Nitrux is a desktop-focused Linux distribution based on the Debian unstable branch, featuring a heavily modified KDE Plasma desktop environment called NX Desktop, accompanied by some MauiKit applications and a unique approach to package management.
This means that you won’t find a conventional package manager like, for example, the well-known APT. Instead, all the apps you need can be installed as Flatpak packages, AppImages, or inside Distrobox containers.
Two months after the previous 2.9 release, Nitrux 3.0, codenamed “ut,” is here, so let’s see what has changed.
What’s New in Nitrux 3.0 “ut”
Powered by Liquorix kernel 6.4, designed for better performance, responsiveness, and overall system stability for desktop users, Nitrux 3.0 ships with updates across the entire release.
On the desktop side, you get the latest and greatest KDE Plasma 5.27.7, accompanied by the KDE Frameworks 5.108.0.
As we mentioned earlier, Nitrux is a mix of the Plasma desktop and multiple Maui applications that are used to replace KDE ones. Don’t know what Maui is? In short, Maui (Multi-Adaptable User Interface) is a collection of apps that can run on various platforms and devices, including Linux, Windows, and Android.
We say this because fans of the Maui interface will be excited about Nitrux 3.0 since all Maui-based applications, including NX Software Center, are built using the most recent version, MauiKit 3.0.1 and MauiKit Frameworks 3.0.1, published just a few days ago.
Furthermore, the Nitrux Update Tool System, a utility designed to update the OS, providing at the same time a backup option for rollbacks, has been bumped to v1.1.3, introducing a new rescue operation for backup redundancy.
Under the hood, MESA has been updated to 23.3. AMD’s microcode has received an update with “AMD Inception” patches for AMD Zen4 processors, and Intel’s microcode has been updated with mitigations for “Downfall” for Intel processors.
On top of that, Nitrux 3.0 ships with NVIDIA display driver v535.104.05 and the AMD open-source driver for Vulkan v2023.Q3.1.
Finally, on the application side, Firefox has received an update to v117, and KWallet now has PAM integration, allowing it to be automatically unlocked at login.
You can refer to the release announcement for detailed information about all changes in Nitrux 3.0. In addition, the distro is available for immediate download, so if you want to try it right now, go to the project’s website and grab your installation ISO image.
Last, remember that the devs recommend performing a fresh installation using the latest available media.
