We are excited to announce the unscheduled Release Candidate for OpenMandriva rolling release model, ROME 24.07.
This release brings significant updates and improvements.
One of the most notable changes is the switch to Plasma 6 as the default desktop environment.
This major release of the KDE Plasma desktop offers a range of new features and enhancements.
Our release engineers have worked diligently to ensure that Plasma 5 and Plasma 6 packages can coexist when necessary.
While we believe Plasma 6 is ready for everyday use, we also provide an up-to-date ISO image featuring the latest stable Plasma 5 desktop for those who prefer it.
ROME 24.07 and the upcoming OMLx Rock 5.1 (fixed point release) will be the last sets of install images to offer the Plasma 5 desktop. These releases include the latest and expected final versions of Plasma 5, making them ideal for users who wish to continue using the 5.x series for an extended period.
Although thorough internal testing indicates a smooth transition, we highly recommend a fresh installation if you opt for Plasma 6 to fully enjoy the latest desktop environment features.
Following this release, the Cooker development branch will begin phasing out Plasma 5.
Once this change is completed and integrated into the rolling branch, ROME users on Plasma 5 will automatically upgrade to Plasma 6. Rock users will only upgrade to Plasma 6 upon opting for Rock 6.0 or higher.
In addition to the default KDE Plasma desktop, we also offer spins featuring LXQt 2.0.0 and GNOME 46.2.
The LXQt spin features a major new release with LXQt 2.0, the first release of this lightweight desktop that has moved to Qt 6.
Another big news item for this release will be good news for people who still want to use applications, and in particular games, made for Windows: In addition to the normal wine Windows emulator, proton and proton-experimental - variants of wine that are typically used to run Windows games inside Steam - are now available as OpenMandriva packages. For the first time, this makes Proton available outside of Steam, without the need to install any non-free code.
People interested in packaging will be delighted to find out that it has become faster and easier: OpenMandriva has picked up rpm’s new Declarative Build feature, and provides implementations for most common build systems, including cmake, meson, autotools and python (setuptools/pip). Build/install instructions for many packages can now be reduced to something as simple as BuildSystem: cmake.
OM-Welcome, the new Startup and Configuration tool for OpenMandriva Lx is now a merge of modules from the historical brand-name applications oma-welcome and om-control-center features.
It aims to be a convenient centralized all-in-one starting point both to configure the system and to install software.
As usual, the new ROME release comes with many improvements, and keeps track of current security updates.
ROME 24.07 RC key highlights and major changes:
Plenty of software upgraded to the most recent version, as default in the ISO install media or available in repositories;
Desktop Environments: Plasma Desktop 6.1.1 (and 5.27.11), KDE Applications 24.05.1 (and 23.08.5), KDE Frameworks 6.3.0 (and 5.116), Qt 6.7.2 (and 5.15.14)
Kernel: 6.9.7, built with clang (6.10.0 rc6 also available)
Development Tools: LLVM/Clang 18.1.8, GCC 14.1.0, Glibc 2.39, Systemd 255.7, Mesa 24.1.2
Applications: LibreOffice Suite 24.2.4 with Qt 6 and Plasma 6 integration, Chromium Browser 126.0.6478.126, Firefox 127.0, Falkon 24.05.1;
Virtualbox 7.0.18, Krita 5.2.3, Gimp 2.10.38, Digikam 8.3.0, OBS Studio 30.2.0 beta, QMPlay2 24.06.16, VLC 3.0.21, VokoscreenNG 4.2.0, Telegram Desktop 5.1.7
Download ROME 24.07
At SourceForge
To perform full update after installation, open terminal and type:
sudo dnf clean all;dnf clean all;dnf repolist
sudo dnf --refresh --allowerasing distro-syncUsers are encouraged to report impressions and issues at the official forum.
Critical issues should be documented via bug report.
Real-time interaction with developers is facilitated joining the #openmandriva-cooker:matrix.org room on matrix.
If you want to contribute or support OpenMandriva development, consider joining the team or making a donation.