Reviewed and Edited by: Spencer Creasy and Susan Black
KDE is a different desktop environment for the school laptops. This might be a feature foreign to Windows or Mac users, but think of it like a different theme along with extra features thrown in.
Before downloading KDE, as it will take some time, make sure your computer is charged sufficiently and will not be closed or shut down during the download process.
Go to the Terminal: Click on the Dash —> then type “terminal“, then click on the Terminal icon (a black box).
Once you are in the Terminal windows, type
sudo apt-get install kde-full
to initiate the download of KDE.
After a long string of text you will get a prompt asking whether you want to install or not. Type “Y” or just press the Enter key to accept the installation.
Be patient and let the download run for a couple minutes.
The installation will show a box explaining what a display manager is. Press the Enter key to acknowledge this message. Then Make sure light_dm is highlighted in red then press Enter again.
This part of the download might take some time.
A screen should show up that says Configuring lirc.
Select None and press Enter. Do the same for the next screen.
In a couple minutes the installation will have ended.
Restart your computer.
When you get to the Log on screen, next to the ‘Ubuntu User‘ legend you will see a small Ubuntu icon that looks something like this:
Click on the Ubuntu logo icon to open up the ‘Select Desktop Environment‘ menu. Select ‘KDE Plasma Workspace‘.
You may now log on and enjoy using KDE. Just be aware that logging in for the first time takes longer the usual.
You can also go back to the default desktop environment by selecting ‘Ubuntu (Default)‘ on the ‘Select Desktop Environment‘ menu.