Get software packages quickly with KDE Project Neon

Neon is a platform designed to give KDE users a way to get software updates quickly. It will be providing packages of the latest KDE software so users can stay up to date on a stable OS base.

Jonathan Riddell is heading KDE neon, which was announced at FOSDEM in 2016. He gave details about the project, and outlined the plan.

The project came about with the help of KDE and Kubuntu contributors. They brainstormed the best way to get KDE’s beautiful software into the hands of the fans. In Munich, the home of large KDE deployments, they planned ways to meet the needs of KDE contributors and users.

It’s ideal for people who like having the latest features today and get frustrated at the need to add extra archives or even compile from source just to try out what they read about in KDE’s announcements.

Unlike the rolling distributions it has a stable base so you can be confident a new Mesa version won’t suddenly break your graphics. Currently we have packages built directly from KDE’s Git branches of KDE Frameworks, Plasma and Applications. This is perfect for contributors and testers who want to develop against the latest codebase. Coming soon we’ll have the latest builds of KDE’s released software, ideal for those who want the latest features on the day they’re released.

Many KDE developers, and developers from other projects too, get frustrated that they release their software then have to wait weeks or months for users to be able to get their hands on it. Neon allows users to get the latest KDE software, either stable or bleeding edge, fast. Not everyone will want that; many people won’t like new features appearing without warning. But for those who enjoy that we’re there for them.

What is KDE neon involved with currently? I's a community with hundreds of end-user focused projects. From educational games like GCompris to teaching tools like WikiToLearn to technical projects like Necessitas (now upstream happily making Qt work on Android).

What’s the release cycle? The project works on the concept of continuous integration, so the versioning should happen seamlessly behind the scenes,

Critics have noted that at this point it does not seem to be fundamentally different from the former Project Neon. KDE Neon is focused on providing daily KDE packages to Ubuntu users.

Download KDE Neon: http://neon.kde.org.uk/download

2016-1-31