Ubuntu uses Gnome
Kubuntu uses KDE.
Yes, personal preference.
I personally like Gnome, others like KDE... and of course, there are
OTHER desktops as well. But since you are already upgrading your system
to 8.04, if you were on Ubuntu then you'll still be on ubuntu - though
you can install Kubuntu as well.

I can't believe the timing of your question.

I've been a Kubuntu user for the pass 2 years and I've just switched
to Ubuntu. Why? Well, I'm a windows guy, so I liked the KDE interface
better than Gnome. Yes, it was a matter of taste. So, what happened? A
frustration with the fact that Ubuntu is a more recognized distro than
Kubuntu. So, wherever you go for third party software, Ubuntu is the
one more or only likely to be supported. Now you can install Gnome
software on KDE but sometimes they don't work as expected or at all.

What I want from my O.S. is as little hassle as possible. I'm even
avoiding 8.10 until January at least, give them time to work out the
bugs. When Kubuntu becomes as well supported as Ubuntu, I will eagerly
and quickly change back. But right now I'm giving Gnome a chance to
grow on me and I'm finding it to be not bad at all.

Honestly I can't figure out how people get this idea that KDE is like
Windows and Gnome isn't. Personally I think KDE is like a heavily
micromanaged version of Windows maybe. Its ok, but searching for
everything through their menus is a hassle, not to mention customizing
it. But if you want a Windows appearance, you can easily take gnomes
top bar off, like how I have. Slap the main menu (not the menu bar) in
the left corner like I have and all the other necessary stuff over on
the right and presto, you have a windows look alike, that at least in my
opinion anyhow, is much easier to manage, run, and customise.

Did you change your Desktop to Blue...instead of that Fugly Brown
default of Ubuntu? ;-)

I think that ugly depressing color scheme is probably one of the
Biggest turnoffs to Ubuntu vs. Kubuntu. But face it, Ubuntu is
designed to be a Gnome distribution and any change to a different
windowing system places one in the guinea pig mode.

I have often tried Ubuntu for the same reason as described below
(feeling that Kubuntu is a 2nd class citizen) but I have always gone
back to Kubuntu. It is really a question of choice and of what one feels
comfortable with.

Now that KDE 4.* is going to be part of the 8.10 Kubuntu I can't wait to
install it from scratch and (hopefully and expectantly) enjoy it. I do
use 4.1 in 8.04 but it is alongside 3.* and I want to start from the
beginning from a clean install. This is my plan for the beginning of
November.

I have had a lot of
help from people here and the similarity between Ubuntu and Kubuntu
(despite the differences) allows me to have the privilege of an
excellent forum to learn from (and hopefully occasionally to contribute to).

Kubuntu uses the same core as Ubuntu, but has a different interface. It uses KDE
which gives you a different look and feel and different applications to do the
same thing. Ubuntu uses Gnome. Both KDE and Gnome are desktop managers.


Some people think that KDE looks more like Windows and Gnome looks more Mac-like
which is to do a disservice to both. KDE uses single click like the Mac and
Gnome uses Double click like Windows. Gnome has the menu bar at the top like a
Mac and KDE has it at the bottom like Windows. You can change the placement of
the menu bar and single click and double click in either, so in the end it comes
down to what you like the look and feel of and applications that you prefer.

KDE likes to name its applications with cutesy names that begin with K. Gnome
does not have this annoying habit, but its names are no less strange.

http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/kdegnome
en....pedia.org/.../Comparison_of_X_Window_System_desktop_environments
www.onlamp.com/.../gnome--kde-face-off.html

Most people have strong feelings one way or the other. I don't since I change
them to suit the way I work. I always use the menu bar at the top and use
single-click no matter what desktop I am in. I mix the applications and use the
ones that I prefer. For example, I use K3b the KDE burner and Pidgin the Gnome
preferred IM in either one. For email, I don't like either's offering so I use
Thunderbird, a third party email program.

The thing to do is to install both and try them out and change them to suit the
way you work. Then find out which one is the one you prefer. Don't feel
constrained to use either one. There are other choices such as XFCE and Fluxbox
or you can combine the applications and use a mixed system.

When you have more than one desktop manager installed you change between them at
the bottom of the login screen at Options or Sessions, depending what login
screen you have installed. Mine has changes so many times that I forget what the
original one looks like.

If you want to install Kubuntu, it can be found in Synaptic under Metapackages
or you could install KDE under KDE. With Kubuntu, you get KDE dressed up the way
Canonical wants it and a with slightly modified application set. The same can be
said for Gnome versus Ubuntu. Ubuntu comes with Gnome, but if you install Gnome,
it will remove the Ubuntu look and feel and install a few different
applications.

When installing from the repositories pay strict attention when it says it is
removing anything as you may find yourself without Ubuntu and have Gnome
instead. This is because some libraries or dependencies may be different and
when you install something it may be asking for a dependency that requires you
to de-install Ubuntu and replace it with Gnome. You will notice the difference
when you see the Ubuntu button replaced with the Gnome footprint icon and you
will have different logon screens. aside from that it won't be that much
different.

As for what is easier, it depends on you. The great thing is to have choice. It
can be overwhelming at first, since both Apple and Microsoft lock you in to one
look and feel as part of their corporate strategy. Linux should be liberating,
if nothing else. So, shake off the shackles and .. enjoy!

You are not alone in your dislike of the Ubuntu brown theme. That should change
soon. It has been a high ranking concern on Brainstorm for awhile. It sounds as
if with Intrepid that there is to be some movement which while it is a small
concession, it is an important acknowledgment from the powers that be that
something is amiss with the theme.

In comparison, Kubuntu's blue theme is happy and a breath of fresh air. Ubuntu
comes across as dour and muddy. Other *buntus also have a look of their own and
of all of them Ubuntu's is the worst and it is supposed to be the main version
and the flagship of the distro. I suppose that it was chosen because it looks
African and Ubuntu is an
African word, plus Shuttleworth has African roots, but there must be a
better way to pay homage to Africa.

You can install the Blubuntu look from the repositories and it is a big
improvement. Users can go to: http://www.gnome-look.org/ and download and
install as many themes as they want from Gnome. You can get Gnome to look like
anything that you want from Windows to OS/X and anything in between. I like
Gnome in general and don't think that it needs to look like anything else, but I
agree that the brown and orange Ubuntu theme has to go if Ubuntu is to take its
place with the slickest looking distros. Right now it is the ugly sister in its
own family. When compared with other distros it comes out very poorly, indeed.

I like the brown theme. After using it for a while I decided to go
back to M$ blue. Found it wasn't as good as I had remembered.
Returned to brown.

I like it as well! Simple, bland, not at all distracting, and allows
you to get things done. Though I don't use it at the moment, right now
I actually use the Peace theme, which can be applied through synaptic,
it is maroon in color, but also very dark, bland, and non-distracting, a
very nice theme.

Plus it's easy on the eyes (warm colors), and when I switch my KVM to
Ubuntu it's obvious I need to type apt-get instead of, say, pkgadd.

I've got used to the brown. I really liked the green on opensuse when
i tried it. As far as blue is concerned it is too like M$ for me.
Switching to red or orange... perhaps a pale yellow would be a better
direction if ubuntu is doing away with the brown. Better to just allow
the user to choose!

Here is your yellow theme:
www.gnome-look.org/.../Clearlooks-BeOS

Thanks - i'll have a look.

After looking at a few options i found i preferred something simple. I
actually like a bare desktop with photos which i change every so
often. here's my scrrenshot with one of my four legged friends.

i93.photobucket.com/.../Screenshot.png

Yes, it does seem strange that the most popular Linux distro would
have the Ugliest, dreariest colors.

But, it also seemed strange that George W. Bush went 8 years without
taking speech lessons.

Or, that John McCain didn't get that "My friends" speech impediment to
disappear before he started a campaign.

Thanks for the Blubuntu tip, as it's never been Gnome that I hate, but
those putrid brown Ubuntu colors!