Kubuntu might be the revive potion you are looking for your old laptop 🐦‍🔥

#linux #productivity #opensource #discuss

🤓 Introduction

I have a HP laptop I bought in year 2016. It had the top specs a mid-range gaming laptop can have at that point.
Over the period of 9 strong years, I noticed that the performance of my laptop degraded slowly. And all this time I was blaming my old hardware for occasional hangs and slow response time.

Many users like me often attribute this as an hardware failure, but the real issue is (most of the time) the operating system, which in my case was Windows.

In addition to that, Microsoft has randomly dropped the bomb, that Windows 10 will be out of support starting Oct 25, and many of these old hardware cannot run official Windows 11 image.

This is the perfect opportunity to explore some Linux based distros.
In this post, I will share my experience and try to convince you to start using Kubuntu.

🎱 Why Kubuntu?

These reasons are coming from my personal experience, let's see why I like Kubuntu.

⛷️ Performance Boost: My Old Laptop Runs 80% Faster now

I started noticing the performance boost immediately after I installed Kubuntu.

First thing first, the boot time to load the OS reduced to around 9 seconds, which is super fast.
The animations were crisp, fast and beautiful, and the apps like Libre Office, VLC and Firefox, loaded in a blink of an eye.
I also attached external accessories like Keyboard, Mouse and external Monitor with HDMI and I did not find any lag or issues.

🏡 Gnome vs KDE? Why I preferred KDE?

In very layman terms, Gnome and KDE are the softwares which runs on the top of your operating system session layer, which decides how your GUI will look like.
This means, using Gnome on Ubuntu will look nothing like using KDE on Ubuntu (without tweaks of course).
Personally after using both for more than a year, I can vouch for KDE, as it is more Modern looking and gives more premium feel.

Customizability: You can change anything to your liking if you spend some time searching stable plugins. I usually prefer custom apps over the inbuilt ones, like for an example 'Kitty' for Terminal
Performance: KDE Plasma is very lightweight and super fast.
Aesthetic: With few settings, even without the external apps, you can make your desktop look like MacOS, and it's really fun to try different KDE settings.

🥾 Live Boot Mode

Just like any other Linux distro, you can quickly make a bootable USB with Kubuntu ISO image and run the OS without installing it onto your drive.
All the KDE settings, customization and installations are available in the live boot options.
So, if you are unsure if you really want to switch, you can give the Live Boot Mode a try.

I recommend doing this before clean install as with Live boot mode, you will get an idea of how the OS will run on your hardware, how is the performance and early detection of driver issues, if any.

👨🏻‍💻 Clean Install

Backup Your Data: Make sure your important files are backed up in an external storage device, as installing any OS will wipe your disk.
Create a Bootable USB: Download and run balenaEtcher and create a bootable USB drive with the Kubuntu ISO.
Boot from USB: Restart your computer and boot from the USB drive.
Select "Install Kubuntu": Select Install Kubuntu option instead of Live Mode to open the installer.
Partitioning: I prefer selecting defaults if this option sounds confusing, but only and only do this, if your data is already backed up somewhere else.
Follow Installation Prompts: Set your timezone, keyboard layout, and create a user account, and voila, your Kubuntu will be ready to use.

⚠️ Risks: Driver Issues and App Compatibility

When you try to switch from one OS to another, there are always some potential risks involved. And these experiences may ruin your entire day or rather week, if they appear out of nowhere as a surprise.
Being an open-source software which is free to use, there are few things which you should be aware of for Kubuntu:

Driver issues: Some laptops and their hardware may not have supporting drivers for the latest version of Kubuntu. You can always use community built drivers, if they are available, but at your own risk.
Application compatibility: I might be making a stupid point here, but many of the Mac and Windows application may not have Linux supported distributions like MS Office and Adobe. Many of these already has open source alternatives, but they always has a small learning curve involved. Also, you can also try tools like Wine or alternatives which can run your Windows apps on Linux.
Other random issues I faced: It might be because of something I did wrong (it always is), but I also faced a random crash of Touch-pad and mouse cursor in my Kubuntu. Just putting it here if anyone faces the same in the future.

🥧 Other Stable Distros for Windows Users

I understand you are a long Windows or Mac User and you want stability more than speed and aesthetics. Fear not, here are some more stable and windows looking Linux Distros you can try:

Linux Mint: Known for its ease of use and Windows-like interface.
Zorin OS: Designed to make the transition from Windows to Linux easier.
Elementary OS: Focuses on a clean and simple user experience.

If you have some time in your hand, explore these options with Live mode and choose for yourself.

🗓️ Conclusion

With Windows 10 going away, this is the right time to explore the world of FOSS. And Kubuntu could definitely be your gateway to it.
It is fast, modern, easily customizable, huge community support and FREE.
By installing it on your old laptop, you will pour the life into it for many years to come.