Updated: September 18, 2024
I am writing this review before the 24.04.1 release hitting me box. However, you may read it after the major point upgrade. Now, the reason I decided to create this piece is, I've been using my one Kubuntu 24.04 instance for several weeks now. It all started with an SSD upgrade on a 10-year-old laptop. The upgrade went fine, and I chose Kubuntu 24.04 as my distro. The operating system installation did not go well. The distro drivers setup was clunky, and I was quite unhappy.
Then, I wrote an entire, negative review on Kubuntu 24.04, and I felt it was rather mediocre, a regression in many aspects (much like the rest of the distrospace in the past few years). Since, the system has received a whole bunch of updates. The first round, a whooping 750MB worth of stuff. Then another and another, and with each iteration, things changed. I thought, if I'm writing about Kubuntu when things are bad, I should also write when things are good. Fairness, and all that. Well then, let's talk about that, shall we.
If only QA existed
No matter how many times I come across any "modern" software setup, I'm amazed and terrified at how brittle things are. This applies to indie open-source projects as well as mega corporations (in recent years). The fad of non-stop coding, canary, early testing with enthusiasts and all that, the whole idea is flawed to the core. What software needs is slow, boring, grueling testing by dedicated teams, whose entire purpose is to check every tiny detail, again and again. This still exists in a few very places, but you most likely won't find it in the Linux distros, especially not home flavors.
The end result is - distros get released with a random collection of bugs and regressions. These only get (partially) resolved after public outcry. True, the end user never hears about resolved bugs, because those get resolved before the product goes out there. But the issue isn't with software having bugs. The issue is that Linux distros ship almost without any checks at all, so glaring, major usability problems and severe regressions happen all the time. If all of the software bugs were NEW, there would be no issue. The tragedy is that same old problems happen again and again, it's just that they manifest randomly, here and there.
Indeed, if I look at any one distro in the past 20 years, not a single one has managed to deliver a consistent experience - good or bad - in the basic 5-10 things that every ordinary human needs. Network connectivity, hardware support and stability, media codecs, printing, simple things like that. Choose whichever distro you want, start testing one release after another, and you will see so many inconsistencies, in pretty much every aspect of everyday usage. That's the real tragedy. And that's why I was so disappointed when I tested Kubuntu 24.04. The missed opportunity. The casual approach to quality, finesse. After all, if Linux does not respect itself, why would any prospecting user?
From bugs to nice usability
With the ghosts of 2007 haunting me, I commenced to use Kubuntu. Indeed, there were tons of updates, and each round shaved off a few of the most glaring issues. The ever-present reboot icon? Gone. Overall stability? Better. Performance and responsiveness? Also slightly better.
I did still encounter various problems. For example, if you want to tweak your login screen (SDDM), then the background image selection function is broken. It takes more than a minute for the right buttons to show, so you can actually alter the wallpaper.
I encountered a bunch of Plasma shell crashes, too:
The updates kept coming, and the issues kept going away. Sure, you need to be a true believer to persist with the stuff like this, and it's hard to imagine why would anyone want to inflict this on themselves, especially for serious productivity. And remember, this is an LTS release!
Then, I tested Upscayl on this old box, and it worked fine. The Nvidia PRIME (on demand) setup works flawlessly. Suspend & resume also works great, without any issues. I am running the system with Compositor and desktop effects disabled, as this grants an added spur of responsiveness. Battery life is meh, but it's always been this way, from day one.
Working, having fun
Roughly a month and a half since my first encounter with Kubuntu 24.04, things are in a much, much better shape. The system now behaves as it should have on day 1. Alas, that's the price of no testing, and the price of open-source patience if you will. Sure, when it comes to LTS, there's no rush really, but then, why release an operating system in a buggy state? Why arbitrary dates? Why not polish the system until it's great, and then let the users have a superb experience? There really is no reason for the three to four months of bugs and issues. Anyway, this is now a nice little distro. It be good.
Conclusion
Kubuntu 24.04 (without the dot release) is about as good as one could hope from an LTS operating system. It took several grueling months of updates, lots and lots of updates, for the things to settle down. Shame, because the first impression is so vital. Now, there are still major issues in the general usability of all Linux home distros, and those won't be solved any time soon. But within the entirely avoidable constraints of this bittersweet sandbox, Kubuntu 24.04 now behaves as it should.
The system is reasonably sprightly and stable, it's pretty without a doubt, it does the daily churn without too much complaining, and you can customize and tweak it as you see fit. Considering the fact I've been doing all these things on a 10-year-old system, albeit with an SSD, the results are good. Well, there. We had the grumpy Dedo, and now we have a less grumpy Dedo. Anyway, Kubuntu 24.04 is now a-okay, and I'm looking forward to the improvements coming in the first dot release. Hopefully, there won't be any silly regressions. See ya.
Cheers.