openSUSE KDE4 Live CD

openSUSE KDE4 Live CD is an open source distribution of Linux derived from the official openSUSE Linux operating system and build around the KDE Plasma Workspaces and Applications environment.

Distributed as 64-bit and 32-bit Live DVDs

This flavor is dedicated to KDE4 fans and it’s distributed as two Live DVD ISO-hybrid images designed to run directly from DVD discs or USB sticks. It supports both 64-bit and 32-bit architectures and can be easily installed as-is.

Its main purpose is to provide users with a straightforward way to test and install the openSUSE Linux distribution only with the KDE desktop environment. The Live DVDs can also be used to run a memory test or boot an existing operating system.

Awesome KDE4 desktop environment

The live KDE4 session is crafted to perfection and designed to please even the most critic of critics. It’s comprised of a single taskbar, from where users can access the main menu, launch favorite apps, interact with running programs, as well as with the system tray area and other KDE functions.

Default applications

Default applications include the Konqueror and Mozilla Firefox web browser, KMail email client, KTorrent torrent downloader, Amarok music player, K3b CD/DVD burning software, digiKam photo management program, Kopete instant messenger, Konversation IRC client, Choqok Twitter/Facebook client, and Gwenview image viewer.

The openSUSE Project offers easy and free access to the world's most usable operating system, SUSE Linux. It is a distribution for your desktop or server computer and portable laptop, which will allows you to surf the web, do office work, manage your photos and emails, play music or videos, or host a fully functional website.

Bottom line

Whether you just want to test the custom KDE4 desktop environment provided by the openSUSE Linux operating system, or you want to make this edition your only operating system, the KDE Live image of openSUSE works flawlessly, but only on high-end machines.

What is new in this release:

• Innovative:
• Built around the most innovative technologies Linux has to offer: Snapper to take the most from snapshots capability of the powerful Btrfs filesystem offered as default option, Wicked to bring light to network configuration, Dracut to ensure shorter boot times... For users asking for even more innovation Plasma 5.1, the next generation workspace by KDE, is also available as a technical preview.
• Polished:
• This version presents the first step to adopt the new openSUSE design guidelines system-wide. The graphical revamp is noticeable everywhere: the installer, the bootloader, the boot sequence and all of the (seven!) supported desktops (KDE, GNOME, Xfce, LXDE, Enlightenment 19, Mate and Awesome). Even the experimental Plasma 5.1 is adapted to the overall experience.
• Easy:
• The new openSUSE 13.2 installer comes with several changes targeted to make the installation process easier and more welcoming to new users. Those changes include a new and more straightforward installation work flow, better and smarter automatic proposals, less cluttered configuration options and a brand new layout for the user interface. In addition, several tools are included to easy the administration of any system like the Profile Management Tools for AppArmor or the YaST module for Snapper, just to name a few.
• KDE:
• KDE 4.14, dedicated to the memory of Volker Lanz, provides a familiar look, feel and functionality with the rock-solid stability of the latest version of the long-term support Plasma Workspace (4.11.12) and the applications from latest Software Compilation (4.14.2). The KDE Telepathy stack offers features as off-the-record (OTR) encryption for instant messaging, multi-protocol support and a set of applets for the Plasma Workspace. KDE applications requiring multimedia are now based on the 1.0 version of the GStreamer multimedia framework, allowing a noticeable reduction in dependencies.
• Virtualization:
• In addition to Linux Containers 1.0.6 and the full virtualization solutions traditionally provided by openSUSE (with QEMU 2.1 and VirtualBox 4.3.18), this release also includes Docker 1.2 which, together with the availability of openSUSE 13.2 images at Docker Hub, makes openSUSE a perfect base system to distribute applications.
• Improved YaST:
• Several parts of YaST have been improved and cleaned up after the automatic conversion from YCP language to Ruby shipped with 13.1. Compared to that version, the new YaST is faster, more stable and better integrated with systemd, Btrfs and the other cutting edge technologies included in openSUSE 13.2. The new installation work flow allows to run the whole configuration phase and skip the final step, getting a complete reusable AutoYaST profile instead of an installed system.
• IDEs and tooling:
• This release offers the latest version of the fully featured IDE KDevelop (4.7.0), the last of the versions based on the 4.x KDE development platform. In addition to C++, there are plugins available which extend its support for additional languages such as PHP or Python. In addition, most recent version of several other popular IDEs are shipped, like Anjuta 3.14 and two flavors of Qt Creator 3.2.1 (for Qt4 and Qt5).
• Languages and Libraries:
• KDE Frameworks 5, a series of development libraries on top of Qt 5 made by KDE, is present in its latest stable release (5.3.0). The libraries co-exist with the existing 4.x variants, allowing development of KF5-based applications within a stable 4.x based workspace. In the land of dynamic languages, Ruby packaging is now even easier. Need JRuby? Want Rubinius? No problem. We can do it. Not only Ruby has been updated (2.1.3), but also Python (2.7.8 and 3.4.1), PHP (5.6.1), Perl (5.20) and many others.

What is new in version 13.2 RC1:

• This release includes GNOME 3.14, which brings new animations, better handling of WiFi hotspots, improvements in some applications like Weather and Photos and much more. Another highlight is the brand new Firefox 32, with new HTTP cache for improved performance and public key pinning support. Updates to KDE (from version 4.14.0 to 4.14.1) and Plymouth (from 0.8.8 to 0.9.0) should also help to boost stability and to smooth the end user experience.

What is new in version 13.2 Milestone 0:

• The btrfs filesystem is default (and comes with btrfsprogs 3.12), as is the wicked network management tool and the dracut initrd replacement
• YaST sports a new look and its Qt front-end is ported to Qt5
• Zypper is at the 1.10.x branch for the next release, introducing a number of bug fixes and minor improvements
• KDE Frameworks 5 packages are included, as well as the latest Application and Platform releases in the 4.x series
• Our infrastructure is updated: rpm 4.11.2 introduces weak dependencies, PackageKit 0.8.16 comes with a new appdata format and there are binutils .24, Bluez 5.15, systemd 210, pulseaudio at 5.0 and the latest 3.14RC kernel
• In the graphics area we now have packages for wayland 1.4, freetype 2.5.2 (changing font weights) and Mesa 10.1
• Cloud and databases bring xen 4.4, virtualbox 4.3.8 and postgresql 9.3.
• For developers we've included GCC 4.9 (default still 4.8.2), make 4.0, llvm 3.4, cmake 3.0(rc), gdb 7.7, git 1.9.0 and subversion 1.8.8
• In the language area, we've now got ruby 2.1, php5 5.5.9 and python 2.7.6 and 3.4.0(rc)

What is new in version 13.1:

• Stabilized:
• Much effort was put in testing openSUSE 13.1, with improvements to our automated openQA testing tool, a global bug fixing hackathon and more. The btrfs file system has received a serious workout and while not default, is considered stable for everyday usage. This release has been selected for Evergreen maintenance extending its life cycle to 3 years.
• Networked:
• This release introduces the latest OpenStack Havana with almost 400 new features. Web server admins will appreciate the latest Apache, MySQL and MariaDB updates. Web developers benefit from an updated Ruby 2.0 on Rails 4 with improvements from core classes to better caching in the Rails framework and the latest php 5.4.2 comes with a build-in testing server. End users can now mount Amazon s3 buckets as local file system and use much improved Samba 4.1 with better windows domains support.
• Evolved:
• openSUSE moves forward with AArch64, making openSUSE ready for development on the upcoming generation of 64bit ARM devices. 32bit ARM support has been heavily improved and a special Raspberry Pi build for openSUSE is available. This release also delivers GCC 4.8 with new error reporting abilities, the latest glibc supporting AArch64, C11 and Intel TSX Lock Elision, the new SDL2 and Qt 5.1, bringing QML and C++11 features to developers..
• Polished:
• openSUSE 13.1 comes with much improved font hinting thanks to the new font engine in Freetype 2.5. YaST has been ported to Ruby, opening contribution up to a large number of skilled developers. In this release, ActiveDoc replaces doc.opensuse.org and the majority of packaged documents in openSUSE, lowering the barrier to contribution.
• Faster:
• New is accelerated video with VDPAU support in MESA and an optimized version of glibc for 32bit systems. Linux 3.11 includes work on ‘page reclaim', maintaining performance during disk operations.
• Feature-full:
• Desktop users will appreciate the Android devices integration in the KDE file manager, in the shell and in music player Amarok. Artists have to try out the new Krita improvements with textured painting, greyscale masks & selections and more. GNOME Shell introduces a redesign of the system status bar and Header Bars in many applications, making better use of screen space. Enlightenment now also has an openSUSE theme.
• Innovative:
• This release comes with a number of experimental technologies to try out. This includes preliminary Wayland support with Weston compositor in GNOME Shell and KDE Plasma Desktop as well as improved support for Ultra high-resolution in applications and shells. New is also the LightDM KDE greeter and a plasma NetworkManagement applet for testing.

What is new in version 13.1 RC2:

• systemd was updated to version 208
• Shim should now work which means the secure boot is possible
• Plasma-nm no longer replaces the knetworkmanager
• Calibre is now fully operational
• kernel was updated with more fixes and one speedy improvement everyone could read about on phoronix (the radeon/nouveau timer improvements)
• In the area of virtualization the xen and libvirt packages were updated
• A lot of migration issues were fixed so zypper dup from older release will go smoother
• Apper should no longer choke on multiple license agreements
• YaST parts were updated fixing bunch of installer bugs
• XFCE can now properly suspend
• e17 artwork was openSUSEfied (yay!)
• Akonadi should better handle PostgreSQL as backend
• Our vlc version was updated to 2.1 which is the latest and coolest provided
• Translations updates

What is new in version 13.1 RC1:

• KDE-4.11.2
• Gnome-3.10
• Kernel-3.11.3 + load of btrfs fixes thanks to feedback from beta
• snapper-0.1.7 (btrfs!)
• nginx - finaly built properly
• bluez5 - pulseaudio/gnome/kde integration to provide bluez5 is finally in place
• plasma-nm - alternative gui for networkmanager in KDE was adjusted and now provides some sane usability
• Tons of bugs fixed and closed
• zypper dup from 12.3 should now not render the system unable to log in...

What is new in version 13.1 Beta 1:

• kernel 3.11.1
• llvm/clang 3.3
• Mesa 9.2.0
• systemd 207
• php5 5.4.19
• tcl 8.6
• bluez 5
• wine 1.7
• samba 4.1
• KDE SC 4.11.1 and GNOME 3.9.91
• apache2 2.4.6
• texlive 2013
• vim 7.4
• Amarok 2.8

What is new in version 13.1 Milestone 2:

• livecds using overlayfs now with persistent hybrid support
• automake 1.12.1->1.13.2
• boost 1.49.0->1.53.0
• util-linux 2.21.2->2.23.1
• evolution 3.8.1->3.9.1
• gtk3 3.8.1->3.9.0
• icu 50.1.2->51.2
• iproute2 3.7.0->3.9.0
• kernel 3.9.0->3.10.rc4
• libreoffice 4.0.2.2.1->4.0.3.3.2
• MozillaFirefox 20.0->21.0
• pulseaudio 3.0->4.0
• qemu 1.4.0->1.5.0

What is new in version 13.1 Milestone 1:

• GNOME 3.6 > 3.8.1
• apache2 2.2.22 > 2.4.3
• digikam 3.0.0 > 3.1.0
• giflib 4.1.6 > 5.0.3
• icecream 0.9.7 > 1.0.0
• kernel 3.7.10 > 3.9.0
• libreoffice 3.6.3.2.4 > 4.0.2.2.1
• ocaml 3.12.1 > 4.00.1
• qemu 1.3.0 > 1.4.0
• qt-creator 2.6.2 > 2.7.0
• ruby 1.9.3 > 2.0
• systemd 195 > 202
• wpa_supplicant 1.1 > 2.0
• xorg-x11-server 1.13.2 > 1.14.1