Enterprise Benefit: openSUSE Brings KDE Update for 11.2
The openSUSE team is breaking with a long tradition of providing updates as backport patches instead of version updates. KDE 4.3.4 will soon be brought in as a version update.
Familiar openSUSE users have known the rules for a while: a version update made in the distro will hold the entire lifetime of the version. Any enhancements have gone in as backport patches, but then only for individual programs.
This policy has often been criticized in cases specific to the large desktop environments KDE and GNOME, in that a version update might introduce many potential bugs, but at least users are kept up to date. Even the problems with KDE 4.0 and possibly 4.1 might have been partly averted through version updates.
For the current openSUSE 11.2, Novell broke with tradition for the first time by declaring KDE 4.3.4 a stable version and including it in the STABLE repository for an online update to 11.2. There are many reasons for the change, the main one being that KDE 4.3.4 is the official version planned for next year's SUSE Linux Enterprise Server/Desktop 12. Novell and openSUSE developers thus will spare themselves having to maintain two practically identical yet in many points distinct KDE versions. The KDE 4.3.1 in openSUSE 11.2 brought a couple of critical bugs in the Plasma desktop that were fixed in 4.3.4. Because KDE 4.4 will appear in February 2010, KDE 4.3.4 is the last version in the 4.3 series and will be the longest and best maintained in that series.
According to Will Stephenson's announcement, many users have already activated and are using the KDE:43 repository, "without a lot more bugs." The only downside is that users without broadband connections will have to deal with large updates.
The change will require Novell to maintain only a single KDE version that will apply to both openSUSE 11.2 and the enterprise products. Users of openSUSE will thus benefit indirectly from enterprise development.
The openSUSE project has meanwhile also changed its update process, allowing the community more control where anything less than security updates are concerned. This new process might have had an influence on the new version update decision so that other programs could start appearing in improved versions in the future.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Endless OS 6 has Arrived
After more than a year since the last update, the latest release of Endless OS is now available for general usage.
-
Fedora Asahi 40 Remix Available for Macs with Apple Silicon
If you've been anticipating KDE's Plasma 6 for your Apple Silicon-powered Mac, then you're in luck.
-
Red Hat Adds New Deployment Option for Enterprise Linux Platforms
Red Hat has re-imagined enterprise Linux for an AI future with Image Mode.
-
OSJH and LPI Release 2024 Open Source Pros Job Survey Results
See what open source professionals look for in a new role.
-
Proton 9.0-1 Released to Improve Gaming with Steam
The latest release of Proton 9 adds several improvements and fixes an issue that has been problematic for Linux users.
-
So Long Neofetch and Thanks for the Info
Today is a day that every Linux user who enjoys bragging about their system(s) will mourn, as Neofetch has come to an end.
-
Ubuntu 24.04 Comes with a “Flaw"
If you're thinking you might want to upgrade from your current Ubuntu release to the latest, there's something you might want to consider before doing so.
-
Canonical Releases Ubuntu 24.04
After a brief pause because of the XZ vulnerability, Ubuntu 24.04 is now available for install.
-
Linux Servers Targeted by Akira Ransomware
A group of bad actors who have already extorted $42 million have their sights set on the Linux platform.
-
TUXEDO Computers Unveils Linux Laptop Featuring AMD Ryzen CPU
This latest release is the first laptop to include the new CPU from Ryzen and Linux preinstalled.