i should be working (but i'm fixing my computer).

I probably need an arghhh!! category with more exclamation marks.  It has not been a good day, update and computer functioning-wise, not to mention having an actual life-wise, since my last post.

...

When we last adjourned, I casually mentioned how my KDE 4.7 desktop was not working, but my LXDE desktop was working just fine, which surprised me as my post yesterday chronicled the borking of LXDE.

Wait for it.

So, I did 1.7 gig of updates and rebooted.  Oops.  And I mean that in the semi-more-or-less literal sense of "oops" as applied to linux kernel.  KDM/GDM/LXDM graphical login managers would not log me in.  Console line startx would bring up KDE4.7, but as previously mentioned, KDE4.7 is not working.

More investigation -- X had borked.  Tried installing nvidia drivers.  (Do not know why, this has not worked for years, why should it work now?  But X was reporting a lack of nvidia drivers ...)

This brought a new disaster, no hint of X any more.   Nvidia drivers put in sort of part of a kernel from the 2.6 series, but it would not boot.  Remove nvidia drivers.  Update kernel some more.  Add stuff I have no idea why I would want it. Zypper dup.  Are we having fun now?  Reboot.  Startx works in root, to KDE.  Weird.  KDE in regular user still borkified.

Well, graphical login manager is now working. BUT, WAIT FOR IT -- lxde is now borked just like on my other computer from day before.  Primary symptom is repeatedly flashing left and bottom panels, basically no widgets, no right panel.

I guess I spoke too soon about how lxde was just fine.  I still have my oddly "transparent" panels -- well, except for the background has been replaced.  The "transparency" is rather to show the background I had installed as opposed to the OpSU one inflicted on me by the updates.

Now, I am thinking that I need to kill the .kde and .kde4 folders and maybe I can have kde back.  I will take a little run at Gnome3 and see if it is likewise borked, it would be nice to have a console working.  I tried to find and delete the .kde/.kde4 folders from the console but this is weird, I couldn't locate them.  Has there been a configuration change?  I do find a kde.org under .config, but it will be helpful to have an actual running GUI to aid in the investigation.

And ... if I do not leap from the roof, I will report back later.

Later:

I deleted .kde / .kde4 / lxpanel / all of the lx... configuration files in .config.  Using Gnome3.0, btw.

Both systems are again functional*, but this means re-created all of my customizations and settings, of which there are very great many.  Also, the kde instability (since I have already done this once since the 4.7 upgrade) reminds me of the early days -- meaning 4.0 through 4.5 -- of KDE where I had to regularly deleted the .kde / .kde4 folders and re-do all of my configuations.  And now I suspect that KDE programers have moved on over to LXDE.  Which, you know, it was nice to have a stable desktop for awhile.

*but LXDE continues to have this problem where the Application Launcher and right click menu on the panels cease working, which makes (a) creating new panels; and (b) launching anything rather problematic.

*But, I found a bracket error I created in my right menu, so at least that problem is solved -- I have a right panel again.

*Efforts to create a new panel in KDE 4.7 revert me back to the crashed condition and no desktop.  Yeesh.

It would be nice if the different desktop consortiums would check with each other when they are going to totally bork their systems.  LXDE to KDE: "Is it your turn to bork our ours?  What is your schedule?"  You know, do the Twitter thing or the Plurk thing, or whatever. Because that way, I would not find myself reconfigurating both desktops on the very same day.

What if -- and I know this is a ridiculous question -- what if I actually wanted to do some work, as opposed to playing "computer" all day? (Just asking.)

Houston, systems are stable, you can go back to sleep ...

Oh, BTW, just to mention in passing, Firefox 5.0 is doing the "rev the processor really high" thing again.

One more BTW -- Linux 3.0 overwrote my really neat mini-cooper GRUB splash screen.  Of which, I did not keep a backup and don't specifically remember where I got it or how to install it back.  So, now back to the boring OpSU green one, which is only fun at Christmas time.