KDE Plasma 5.22 Released with Better Stability and Usability Across the Board
The KDE Plasma desktop development has kicked into high gear and the latest release reflects newfound popularity and drive behind the open-source environment.
The KDE Plasma developers have been incredibly busy this cycle, refactoring code, fixing bugs, and adding new features, all of which come together to bring even more performance to the desktop environment. The developers are so proud of this release (and the work they’ve achieved) that they created a showcase site to highlight everything found in KDE Plasma 5.22.
The latest release is all about general eye candy and usability. And it shows.
One of the most exciting new features to be found in KDE Plasma is called Adaptive Transparency, which will transition between translucent to opaque, depending on if there are any maximized windows. So when an app window is maximized, the panel will be opaque. If there are no maximized windows, the panel will be translucent. Of course, users can opt-out of this feature and make the panel always translucent or always opaque.
Other new features include a speed dial page for the System Settings app, which gives you direct access to your most commonly used settings. The System Tray will now house widgets that are much more consistent in appearance and a completely redesigned digital clock that improves the look of the widget and allows users to configure how the date/time is displayed. Users can also opt to disable offline updates, select audio device profiles from the volume widget, see all clipboard contents (using the Super+V keyboard shortcut), and KSysguard has been replaced by the new Plasma System Monitor.
If you’re interested in checking out the latest KDE Plasma desktop, it’s now available in KDE Neon.
Issue 253/2021
Buy this issue as a PDF
News
-
Ubuntu 21.10 Released and Finally Includes GNOME 40
The most anticipated update to Ubuntu is finally here and the workflow couldn't be better.
-
Linux Can Now Run on Apple’s M1 Chipset
Linux users looking to take advantage of Apple Silicon are about to get their wish with the M1 chipset.
-
MX Linux 21 RC Candidate Available For Testing
The MX Linux development team has released the RC images for MX Linux 21 for testing purposes.
-
Fedora 35 is Shaping Up to Be an Impressive Release
Although the beta version of Fedora’s upcoming release is behind schedule, the Linux distribution is still slotted for October and will include numerous bug fixes and some exciting new features.
-
Canonical Extends Support For Ubuntu 14.04 and 16.04
The company behind Ubuntu offered a much-needed lifeline to those who still depend on older versions of the open-source operating system.
-
GNOME 41 Has Arrived
The latest version of the GNOME desktop environment has been released with new functionality and plenty of improvements.
-
System76 Updates the 15" Pangolin with Ryzen
System76 announced they’re updating the Ryzen-powered Pangolin laptop to meet today’s need for more power.
-
KDE Plasma 5.23 Promises Plenty of Subtle Improvements
The next release of the KDE Plasma desktop includes new features, numerous improvements, and plenty of bug fixes.
-
GNOME 41 Beta is Now Available
The most popular open-source desktop environment is on the cusp of yet another new release, but don’t expect the massive changes found in the previous iteration.
-
Debian 11 “Bullseye” Now Available
The developers of Debian have released the latest version of the operating system so many distributions depend on.