This is the traditional beginner's guide for you who have his/her Kubuntu computer updated, this time, to the version 20.10 codenamed Groovy Gorilla. In this version several new things added such as the Network Speed widget and the ability to have Metered Connections you can adjust with this short tutorial. Okay, now let's explore!
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Take Care of KWallet & Wifis
First thing to do for many people is to connect to the internet. Connected at the first time, special to Kubuntu, you will be asked for (1) inserting the wifi's password and (2) making a new KDE Wallet's password. For the wifi's password, once you typed it and press Connect, the KDE Wallet will appear. Do not worry, you just need to create a password and repeat it once, and then select Blowfish encryption option. I suggest you to use same password as your system password. After this, you can connect to that wifi safely without entering password again.
Set Metered Connection
In short words, it is to save your internet quota. For every network you will connect to, you can set metered to it, so Kubuntu will not download big updates automatically (rather, you will do that manually). To do so, focus on Network Manager: connect to a connection (wifi or cable) > click Settings button > select the connection name > General Configuration > set Metered: Yes > OK > disconnect > connect again.
Add Network Speed Widget
As always with Kubuntu, we can add network widget, but in this 20.10 version it is improved so perhaps you will find it different. It is now merged with some other widgets so the configuration is mixed up. To show current speed, click the chart.
To make a widget like below:
- Create a new empty panel
- Add Widget
- Find Network Speed
- Drag and drop widget to empty panel
- Edit panel
- Adjust the length to suit your taste
- Still on the Edit panel mode, select Autohide or Windows Go Below, which one you like more.
Disable Screen Edge
You saw animation when pushing cursor to top-left corner? Perhaps it doesn't help you productivity so you may want to disable it. To do so, go to System Settings > find Screen Edges > you see 8 points on screen picture > click the top-left point > No Action > OK. This disables the automatic animation. Feel free to test it!
(Screen Edges configuration)
Add Photo Frame
You can display photos on desktop thanks to Frame widget. It is useful also for teaching, for example, so your students always see important messages you want to convey when you do screen sharing or class presentation. To add one, right-click on desktop > Add Widget > find Frame > drag and drop it to desktop > a blank frame created > click Configure button on it > Path > Add Files > add photos as you wish > OK > finished.
For other widgets such as analog clock, the procedure is the same.
Application Recommendations
To close this list, here's my usual apps to install on Kubuntu you can try:
- KeePassXC - password manager everyone should have.
- AQEMU - virtual machine that is free and user friendly.
- uBlock Origin + HTTPS Everywhere - install this to your Firefox web browser to block ads and secure every single one of your connections.
That's all. I wish Covid-19 pandemic soon will end and we will enjoy safety and healthiness once again. I hope you are happy with Kubuntu!
This article is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.