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.
Quoting: pbQuoting: 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. :-)
I have looked at xfce so often, and It seems a hassle to just get my dual monitor set up properly so the primary screen is really the primary including the panel etc. That part of the configuration is for me so unintuitive that I shy away, since I often switch setups and have to switch the primary monitor quite often. Other parts about setting it up too. Once running it's nice.
KDE .. you see the ressources behind it, and while I think they did have their focus wrong for some time (especially 4 and beginning of 5), where they innovated, popped out features and libraries, without having a really good and bug free basic experience (as switching to dark mode does nothing for GTK until session restart, that your primary screen has a black background and is not interactive sometimes
etc.), I think they realized that doing better at the basic stuff is more important as the most features they could add by now. And I'm glad they take that route.
I still consider it the "best" desktop, but certainly not the one with the best track record in the past few years when it comes to bugs (most not breaking bugs, but little annoyances).
Last edited by STiAT on 8 February 2022 at 7:37 pm UTC
Quoting: KithopOther big one - under Wayland they now have the concept of a 'primary' monitor like under Xorg, so for multi monitor setups where those monitors are changing (i.e. laptops), it remembers your setup and consistently puts your primary panel on the same screen you set it to when plugging in an external monitor.
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.
That's actually important for me, even on the desktop since X and Wayland discover my "primary" as "secondary" since my HDMI seems to be listed first and my DP second, while my DP is the "primary" monitor in front of me. You could work around it, but as you said, on a laptop that was more hassle.
For me that's the change which could see me switch, or at least attempt a switch to wayland again, even being on NVidia (somehow the fedora guys made that actually working properly with GBM).
CyborgZeta Feb 8, 2022
Quoting: KimyrielleI didn't really look at KDE in years (I always thought that if I'd want an UI that looks and feels like Windows, I could always use Windows), but I am casually in the market for a new DE, as GNOME hasn't made me too happy in the last years, either. Maybe it's time for another look, I dunno?
I am in the exact same position. I really don't like how KDE reminds me of Windows, but with that new overview, and some theme and icons changes, I think I could be swayed.
Quoting: pbI used and loved KDE 2 and 3, but version 4 pushed me towards other DEs.
You are coming from Windows, are you?
I didn't, and therefore never liked KDE before version 4, as those were too much copying Windows.
Quoting: PitQuoting: pbI used and loved KDE 2 and 3, but version 4 pushed me towards other DEs.
You are coming from Windows, are you?
I didn't, and therefore never liked KDE before version 4, as those were too much copying Windows.
No, I've never used Windows. Switched from AmigaOS to Linux in 2000.
Quoting: pbNo, I've never used Windows. Switched from AmigaOS to Linux in 2000.
Cool!
Never could afford an Amiga when I wanted one.... (and didn't bother later when I was Linux-only).
I've used KDE since KDE 3, and it's the best for desktop tinkerers. It really is amazing. And yes it has more bugs than other DEs, but you can create a workflow that suits you perfectly, something you can't do in other DEs (easily).
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