The launch of the new stable version of KaOS 2022.06, which comes with a large number of changes, of which the changes in the base of the system stand out, as well as in the components and user interface.
For those unaware of Shirt should know that this is a distribution that was created by Anke "Demm" Boersma, who initially worked on Chrakra Linux. KaOS unlike other distros was developed from scratch. According to its developers, its goal is to be more differentiated. Among them, a limited selection of applications or exclusive support for 64-bit architecture.
KaOS is characterized by being a Linux distribution independent which includes the latest version of the KDE Plasma desktop environment and other popular software programs that use the Qt toolkit.
The packaging is managed by the team itself, only for the stable versions, and controlled by the Pacman installer. KaOS uses a Rolling Relase publishing development model and it is only available for 64-bit systems.
Main news of KaOS 2022.06
In this new version that is presented, it is highlighted that Calamares installer has been updated to the 3.3 branch and that improved installation on encrypted partitions, plus the integration with KPMCore has improved, LUKS support is stronger, and there is now an option to not encrypt the boot partition when choosing encryption for installation. Some GUI improvements have also been implemented.
Another change that stands out is the implementation of the Plasma update 5.25. KDE Plasma 5.25 redesigns and improves the way you navigate between windows and workspaces. The Overview effect displays all your open windows and virtual desktops.
In addition, we can also find the updates of KDE Frameworks 5.95, KDE Gear 22.04.2 and Qt 5.15.5 with patches from the KDE project (Qt 6.3.1 is also included) and updated package versions, including Glibc 2.35, GCC 11.3.0, Binutils 2.38, DBus 1.14.0, Systemd 250.7, Nettle 3.8, the linux kernel has been updatedor to the version 5.17.15.
Furthermore, it is noted that during the installation of packages, you can view a slideshow with an overview of the distribution kit or view the installation log.
Of the other changes that stand out from this new version:
- IWD background process is used instead of wpa_supplicant to manage wireless connections
- Midna, the Plasma theme used in KaOS received a few changes (partly to prepare for Plasma 5.25), the biggest visual change being the addition of a nicely integrated virtual keyboard on the login and lock screen.
- Updated login screen with integrated virtual keyboard
- For Nvidia, a new Long Term Support version is added to this ISO, 470xx. Nvidia's switch to 495 meant the end of support for Kepler-based cards, thus the need to add a new legacy version.
Finally for those interested in knowing more about it about this launch, you can check the details within the official announcement In the following link.
Download KaOS 2022.06
Finally, if you don't have KaOS installed on your computer yet and you want to download and install this Linux distribution focused on the KDE desktop environment on your computer or you want to test it under a virtual machine.
You just have to go to the official website of the distribution and in its download section you can get the system image. The link is this.
You can save the downloaded image to a USB device with the help of the Etcher application.
Si you are already a KaOS user, you must have received these updates in the last few days. But if you don't know if you already have them installed, just open a terminal and run the following commands in it:
sudo pacman -Syuu
With this, you only have to accept the updates if they exist and I recommend restarting your computer.