In addition to excellent performance, and great security, one of the most careful aspects of current Linux distros is the design. Within this operating system we can find a wide variety of different desktops that allow us to choose the one that best suits our needs. Some have unique appearances, others seek to mimic Windows or macOS, and others, such as KDE Plasma , aspire to become the most beautiful desktop. And with the new version 5.20 you are one step closer to achieving it.
KDE is one of the most complete desktops that we can find. This desk has literally everything. From virtual desktops to a large number of widgets, of course, through functions that allow us, for example, to change the size of any icon.
The 4.x versions of this desktop have probably been the ones with the most paraphernalia. But also the slowest and heaviest. For this reason, with the arrival of Plasma 5, KDE has worked hard to debug its desktop and, without turning its back on its origins, make it one of the most complete, lightweight, customizable and beautiful.
What’s new in KDE Plasma 5.20
KDE has focused primarily on community feedback when developing this new version of the Linux desktop. And the first thing that strikes us is your new desktop background .
As we can see, this desktop mimics most of the elements of Windows 10, such as the taskbar, the system tray or the start menu. Of course, it improves many of the elements of the Microsoft operating system, such as, for example, the activity and notification center, which is much more collected and organized.
The icons on the taskbar have also received changes. Now, as in Windows, if we open several windows of the same program, the icons will not be repeated, but they will be grouped. By clicking on the icon we will have to choose the window we want to open.
Another element that has also been renewed are the brightness and volume indicators that appear on the screen. These have been modernized, and now, for example, they warn us if we go over 100% of the volume.
Other minor changes
In addition to the above, which is the most visual and what will attract the most attention, other changes have also been applied under the hood. For example, KDE has been working to continue migrating Plasma, and all its applications, to its new graphical server Wayland.
Many of the programs that come by default on this desktop, such as Klipper, KRunner and others, have been improved with fixes and, in some cases, new functions.
And we can also highlight:
- The browser widget allows zooming.
- New more compact digital clock widget.
- New notifications when we run out of space.
- New and renowned disk and device panel.
- The “standard keyboard shortcuts” and “global keyboard shortcuts” pages are now just one page called “shortcuts”.
How to test Plasma
This new version of Plasma will gradually reach all distributions that are based on KDE. If our distro is Rolling Release, we can receive this new version automatically without having to do anything else. In case it is not, we will have to wait until a new version is released that adopts it.
Another way to test KDE Plasma 5.20 is to manually install the desktop from a repository. So we can start using this new version directly from our Linux without having to do anything else.
Lastly, KDE Neon (Testing), Ubuntu-based distro with Plasma, will receive the new version very soon. The latter is the most recommended option for users who want to test it in a virtual machine.
Source> fossbytes