Kubuntu 8.10 with KDE4

As we are winding up here in Holland (only 3 more days of work for me), I am consolidating all the data I have scattered over 3 laptops down to just the old Acer.

I did a clean install of Kubuntu 8.10, and upgraded with to all the latest updates. I had a few reservations about KDE4:

• Is KDE4 going be fast on this hardware? Though badged as such, this is not "Vista capable" even with 2Gb RAM.
• Will it support hardware accelerated video? If not, is the performance in 2D mode OK?
• Is it usable yet?
  

Well the answer is YES to all; KDE 4.1.3 is surprisingly good!

The whole UI runs smoothly with hardware accelerated video and compositing. KDE4 is complete: it has all the major features going, and is very stable, no crashes or lockups.

In short, I am really impressed! Theres not many widgets, themes etc. yet. I want a widget that does CPU and network statistics if anyone knows of one..

But build it, and they will come. Give it a few minor point revisions and KDE4 could be suitable for most desktop situations; I would be comfortable developing with it.

This release of Kubuntu, which has a recent current kernel, supports all the important hardware in the Acer. The webcam is the only problem hardware, still only experimental drivers.