Note about KDE Versions
KDE 2.1 requires Qt 2.2.4. It is backward compatible with all KDE 2.0.x and Qt 2.x apps. KDE 1.1.2 used Qt 1.45 which is incompatible with KDE 2.0. However, once you install KDE 2.0, you should no longer need any of those apps, as they all have been updated to KDE 2.0.
Downloading KDE Packages
LinuxPPC and Yellow Dog Linux users can use Ian Geiser's snapshots (unstable daily releases) of KDE 2.1. You can get them from this location:
ftp://ftp.linuxppc.or g/users/geiseri/kde2/
Also, check ftp.yellowdoglinux.com and ftp.linuxppc.org for stable 2.1 final releases.
You will want at least:
- qt - Widget Set
- kdesupport - Required non-KDE Libs
- kdelibs - KDE Libaries
- kdebase - Base KDE (Konqueror, Kicker, KDesktop, etc.)
You may also want:
- aethera - MS Outlook-clone for KDE
- kde-i8n - Foriegn Language Support
- kdelibs-sound - Desktop Sounds
- kdepim - Personal Information Manager
- koffice - KDE Office Suite
- kdeadmin - KDE System Adminstrator Tools
- kdegames - KDE Games
- kdegraphics - KDE Graphics Utilities and Support (Needed for Konqueror PDF and linked image support)
- kdemultimedia - CD Player, Sound Mixer, Noatun (KDE Equivalant to XMMS)
- kdetoys - Cool KDE apps that aren't really games, but make you less productive (like kworldwatch which shows the worldwide time and sun locations, or the program that makes little guys jump around on your title bars).
- kdeutils - Handy little programs, like a Calculator, Hex Editor, Floppy Formater
- kdevelop - Tool for building KDE apps
- XFree86 4.02 - Enables You to Enable KDE's Anti-Aliasing Features.
Additional Requirements
Finally if you use KAB, the KDE Address Book, you will need UnixOBDC, if you use audiocd:/ protocol in Konqueror (for ripping CDs using KDE, or playing digital audio), htdig is used for a documentation search engine, and finally jre is used if you want Java support in Konqueror.
Building KDE Software
If you plan on building KDE 2.1 apps, you should install kdelibs-devel and qt-devel. There is other -devels you may also need for building software, that the software's ./configure script will tell you about.
Installing the Software
Once you have downloaded all of that software, and put it in a directory (make sure it's an ext2 and not HFS, as HFS will cut off file names), you are ready to install it.
Remove Old KDE 1.1.2 Software
You should remove any old KDE 1.1.2 software by runing these two commands:
rpm -qa | grep ^kde | xargs rpm -e
rpm -qa | grep ^qt | xargs rpm -e
Installing the new Packages
As all of the packages you have downloaded are in one directory, we can simply install them using a wildcard:
rpm -Uvh qt*.ppc.rpm
rpm -Uvh kde*.ppc.rpm
rpm -Uvh *.ppc.rpm
Now KDE 2.1 should be installed.
Chaning Your Default Desktop to KDE 2
You can change your default desktop to KDE 2, using this command:
echo "KDE2" > /etc/sysconfig/desktop
Changing GNOME Login Dialog to the KDE
You can replace the GNOME Login dialog with KDE Login dialog easily.
First off you need to delete the prefdm link. prefdm in RedHat-based Linux tells what login manager to use. You can delete it by typing rm -rf /etc/prefdm in your xterm.
Next you need to relink prefdm to KDE's Login Manager, called kdm. To do this, type: ln -s /usr/bin/kdm /etc/prefdm into the xterm.
Log out (or exit X11). If all went well, you should see the KDE log in screen.
Logging into KDE
If you use kdm/xdm/gdm (graphical login screen), you should enter you login, and choose kde as a session from the session list. Then click login. KDE should start.
If you use a console login, then type in:
echo "startkde" > ~/.xsession
startx
KDE 2 will now be default when you startx or login from the graphical login screen. You can change this in the graphical login screen by using the pulldown menu, or with startx, by replacing ~/.xsession with the name of your window manager.
