I'm an asylum seeker from Ubuntu/Unity

I've recently started using both KDE Neon and Kubuntu 17.10 (the latter with the ppa:kubuntu-ppa/backports to get Plasma 5.12) on two different laptops. Everything's perfect. I'm a happy camper.

This said, there are some GTK/Gnome applications that I'm used to and don't want to replace (at least for now) by KDE software.

Now, this is what I have read on the KDE Neon FAQ page:

KDE neon focuses on KDE software, most other software is not supported and you should not be surprised if you can not install it or it stops working at any point in time due to an update.

I haven't found a similar disclaimer on the Kubuntu website.

Hence my question: in terms of stability, would I be better off with Kubuntu? Or is it much of a muchness?

Thanks!

I use both, and have personally not had a problem with either one in terms of stability or software availability/compatibility

To compare the two in terms of non-KDE software, Kubuntu will be more up to date, most of the time, but you have to upgrade the OS every 6 month to get that, as well as to stay the most up to date with Plasma.

In Neon, you'll be more up to date on Plasma/Frameworks/Qt, but you won't have to upgrade every 6 months. As Neon is Ubuntu LTS based, you do get regular kernel and driver stack updates. You will of course be relegated to using eventually less fresh (...er, old) versions of non Plasma software.

@claydoh
I've only used LTS versions of Ubuntu ever since I made the switch from Apple to Linux in 2008. This is the very first time I try a non-LTS version.
I made an exception in order to test other desktops now that Unity has been discontinued (I know there is a community-based remix coming, with limited resources, though). In the last months I have tried Gnome-shell, Xubuntu, Ubuntu Mate and Ubuntu Budgie, before finally deciding on KDE Plasma 5, which perfectly suits my needs and tastes.

My plan is to upgrade to Kubuntu 18.04 and stay on it for a couple of years, that is until the 20.04 version comes out. I will of course enable the ppa:kubuntu-ppa/backports in order to keep Plasma 5 up to date.

Now, since KDE Neon will eventually be based on Ubuntu 18.04, will it be advantageous to use it given that I am not a developer? I might be wrong, but the only advantage I can see is that Plasma 5 seems to be updated more rapidly through Neon than via the Kubuntu-ppa.

November Snow wrote:My plan is to upgrade to Kubuntu 18.04 and stay on it for a couple of years, that is until the 20.04 version comes out. I will of course enable the ppa:kubuntu-ppa/backports in order to keep Plasma 5 up to date.

Now, since KDE Neon will eventually be based on Ubuntu 18.04, will it be advantageous to use it given that I am not a developer? I might be wrong, but the only advantage I can see is that Plasma 5 seems to be updated more rapidly through Neon than via the Kubuntu-ppa.

I am not a developer either, but prefer the latest official Plasma releases, hence I don't run one of the developer editions.

Kubuntu 18.04, even with the ppa, will likely come to a point where it can't get updates due to the dependencies that Kubuntu cannot control. 16.04, for example gets you Plasma 5.8 LTS. 18.04 will nab you the 5.12 LTS versions. Which of course is an excellent choice for a lot of folks. But you likely may not be able to get Plasma 5.13, for example.

If you like 5.12, Kubuntu 18.04 seems like a good fit.

claydoh wrote:
Kubuntu 18.04, even with the ppa, will likely come to a point where it can't get updates due to the dependencies that Kubuntu cannot control. 16.04, for example gets you Plasma 5.8 LTS. 18.04 will nab you the 5.12 LTS versions. Which of course is an excellent choice for a lot of folks. But you likely may not be able to get Plasma 5.13, for example.

If you like 5.12, Kubuntu 18.04 seems like a good fit.

Thanks for your insightful remarks.
I will most probably continue using KDE Neon on one of my laptops and Kubuntu 18.04 (with the backports ppa enabled) on the other. This way I'll be able to check in the long run whether notable differences appear between the two systems.