KDE neon
KDE neon is a Linux distribution developed by KDE based on the most recent Ubuntu long-term support (LTS) release, bundled with a set of additional software repositories containing the latest 64-bit versions of the Plasma 5 desktop environment/framework, Qt 5 toolkit and other compatible KDE software.[10][11][12][13][14][15][16] First announced in June 2016 by Kubuntu founder Jonathan Riddell following his departure from Canonical (Ubuntu's parent company),[17] it has been adopted by a steadily growing number of Linux users, regularly appearing in the Top 20 on DistroWatch.com's popularity tables.[18] It targets the same user demographic as Ubuntu's official KDE Plasma-focused distribution, Kubuntu, differing primarily in the much shorter time-frame for users to receive updated Qt and KDE software. It is offered in four release channels: User, Testing, Unstable and Developer Editions.[19]
Base logo (many thematic variations also in use)[1] | |
Plasma 5 desktop environment default appearance as seen post‑installation with Breeze icon/color themes | |
Developer | KDE |
---|---|
Written in | C/C++/Qt 5 |
OS family | Linux (Unix-like) |
Working state | Current |
Source model | Open source |
Initial release | June 8, 2016[2] |
Latest release | User Edition: 2020.07.10-1457[3][4] / July 10, 2020 |
Latest preview | Testing Edition: 2020.07.02-1045[3][5] / July 7, 2020 |
Marketing target | KDE Plasma enthusiasts |
Available in | 80 languages[6] |
List of languages Afrikaans, Albanian, Amharic, Aragonese, Arabic, Assamese, Asturian, Basque, Belarusian, Bengali, Bokmål, Bosnian, Breton, Bulgarian, Burmese, Catalan, Chinese, Crimean, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Dzongkha, English, Esperanto, Estonian, Finnish, French, Friulian, Gaelic, Galician, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Interlingua, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Kannada, Kazakh, Khmer, Korean, Kurdish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Malay, Malayalam, Mandarin, Marathi, Nepali, Norwegian, Occitan, Oriya, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Sinhala, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Tajik, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Uyghur, Vietnamese, Welsh | |
Update method | APT |
Package manager | PackageKit[7]/Discover (GUI) |
Platforms | x86-64[8]/AArch64[9] |
Kernel type | Monolithic |
Userland | GNU |
Default user interface | KDE Plasma 5 |
License | Various open-source licenses, mainly the LGPL-2.1 and GPL-2 |
Official website | neon |
The KDE neon Linux distribution is focused on the development of KDE. The emphasis is on bleeding edge software packages sourced directly from KDE and offers programmers early access to new features, but potentially at the cost of greater susceptibility to software bugs.[13]
KDE neon announced in January 2017 that the distribution switching its installer from Ubiquity to Calamares due to Ubiquity "not having some features".[20][21]
In February 2018, KDE neon developers removed the LTS Editions from the downloads page, but kept these editions in the download mirrors because of "lots of people asking which edition to use and what the difference is."[22]
In May 2018, KDE started changing KDE neon from being based on Ubuntu 16.04 to Ubuntu 18.04.[23] KDE neon preview images, based on Ubuntu 18.04, became available in August 2018.[24][25][26][27]
Differences from Kubuntu
Because Kubuntu has the KDE Plasma suite on an Ubuntu base OS, KDE neon often is mistaken for Kubuntu and vice versa. However, the primary difference between the two operating systems is that Kubuntu maintains stable releases and LTS version of Ubuntu while KDE neon focuses on updating developer editions of KDE applications without maintaining stable releases of Ubuntu unless the root user actively chooses to upgrade their systems.[28]
Hardware
KDE Slimbook (released in March 2017) and KDE Slimbook II (launched in 2018) have KDE neon pre-installed.[29][30]
See also
- Graphical user interface
- Long-term support
- KDE Plasma
- Kubuntu
References
- "KDE neon logo concept". KDE Nextcloud. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
- "KDE neon User Edition 5.6 Available now". KDE.news. 2016-06-08. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
- "KDE neon". neon.kde.org.
- "Index of /neon/images/neon/user/current". files.kde.org. Archived from the original on 2020-07-14. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
- "Index of /neon/images/testing/current". files.kde.org.
- "Packages in "PPA for Ubuntu language pack builders" : PPA for Ubuntu language pack builders : "Ubuntu language pack builders" team". launchpad.net. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
- "KDE neon FAQ: How do I Update to the Latest Software?". neon.kde.org. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
- "KDE neon FAQ: Is KDE neon 64-bit only?". neon.kde.org.
- "KDE neon on the $100 Pinebook". KDE neon Developers' Blog. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
- KDE neon - Weak lighting, Dedoimedo
- KDE neon 5.12 review - Living on the edge, Dedoimedo
- DistroWatch. "DistroWatch.com: Put the fun back into computing. Use Linux, BSD". distrowatch.com.
- Lunduke, Bryan. "KDE's new Linux distro KDE Neon: Terrible idea, or simply a mistake?".
- Verma, Adarsh (13 October 2017). "KDE Neon 5.11 Linux Distro Released With Latest Plasma Release".
- KDE Neon 5.11 Is the First Linux Distro to Ship with KDE Plasma 5.11 Desktop, Softpedia News
- A look at KDE Neon – a minimal mini-distribution - gHacks Tech News
- "Kubuntu's founder resigns, accuses Canonical of defrauding donors and violating copyright". PCWorld. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
- "KDE neon". DistroWatch.com. 2019-07-05. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
- "KDE neon New Edition Names – KDE neon Developers' Blog". Retrieved 2019-07-09.
- KDE neon Inaugurated with Calamares Installer – Jonathan Riddell's Diary
- KDE Neon Has Stylish New Install Wizard - OMG! Ubuntu!
- Hiding Neon LTS Edition - KDE neon Developers Blog
- Moving to Bionic - KDE neon Developers Blog
- KDE neon Bionic Preview Images Available for Testing - KDE neon Developers Blog
- Neon/BionicRebase - KDE Community Wiki
- KDE Neon Operating System Is Moving to Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (Bionic Beaver), Softpedia News
- KDE Neon Powered By Ubuntu 18.04 LTS Now Available For Testing - Phoronix
- ""KDE Neon vs Kubuntu" - KDE Community Forums".
- Tung, Liam. "Need a Linux-tuned laptop? New KDE Slimbook aims to make it simpler to drop Windows". ZDNet.
- Portnoy, Sean. "KDE launches updated Slimbook II Linux laptops with faster Intel Core processors". ZDNet.