Plasma Active

Plasma Active is an open source Linux-based operating system specifically engineered for mobile and embedded devices, such as tablets, IVI, smart TVs, set-top box, smartphones, etc. It is based on the well known openSUSE distribution and built around the mdoern KDE Plasma user interface.

Availability, boot options, supported platforms

The operating system is available for download as a single Live CD ISO image. In order to use it on the WeTab  or ExoPC tablets, you will need to write it onto USB flash drive of 1GB or higher capacity. Detailed installation instructions are provided at http://community.kde.org/Plasma/Active/WeTab.

From the boot prompt, users can start the live environment with default settings, boot an existing operating system that is installed on the first disk drive, as well as to directly install the distribution. However, we do not recommend to install the distribution without first testing it using the first boot entry.

KDE for tablets

The KDE Plasma graphical session seems very responsive and looks modern, futuristic. It is comprised of a top panel, which displays the network connection, a clock and some social networking functions. On the desktop, we can notice a small bookmark widget, a virtual desktop switcher, and the main menu.

Default applications include the Plasma Media Center, KWrite text editor, Konsole terminal emulator, KPatience card sorting game, Marble virtual globe and world atlas, as well as a news reader, calendar, image viewer, web browser, mail client, contact manager, book reader, alarm, note-taking, and to-do utilities.

Bottom line

In conclusion, Plasma Active is a special Linux-based operating system that has been designed from the ground up to promote the latest and greatest Linux technologies, as well as the modern and powerful KDE Plasma graphical environment on mobile and/or embedded devices, such as tablet computers like Nexus 7, Archos G9 and Nokia N950.

What is new in this release:

• New Apps:
• Files is a new default application in Plasma Active. It is a file manager, but, unlike most others, it isn't based on folders; rather users can search for documents by file type, creation time and semantic information such as Tags. Files does not use the file system directly; it organizes documents with Nepomuk, Plasma Active's underlying semantic engine.
• Okular Active is Plasma Active's new Ebook Reader. Okular Active is built on the technology which also drives the desktop version of the popular Document Viewer, and is optimized for reading documents on a touch device. Okular Active supports a wide range of file formats, such as PDF, EPub, Open Document, and many others.
• Through Plasma Active's Add Ons, thousands of ebooks are available for free, with paid applications and content coming soon.
• Champions: Kontact and Calligra:
• With Calligra Active and Kontact Touch, Plasma Active delivers scalable and proven applications for office and groupware tasks, with a focus on interoperability. Kontact Touch supports many groupware solutions, and brings calendaring, email, contact management among other features. Calligra Active has excellent support for most common office file formats such as OpenDocument and Microsoft's .doc, .docx, .xls and .xlsx.
• The KDE developers have put a lot of effort into improving the performance of the user experience, its applications and underlying libraries. These improvements bring a noticeably snappier and more visually coherent user interface, and make using Plasma Active a more enjoyable experience compared to previous versions.
• Plasma Active runs on Mer:
• Mer is the leading openly developed Linux-based OS for mobile devices. It is based on work from the MeeGo Project. With the size of the Core OS reduced to the bare essentials, Mer delivers performance. It is also a fully open development project, and thus supports fundamental Plasma Active design principles-openness, user freedom.
• Improved Text Input:
• Thanks to a new virtual keyboard based on Maliit, the input method used on devices such as Nokia's N9, Plasma Active Three improves ease of text input. The new virtual keyboard is faster and more convenient to use and offers great flexibility for system integrators.