KDE-based Super-Distro, where are you!? Somebody save me!

I love KDE, the Kool Desktop Environment. It is slick and quick and has an application for just about every need that I have; it has options and ease-of-understanding that no other Desktop Environment has. Unlike GNOME (which seems to take more and more cues from MSWindows), KDE doesn't hide the system from the user. KDE doesn't dumb-down for me, but nor does it demand that I set everything up manually a la Fluxbox or another minimal window manager (which are fine but not for me, at least not today nor the last 5 years). KDE is grand, and the next generation KDE4 releases will be fantastic.

At home I have been using Kubuntu for the last three releases; before that I used Mepis, and before that was SuSE Linux. At work I have been all Debian Testing for my desktop, running of course KDE. My Asus EeePC is now running Debian Testing as well, with KDE.

But none of these Linux distributions seem to really *get* KDE. Here are my gripes about these, and a few other, distros:

SuSE: I started with you back in the SuSE 8.1 days, and although you gave me Linux and helped me into this world, your RPM hell was too hellish for me. The moment I tried to add third-party multimedia apps, my system fell apart. Every time. No more of you.

Mepis: I thought Mepis (aka SimplyMepis) was a toy -- it was too easy to use in comparison to the hell I was experiencing with SuSE on my other machine. I soon learned that Debian-based distros are really just that good! But over time, Mepis grew boring as I learned how customizable KDE and Linux are, and how Linux works, and I found Mepis wanting to be a refuge for Windows users. I was over that already, and I disliked the closed-source code that made up its tools. Then, after the great 3.1 release, future releases had a Kicker featuring a fishtank, and I was done with Mepis (yes, the fishtank can be removed, but really??).

Arch: I installed this on my laptop and it was fine, but I found its package list lacking. Based on Slackware GNU/Linux, it was fast, but its wifi tools were difficult and I spent too much time trying to connect to the same hotspot every Thursday. Done with you (for now, I suppose).

Kubuntu: My current home setup is Kubuntu. Pretty good selection of applications (ok, GREAT) and also based on Debian (but with painful deviations), but the interface is kinda dumbed down, I am tired of blue themes every time I install a new distro. Not your fault, I suppose, and I know that the Kubuntu development team is creating a distro via volunteers (as are most every other GNU/Linux distribution, of course). But you're the beat-down little sibling of the corporate-driven Ubuntu, and I am tired of living in the Ubuntu shadow. Kubuntu is still the distro I recommend for Linux newbies, but its a pain trying to explain to them the difference between Kubuntu and Ubuntu, KDE and Gnome, and why some of the instructions on the forum will work, when others won't, and how the hell are they to know the difference? As an experienced and interested geek of the Desktop Linux scene, I get it -- but do new users? I fear not. Kubuntu needs to really shine, and I fear it cannot do this in its current situation. Plus, software with the *buntus is only updated every six months (bug fixes come much quicker, obviously, but generally not new major versions of software), and the updates in these six months generally require a reinstall of the whole OS and apps. Not a bad move perhaps, but not always fun either (ok, usually it is, i know...)

Debian: The great godfather of Linux, in my opinion -- Debian begets all of the usable distros, but its KDE is just so vanilla. Yes, I know that the point of Free Software is to make it your own, which I invariably do, and I suppose being the largest software project in the world somewhat demands a basic setup to satisfy the most users, but I wish I could run Debian and be impressed with the out-of-the-box look. Debian Testing does, however, supply me with a steady stream of updated software, which I appreciate, but very little innovation in how the desktop looks and acts (please, tell me if i am wrong!)

Linux Mint: OK, I've not used this, but it is based on Ubuntu and therefor uses GNOME. So does Ubuntu Multimedia. Yeck. However, both manage to make a distro that looks stunning -- this is what I want for my KDE use! I imagine soon someone will say, "well then of course, use PCLinuxOS!"

PCLinuxOS: Yes, I could use this distro, and I am eagerly awaiting the 2008 release (there is absolutly no news on its home page/news about its release though). But, even with its Synaptic package management, this is still an RPM-based distro, which I will not return to with a smile. I use Debian and Redhat on our servers at work, and guess which always is the easier to use and administer -- yep, Debian with its DEB packages, and never Redhat with its RPM packages. I fear that PCLinuxOS is going to cause me pains with the RPMs, and I know that its forums are less busy, meaning I have less chance to solve issues that pop up. Also, the package list here is about 7,000 applications, far short of the *buntus, which themselves are short of the official Debian available programs (not to mention the fantastic debian-multimedia repositories). Will PCLinuxOS have all of the apps I want? Will support be as easy to find? Will third-party apps have available RPMs to install if PCLinuxOS doesn't supply the package themselves?

Fedora: Yes, a KDE distro, but based on the pain that is Red Hat, and also RPM-based. I'll pass for now.


In short, I want the high-quality and high-profile distribution that Ubuntu provides, without being two releases behind in the system management tools that Kubuntu seems to run. I want a great Debian-based distro that runs KDE and takes over the world -- NOT a GNOME based distro that happens to supply KDE packages (*buntu); NOT a KDE-based distro that requires RPMs (PCLinuxOS); and NOT a fantastic overall distro that just happens to be kinda boring (Debian). I want a large, active community that focuses on fixing the same issues that I may be having in KDE, not in GNOME.

After checking out Kubuntu 8.04, I might move my home system to Debian, since it always is so nice at work, and probably has the largest community and the most vanilla KDE (meaning, other KDE people can help, even if they're not Debian users). Or, I'll find the best KDE4 community and move there, perhaps.

Basically, I want a Kanonikal.