Nearly five months after its previous 24.07 release, OpenMandriva has unveiled ROME 24.12, the latest version of its rolling release edition. It is powered by the latest Linux kernel, 6.12 LTS, and is packed with updates and new features.
On the desktop side, ROME 24.12 ships with KDE Plasma 6, running on… X11. Well, with the entire Linux ecosystem migrating to Wayland, I find this default X11 solution odd. I mean, we’re talking about a rolling release distro. The good news is that a Plasma 6 Wayland ISO is offered separately.
This release also includes spins featuring the latest GNOME 47, LXQt 2.1, and (even) the good old Plasma 5 for those who enjoy exploring alternative desktops.
Now, to the real release highlight in ROME 24.12—the brand new spin featuring the upcoming still-in-development COSMIC desktop environment. Of course, we are talking about System76’s recently released Alpha 4 version.
Apart from that, ROME 24.12 extends its appeal to gamers by providing Proton and Proton-Experimental directly in the OpenMandriva repository. This allows users to access Proton without needing Steam or proprietary code, a boon for those committed to open-source principles.
For creative users, the OM-Welcome Startup and Configuration tool continues to evolve, offering more intuitive modules to simplify the installation of popular applications.
Furthermore, OpenMandriva ROME 24.12 brings a treasure trove of software updates:
- Development tools: LLVM/Clang 19.1.4, GCC 14.2, Glibc 2.40, Systemd 256.9, and Mesa 24.3.
- Desktop environments: Plasma Desktop 6.2.4, KDE Applications 24.08.3, KDE Frameworks 6.8, and Qt 6.8.0.
- Kernel choices: 6.12 and the latest 6.13-rc1, built with Clang.
- Browsers: A privacy-focused Chromium 131 (Google spyware disabled, JPEG-XL support re-enabled) and Firefox 130 (also patched for spyware).
- Creative and productivity tools: LibreOffice Suite 24.8 with Plasma 6 integration and GIMP 3.0 RC.
- Virtualization: VirtualBox 7.1.4 for seamless virtual machine management.
For more information, refer to the release announcement. Want to give it a try? OpenMandriva ROME 24.12 installation ISO images are available for download from SourceForge.
