KaOS 2024.09 launches with updated VirtualBox and the Calligra office suite
Introduced as KdeOS in 2013 and renamed to its current name the same year, KaOS is a highly-focused distro, targeting only 64-bit x86 processors and using the KDE Plasma desktop environment alongside the Qt toolkit. Distributed via an ISO image, which can be downloaded from this page, KaOS has just been updated to a new stable version. Simply labeled 2024.09, this update comes with KDE Plasma 6 as the default desktop, also packing several key changes.
The first such change is the return of Calligra as the default office suite. However, while Calligra replaces LibreOffice, the user can choose to use the latter as default during the installation process. The list of new arrivals and updated apps/packages includes proprietary Nvidia drivers, the Linux kernel labeled 6.10.11, Mesa 24.2.3, Firefox 130 alongside Chrome 131, Ardour 8.7.0, and Qt6-based VirtualBox.
Returning to the KDE Plasma 6 desktop, it should be mentioned that it comes with KDE Gear 24.08.1, Frameworks 6.6.0, and the desktop version is 6.1.5. All these are built on Qt 6.7.2, which led to various other changes, for example, a new Phonon sound backend that replaces VLC, which has no Qt 6 port yet.
KaOS users, as well as those who chose other distros and are still considering themselves beginners, will surely enjoy having The Practical Linux Handbook: A Beginner's Guide to Mastering Everyday Tasks at their side. This 130-page guide, which is supposedly aimed at teenagers, can be acquired for $9.50 in Kindle format (Kindle Unlimited subscribers get it for free), and it also comes in paperback format for $14.99.