KaOS is described as being a tightly integrated rolling and transparent distribution for the modern desktop that focuses only on KDE Plasma.
The distro was influenced by Arch Linux, uses Pacman as its package manager, but does not rely on software repositories developed and maintained by Arch. Instead, it labels itself as a built-from-scratch Linux distro since all packages in each of its repositories are compiled by the project for the distro.
Yesterday, KaOS 2022.02 finally becomes available as an incremental update to the previous release, so let’s take a look in brief at what’s new.
What’s New in KaOS 2022.02
KaOS 2022.02 introduces the latest KDE Plasma Desktop 5.24, KDE Framework 5.91, and KDE GEar 21.12. It’s important to note that Wayland on Plasma is now the default session for KaOS. The Virtualbox users should be aware that some intervention is needed for the auto-resize feature to work. This means that you will need to set manually the desired screen resolution in System Settings.
Moreover, there is a new Configure Display Settings item. This lets you adjust your screens’ resolution, orientation, scaling, and position relative to other monitors. In addition, the Desktop Panels are now easier to move around and stick to any edge you want, as you can now drag them from anywhere on their toolbar while in Edit Mode.
We can’t fail to mention that KaOS 2022.02 ships with Kalendar 1.0 app, which has been receiving significant updates for quite a while. It includes some useful features like scheduling, tasks, support for recurring events, attachments, and more.
Keep in mind that one application that is not ready for Wayland, is SMplayer, used in KaOS for many years as the default media player. Unfortunately, it seems SMplayer is unable to move to Wayland. The main problem usually is the video being on a separate window, but it can also be a black window or a crash when trying to play a video.
With that said, the KaOS devs have decided to replace SMPlayer with Haruna. It is a Qt-based video player for Linux that acts as a front-end to mpv.
Under the hood, with the latest release, you can also find updated packages that include:
- Perl 5.34
- PHP 8.1.2
- GStreamer 1.20
- Systemd 250.3
- Curl 7.81
- Mesa 21.3.6
- Wayland 1.20
KaOS 2022.01 is powered by Linux kernel 5.15.23 LTS. At the moment the LTS period projects Linux 5.15 LTS to be end-of-life in October 2023. However, as is usually the case, this can be extended by years given enough industry support.
For detailed information about all changes, you can refer to the official announcement.
Download
KaOS Linux is a rolling distribution so keeping up with the updates is enough to get you the latest packages. The official ISO is also updated every few months to keep it up to date with all the latest changes for new installations so you are not presented with a large first update.
The latest KaOS 2022.02 ISO can be downloaded from their download page.
