archiebald · 2009-09-10 10:08:38

Sometimes KDEmod 4 have fixes which I don't find in vanilla KDE 4. Let's say I want to configure KDM in system settings. In recent vanilla KDE 4.3.1 I need to run kdesu systemsettings. In KDEmod 4.3.1 it asks me for root password when clicking on Login Manager.

Allan · 2009-09-10 10:24:30

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/For … Bumping.27

Closing.

Arch Linux

#1 2009-02-11 18:19:38

kde4 or kdemod 4?

#2 2009-02-11 18:58:53

Re: kde4 or kdemod 4?

#3 2009-02-11 19:45:15

Re: kde4 or kdemod 4?

#4 2009-02-11 20:59:27

Re: kde4 or kdemod 4?

#5 2009-02-11 21:20:08

Re: kde4 or kdemod 4?

#6 2009-02-11 21:43:41

Re: kde4 or kdemod 4?

#7 2009-02-11 23:44:06

Re: kde4 or kdemod 4?

#8 2009-02-12 00:08:44

Re: kde4 or kdemod 4?

#9 2009-02-12 03:52:05

Re: kde4 or kdemod 4?

#10 2009-02-12 07:25:17

Re: kde4 or kdemod 4?

#11 2009-02-12 08:54:42

Re: kde4 or kdemod 4?

#12 2009-02-12 08:58:03

Re: kde4 or kdemod 4?

#13 2009-02-12 13:37:44

Re: kde4 or kdemod 4?

#14 2009-02-12 13:52:24

Re: kde4 or kdemod 4?

#15 2009-02-12 14:52:47

Re: kde4 or kdemod 4?

#16 2009-09-10 10:08:38

Re: kde4 or kdemod 4?

#17 2009-09-10 10:24:30

Re: kde4 or kdemod 4?

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