Kubuntu 15.04 is here, we show you how to install it and what to do next

After a time of waiting that will have seemed eternal to many, the flavor of Ubuntu that works with the KDE desktop in its most recent incarnation is finally among us. Why do I say this? Because, as I suppose you already know, Kubuntu 15.04 supposes the KDE Plasma 5 debut in the distro.

This article that you are reading is designed for all those who are considering trying it and who have never touched a Linux distribution before, detailing the installation step by step and telling you what you can do after you have installed the distro on your computer. We started!

Installing Kubuntu 15.04

As soon as we have passed the welcome screen of the liveCD or of live USB, this will be the first thing we will see. We can test Kubuntu without having to install it, and if it convinces us we can do an installation like the one we are telling you about right now. Assuming this is the case, click on Install Kubuntu.

If we are installing on a computer that connects to the WiFi network, we will have to specify your SSID -the name of our WiFi, go- and your password. If, as in this case, we are installing on a computer that has a cable connection, this step will be skipped and we can start preparing the installation.

It is important check those two options if we depend on many third-party plugins, such as the codec MP3 or Adobe Flash.

The next thing we will have to do is choose if we are going to occupy the entire hard disk with Kubuntu, or if on the contrary we are going to install it together with other operating systems. This in other Ubuntu flavors is a simpler process and we are allowed to graphically choose the amount of space that we are going to dedicate to each OS, but here to do it we will have to have partitioning knowledge hard drives.

In this case, as it is a virtual machine, we have chosen to occupy the entire hard disk. Whether we choose to occupy the entire disk or if we make partitions to have a dual boot, we will be asked to let's confirm the changes we are going to make on the unit before continuing.

The next point is set time zone. Kubuntu should already be able to detect our location by itself, so we click on Continue and ready.

On the next screen we will have to choose our keyboard layout. Based on the location, Kubuntu will select one automatically. If it corresponds to the keyboard we are using, click on Continue and we continue.

This point is not very difficult either. We will have to specify our username and password that we are going to use, after which we click again on Continue and we move on.

From this point we can now neglect the installation. Kubuntu will install automatically, and we will only have to return to the computer when it is finished.

Post-installation

The post-installation steps are always left to the discretion of the user. In other words, despite the programs that are included with Kubuntu, everyone has their own preferences regarding  . What I do consider to be common to any installation They are a series of steps that we will go on to detail in a moment.

First of all it is convenient to have the fully updated system. To do this, we open a terminal and execute the following command:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade

The next is install multimedia codecs, that although they should have been installed since we chose to include third-party plugins in the process, something may not work as it should. Caution never hurts, so again in a terminal we execute these commands:

sudo apt-get install ubuntu-restricted-extras

Will also be need to install Java, since today many web services still use it. We continue using the terminal:

sudo apt-get install icedtea-7-plugin openjdk-7-jre

From here, I consider that what each user installs is their sole and exclusive criteria. Still, there are certain programs that I cannot give up, for example the VLC player:

sudo apt-get install vlc

I also can't live without Spotify:

sudo apt-add-repository -y "deb http://repository.spotify.com stable non-free" &&
sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys 94558F59 &&
sudo apt-get update -qq &&
sudo apt-get install spotify-client

And of course, my favorite browser, in my case Chrome:

wget -q -O - https://dl-ssl.google.com/linux/linux_signing_key.pub | sudo apt-key add -
sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google.list'
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install google-chrome-stable

The rest of the programs can be found in the Muon package manager, although if you want to use the Ubuntu Software Center you can install it like this:

sudo apt-get install software-center

And with this, plus the programs of your choice, we can conclude the post-installation. Regarding the drivers graphics card, Kubuntu should automatically recognize them and offer them to you.

Customizing Kubuntu 15.04

Maybe the customization is one of the aspects for which Linux is most valued, and in the case of KDE changing the look of the desktop is really easy. 

As you can see in the image, to retouch any aspect that has to do with the customization of Kubuntu it is necessary enter System Preferences. Suppose we want to change the icons. Click on the section Icons We will be taken to a menu where we can replace the current package with one that is included in Kubuntu, or download one from the Internet. Through this tool the process is greatly simplified.

The same goes for the workspace theme. All we have to do is enter the corresponding menu, choose one that we like from the pre-installed library or download it from the internet. It really is very simple, and KDE was my favorite desktop for a long time because of the facilities it offers in this regard.

And so far our little guide telling you in more detail how to install Kubuntu 15.04 and what you can do after having it on your computer. We hope that it has been useful to you and that it has made your task easier.