Ubuntu’s development is mainly focused on Ubuntu and less so on Kubuntu and Xubuntu, so most of my tutorials are also Ubuntu-centric.
Nevertheless, people do actually use Kubuntu and Xubuntu, so I thought I’d create a little tutorial on enabling extra software repositories and installing Flash in Kubuntu 8.04, since someone on the Ubuntu Forums asked how to do it, and I didn’t have a simple explanation handy (the process for installing Flash in Ubuntu is much simpler).
First go to the KMenu and and select System and Adept Manager.
Adept Package Manager handles software installation and removal. It fetches installer files and their dependencies from a centralized software server repository, and then it installs them for you.
Since Adobe Flash is proprietary software, we’ll have to enable extra software repositories to have it available for installation. If you don’t get this whole free v. proprietary business, you can read more about it at the Ubuntu philosophy page.
Click on Adept and select Manage Repositories
You should see both the Universe and Multiverse repositories unchecked (or unticked).
Check (or tick) both the Universe and Multiverse repositories. You can also, if you want to be considerate, change the software download source from the main Ubuntu servers to a local mirrored server (in my case, that would be the United States). Either way, the software available will be the same.
When you’re done making those changes, click Close
Adept will then check both what software is available for installation and what you already have installed.
In the search area, type flashplugin. This will filter for any software package that has the phrase flashplugin in it (there should be only one package—flashplugin-nonfree).
Click on flashplugin-nonfree in the filtered results and Request install.
Click on Apply Changes
Wait for Adobe Flash to download and install.
Once you’ve install Flash, you can quit the package manager by going to Adept and selecting Quit
In Konqueror (Kubuntu’s web browser), go to Settings and select Configure Konqueror
Click on Plugins and then select Scan for New Plugins
Once the new Flash plugin has been found, click OK
You should now be able to view Flash content through Konqueror.
If you experience any problems or have questions about any of these steps, you can find help at the Kubuntu Forums. You can also visit the the Ubuntu Forums for help—just be sure to let people know you’re using Kubuntu (and not Ubuntu).