Kubuntu 15.04 Alpha 1 (Vivid Vervet), a Linux distribution based on Ubuntu that uses the KDE desktop environment, has been released and is now ready for testing.

The first round of Alpha releases for the new 15.04 branch has arrived and Kubuntu is the first one in line. The developers now have an ISO image that can be tested and they made a number of very important changes.

The biggest one is the upgrade for the desktop, which now uses Plasma 5 by default. It was about time to see it added to a major distro and it looks like Kubuntu was the first one.

Just like its Ubuntu base, Kubuntu will only have nine months of support, but that's actually not all that important. Ubuntu and all the other flavors follow a strict six-month release schedule, meaning that a new version of Kubuntu will be out long before the support period ends. This type of releases is usually used by developers to add all sorts of major new features, before they land in LTS versions.

Kubuntu 15.04 feels fresh

This edition of Kubuntu features one of the biggest visual changes in the Ubuntu ecosystem. The change of desktop is a major one and there will probably be some opposition to it. The new KDE Plasma 5 follows the same overall design, but it's very different from what we were used to seeing.

The Plasma desktop was getting a little old and it remained pretty much the same for a long time. This major upgrade has just turned Kubuntu into something that you must try.

"Pre-releases of the Vivid Vervet are *not* encouraged for anyone needing a stable system or anyone who is not comfortable running into occasional, even frequent breakage. They are, however, recommended for Ubuntu flavor developers and those who want to help in testing, reporting and fixing bugs as we work towards getting this release ready."

"Plasma 5, the next generation of KDE Software is still a work in progress, but is stable enough for everyday use and it keeps getting better as new versions drop frequently. The KDE Applications 14.12 includes a bunch of bugfixes and migrations to KDE Frameworks 5," reads the official announcement.

You can find more details about Kubuntu 15.04 Alpha 1 (Vivid Vervet) in the official announcement and you can download the latest image from Softpedia. The distribution is under development and it still has some bugs and other issues. It's advisable that you don't use a production machine.