I'm completely stranger to Linux but I'm interested in buying a Dell XPS13 Dev edition (ships with Ubuntu). I quite don't like Unity though, so I was thinking about ditching it for Elementary OS but I don't want to break the convenient hw compatibility. Also, for other Ubuntu based distros like Kubuntu or Netrunner, would switching to them require me to find new drivers/patches?
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The *buntu variants (Kubuntu, Ubuntu Mate, Xubuntu, etc) are just a different selection of applications held in one of the many *-desktop packages (eg kubuntu-desktop, mate-desktop, xubuntu-desktop, etc). You can switch to one of the others fairly easily, just by installing one of those and removing ubuntu-desktop and the applications it bundles.
The systems underneath these packages are exactly the same. It's Ubuntu.
Netrunner and Elementary OS are different distributions run by different people. Some might be based on Ubuntu but few are package-compliant to the point you would just install a new meta-package, like you would with an official spin.
The same goes for their driver support. What they do is up to them and while Dell might
So yeah, if you want to try Kubuntu, it's fairly painless and you keep your existing underlying system. Other things will require a fresh install and may (or may not) require further tuning.
Some compatible desktop variants provide repositories that provide the applications required. Elementary has a few for various versions. Here's how you'd add the "stable" version to Trusty:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:elementary-os/stable
sudo apt update
sudo apt install elementary-desktop
I can't speak to how well this version works but it should leave your base Ubuntu system in one piece.
Netrunner also has a number of repos that might be able to be splinched into a real Ubuntu system.
Oli
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