A new set of KDE releases has been announced by the KDE development team.

KDE 4.8 provides ‘major updates to KDE Plasma Workspaces, KDE Applications, and the KDE Platform’. Amongst the new features and improved performance through KDE 4.8 and associated packages are: –

6 Alt+Tab (‘Window Switcher’) layouts to choose from

Redesigned power management settings

Faster file loading in Dolphin

Easier image scrolling in Gwenview

A more stable KMail

Introduction of KSecretService a new framework for sharing passwords and data between applications – securely

More information on KDE 4.8 can be found @ kde.org/announcements/4.8/

Install KDE 4.8 in Ubuntu

Kubuntu 11.10 users will be able to auto-upgrade to KDE 4.8 using the Kubuntu backports PPA.

Lucky Ubuntu 12.04 users should find KDE 4.8 waiting for them in Update Manager within the next few hours.