Can't seam to assign alt+F1 to pop up the kmenu???? [Kubuntu Intrepid alpha 6]

[Joe(theWordy)Philbrook]

 Just installed alpha 6  from the alt install image...

I'm definitely not used to KDE4, so I don't know how much of what I'm
having difficulty with is KDE4 and how much is Intrepid specific...

But I have some issues with my first experience with it. I'm not talking
about the unexpected application crashes that I figure are just part of
trying an alpha release. 

The first issue I have with it is that I can't find a way to assign a
keyboard shortcut to pull up the Kmenu... 

When I first tried to do this I thought it would be as simple as opening
the kcontrol panel and fining the action "popup launch menu" and
assigning the <alt>+<F1> shortcut. But I couldn't start kcontrol. 

I had already gotten rid of the vista like thing that the start menu
button uses by default nowadays, so it took a bit to find out which menu
setting to use so that the kmenu would include the current tool that does
the job of kcontrol... ( I never liked the click on the icon
selection mechanism and this doesn't seam to offer much for
keyboard centric controls but once thing are configured I
shouldn't need to go here much Though when I do I'll have to
figure out how to find it all over again because the only
kmenu setting that includes it outside of the favorites list
that I expect it to have expired from, doesn't have much else.
And since I don't know it's command name I haven't a clue how
to menu edit it into the standard applications style kmenu.

But anyway when I finally found the commandnameless control
center, and discovered that keyboard shortcuts were no longer
under the heading of regional & accessibility. I then
discovered that the shortcut assignment method was more mouse
intensive That is with kcontrol I could use the keyboard to
scroll down the list of actions, eliminate the MANY that I
didn't want with <alt>+N. IE since I can close a window from the window
operations menu which I set to a comfortable shortcut, I do
not want any shortcut assigned to close, max, Min, shade, or for
that matter kill window actions. eliminating these with this
point n click intensive method was far more cumbersome.
And at first I was simply taken aback by the fact that I
wasn't finding an action labeled popup launch menu... Then
when I eventually looked under the kde component called plasma
(what is plasma????) I found to actions one that said
<alt>+<F1> was assigned to something called "Application
Launcher" and the other that said <ctrl>+<F12> would show
dashboard...

Well <ctrl>+<F12> did pop up something I guess is the so
called dashboard (and disappeared the taskbar. Fortunately it
was a toggle so I got my task bar back easy enough. BUT
NOTHING happens when I press <Alt>+<F1> whatsoever. 

I also can't find a way to get rid of that mini display area
labeled desktop on what I think of as the desktop. Nor a way to
ditch that %&%)*&%)*& yellow notes: (I never liked paper
postit notes either) If I want to keep notes I'll simply keep
them in text files I can open with any dang editor I choose. I
want that thing off my desktop...

Like I said at the beginning, since I've never used kde4, I have
no idea how much of this is kde4 and how much is Intrepid.
All I can say is "YUCK!" I just hope kubuntu outgrows this
"thing" before support for Hardy vanishes. Cause I sure don't
plan on migrating to THIS environment...

-- 
|				      ---   ---
|     Joe (theWordy) Philbrook	      <o>   <o>
|	   J(tWdy)P			  ^
|	<<jtwdyp at ttlc.net>>		/---\	"bla bla bla..."
|					\___/	"...and bla..."

   At least I know my mouth is running, I just can't find the off button!