KDE 4 Beta 1

The Beta release of KDE 4 has been released and packages are available for Kubuntu Feisty and Gutsy.

They install to /usr/lib/kde4 and can be installed alongside your existing KDE 3.

The packages are in feisty-backports, available from Adept Manager when you choose Unsupported Updates from the Updates tab of Manage Repositories.

Packages are also in the Gutsy development version.

Instructions:

• Ensure feisty-backports is enabled or you are running gutsy.
• Install kde4base-dev.
• These KDE 4 packages install to /usr/lib/kde4 so run:
  • export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/lib/kde4/lib
  • export KDEDIRS=/usr/lib/kde4
  • export PATH=/usr/lib/kde4/bin/:$PATH
  • export KDEHOME=~/.kde4
• Run some programmes. Plasma seems to work and will run over kdesktop happily. Good luck.
• To avoid having to start a second X server for a full session install xserver-xephyr and run Xephyr :1 & export DISPLAY=:1; xterm and run startkde in the Xerphyr xterm.
• To run it as a full session copy /usr/lib/kde4/share/apps/kdm/sessions/kde.desktop to /usr/share/xsessions/kde4.desktop, edit the Name entry in kde4.desktop to be called "KDE 4", put the four export lines at the top of /usr/lib/kde4/bin/startkde and start a new session in KDM with KDE 4.