KDE has today released the Plasma 5.24 desktop, filled with goodies across the whole thing and this is an LTS release (long-term support) that will continue seeing updates until a final Plasma 5 release after which Plasma 6 succeeds it. The environment that will be powering the desktop mode on the Steam Deck, it's a very exciting time to be a KDE user and no doubt the developers are excited too.
The team said that this release "focuses on smoothing out wrinkles, evolving the design, and improving the overall feel and usability of the environment".
Plasma 5.24 - credit: KDE
It's quite an important release actually, especially with all the upgrades to Discover (the software installer / updater). Discover is smarter and clearer about error messages, smarter about not letting you break your system by removing essential packages (or Discover managing to remove itself). Lots to be happy about there for users of all skill levels.
On top of that Discover also gives you an option to reboot once updates are done, there's a few UI adjustments to the Update Page to make it less overwhelming and you can now also open and install locally downloaded Flatpak packages too.
A huge addition is the newer Overview mode, which is much similar to how GNOME Overview works. This allows you to get a view of different workspaces, interact with all the various windows and applications you have open in the background and the ability to search your system too. See the short video demo KDE put out:
This Overview isn't quite finished, they say it's technically a Beta right now.
Absolutely loads more new, especially when it comes to Wayland that will eventually replace the ancient X11 system. Wayland + Plasma now supports colours greater than 8bits, better support for VR headsets and drawing tablets, the Spectacle screenshot tool can now access the Active Window mode and there's more keyboard shortcuts across the desktop that now work with Wayland too.
Other random improvements include a faster shut down, a new wallpaper, important notifications now get an orange strip to bring more attention to them and the list of tweaks goes on.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
[edit] found some old screenshot ;-)
[edit2] and here's KDE 2
Last edited by pb on 8 February 2022 at 1:34 pm UTC
Last edited by Tori on 8 February 2022 at 1:40 pm UTC
Keep up the good work, KDE developers!
Wayland is finally stable for me. I can turn my TV on and off during the day and kwin doesn't crash anymore. Finally my session doesn't die everytime I turn my TV on or off.
Also the new open and close animations for windows is very sexy.
Quoting: pbI used and loved KDE 2 and 3, but version 4 pushed me towards other DEs. It will be interesting to revisit it thanks to SteamDesk.
[edit] found some old screenshot ;-)
[edit2] and here's KDE 2
Oooh... that KDE2 screen brings me back to the uni.
Looks like they may have fixed the bug I experienced, too, where a Konsole session would freeze if the monitor it was on (or the dGPU?) powered down while you were away with the screen locked, and just be totally dead when you came back and unlocked it.
I'll need to re-test and see if the DRM leasing support means I can get my Vive running on Wayland, next. That's pretty much one of the last things I keep a Windows drive around for, other than my Xbox Game Pass sub.
Quoting: pbI used and loved KDE 2 and 3, but version 4 pushed me towards other DEs. It will be interesting to revisit it thanks to SteamDesk.
KDE 4 was very rough, but by 5 KDE's been quite solid again. Heck, even by around 4.4/4.5 it was at least usable again, with steady polish and enhancements since then. Unless you just have a strong preference for the style or workflow of another particular desktop, I think you'll be happy with what you see in modern KDE.
Kimyrielle Feb 8, 2022
Quoting: nitro322KDE 4 was very rough, but by 5 KDE's been quite solid again. Heck, even by around 4.4/4.5 it was at least usable again, with steady polish and enhancements since then. Unless you just have a strong preference for the style or workflow of another particular desktop, I think you'll be happy with what you see in modern KDE.
I've been using xfce for the last few years, but I don't have strong feelings for or against any desktop, so I'll gladly test the new kde on the deck. :-)
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