Linux KDE at 20: Plasma 5.8 LTS Beta. Here for the Long Term.

vishalrao

vishalrao

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See https://www.kde.org/announcements/plasma-5.7.95.php

KDE is getting better steadily since it's version 5 "reboot", a great option for people wanting to switch to Linux and stick to a Windows-like desktop. This version 5.8 has plans for "LTS" or long-term support to focus on stability and polishing, already the beta is looking nice, with clean login/lock screens and updated icons, especially clean ones like I posted here: https://forum.kde.org/viewtopic.php?f=285&t=121251&p=364162&hilit=monochromatic#p364162

Check out the new KDE Neon "distro" here: https://neon.kde.org/

Neon is intended to showcase latest KDE software running upon a stable ubuntu base (currently the 16.04 LTS base). You have the "user edition" for latest stable releases which should be getting 5.8 in a couple of weeks time. Then there are the "developer" stable and unstable editions if you want to try out the current 5.8 beta release. They are planning a special "LTS" edition for the KDE 5.8 LTS release I believe. If you are a Kubuntu user/fan, then it's a no-brainer to try/switch to Neon. Other options to try latest KDE are rolling distros like OpenSUSE, Arch, KaOS, Manjaro, Chakra etc.

KDE recently celebrated 20 years. Lots of news and announcments to be seen from their main website: https://www.kde.org/

Timeline: https://timeline.kde.org/[DOUBLEPOST=1474287045][/DOUBLEPOST]@ssslayer hope you are able to successfully move to the upcoming latest KDE 5.8 soon :D currently im running the beta and it works well on my desktop and laptop, but i dont have fancy hardware or need for unusual apps etc... browser, office, VLC for music/videos etc all working fine for me.
 
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vishalrao said:
USER=4654]@ssslayer[/USER] hope you are able to successfully move to the upcoming latest KDE 5.8 soon :D currently im running the beta and it works well on my desktop and laptop, but i dont have fancy hardware or need for unusual apps etc... browser, office, VLC for music/videos etc all working fine for me.
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vishalrao said:


Note that while KDE Neon repositories is still adding applications steadily (like recently added KDevelop5) they are focussing on KDE 5 based code and you should still be able to install "sudo apt install xxxx" other KDE apps (even older KDE4 based ones).

For example, I installed qBittorrent and GNOME's "simple-scan" (for printer scanning) and they work/look great.
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I still didn't get how can we apt-get or install if the Kubuntu repositories are not visible in the Software center.
I was not able to see any Ubuntu repository ... or perhaps I missed something?
 
What distro/version are you talking about when you say not visible in the "software center"? What is this "software center"? In Kubuntu?

If I remember correctly (it's been a while since I used Kubuntu) by default Kubuntu just has the standard "ubuntu" repositories and KDE based packages are in there already.

In the Neon distro you can view repositories listed in the settings section of the "Discover" app.

On the command line (in KDE Neon) you can try the following to see what's configured as repos:

cat /etc/apt/sources.list
cat /etc/apt/sources.list.d/neon.list

@ssslayer i still couldn't figure out what distro and version you are trying. i hope it's Neon user edition.
 
It was the User edition.
By software repository I meant the "Discover" program.

So my problem reframed:
Say I wish to install VLC program on Ubuntu, what do I do?
I either use the native Software center app, or use Synaptic (if installed), or use the apt command line.

In case the program is not to be found (because it is not included in the default Ubuntu repositories), I need to add the repository containing this VLC ... right?
And then after adding the repo, I can proceed.

In case of KDE Neon (while running the live USB), I was neither able to find XXX program, nor was I able to use Synaptic, and nor was I able to use apt since there was nothing of significant in the default software center. And it was NOT Ubuntu's repositories.
Neither was I able to find over internet: how to add Ubuntu repositories in KDE neon.
 
Guys how is the driver support for kde neon? I was seeing flickering on the top screen while running it live from the USB. Driver issues?
 
Final KDE 5.8 LTS released and available in KDE Neon User Edition latest ISOs! See http://jriddell.org/2016/10/04/plas...prehensive-features-gwenview-plugins-install/

@Faraz what CPU+GPU do you have? - yes it could be driver issue during Neon LiveUSB usage - if you have an nvidia/amd video card it will most likely use the open source driver and that can have glitches. Hardware support will be the same as stock Ubuntu 16.04 LTS as it's based on that. To re-try LiveUSB during the boot add the "nomodeset" option to kernel boot param. When the LiveUSB starts up and before the boot menu boots into KDE, press E on the highlighted default entry, look for the "quiet splash" options, move your cursor to between the two and add "nomodeset" so that it looks like "quiet nomodeset splash" then press CTRL+X to boot with that option. Also, if it still has issues, search online for your particular motherboard/GPU for linux workarounds like adding "noapic" and "nolapic" options too.

@asingh - yes it has LiveUSB trial option :)
 
Which distro would you recommend? I will be just adding this to my VM list to check it out. UI looks nice.

I am a ordinary ubuntu user. Key word is ordinary. I do use bash prompts frequently. As I have a Git/Cygwin bash/LaTeX tool chain in work.
 
Oh for onboard intel graphics it shouldn't have those screen flickering... maybe because Neon is currently trying to use standard modesetting driver instead of the intel driver. Try the "nomodeset" option, else try an actual install (if you can) to see if it works.[DOUBLEPOST=1475739673][/DOUBLEPOST]
m-jeri said:
Which distro would you recommend? I will be just adding this to my VM list to check it out. UI looks nice.

I am a ordinary ubuntu user. Key word is ordinary. I do use bash prompts frequently. As I have a Git/Cygwin bash/LaTeX tool chain in work.
Click to expand...

For "ordinary ubuntu user" scenario I can only think of and recommend KDE Neon User Edition :) Others are either "rolling" (Manjaro/Chakra/KaOS) or KDE is outdated (Kubuntu).
 
Did the full install, and really liked it. Though the widgets are slightly old-school in terms of UI, but the OS performance is great and seems to be running better than Loki on my 1GB RAM net book. KDE wallet is slightly a pain to get used to, but it can be switched off for most task..!
 
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