If you like the Plasma desktop and don’t care a little more about the fragmentation of the distribution, I have some smart and wonderful news. KDE is launching its own flagship Linux distribution, lately called “Project Banana”, with the aim of introducing it. as “the KDE operating system”. And a prototype already exists.
But what exactly is Project Banana, how will it stand out from the plethora of giant KDE Plasma distributions already out there, and why does it want to exist?
If you are confused, that confusion is justified. KDE Neon has been touted as the Linux distribution to install if you need the newest and most extensive features and updates to the Plasma desktop. They are served using the newest Ubuntu LTS (Long Term Support) base, with no reported patches or adjustments to default settings. Basically, as the developers intended. KDE Neon offers four other editions aimed at a variety of use cases, and the distribution itself is aimed at “KDE enthusiasts. “
But if you’re a fan of the Plasma desktop, you also have Kubuntu, the official KDE edition of Ubuntu. Fedora’s KDE Desktop Spin has just been upgraded from a GNOME Workstation Edition option (a “Spin”) to an official offering. Then SteamOS 3, Garuda, Tuxedo OS, and dozens of other counterfeit distros that ship with Plasma.
This begs the question: why do we want to build the flagship KDE Plasma distribution in-house?
KDE recently shared a preview of the distribution in development, but would treat it as an ambitious design document and not a roadmap set in stone. Still, there is a lot to notice in the details.
Let’s start with the project’s stated purpose: “To create a bulletproof operational formula that includes KDE features that we can proudly present to users and OEMs, with a consistent ‘here’s how to get it’ story. “.
Someone with a background in marketing and logo identity definitely wrote this sentence. As KDE continues to gain awareness and increase its fundraising efforts, it is vital to have 100 percent on how its products and logos are presented to everyday end users, developers, and business partners.
The team offers an advantage: “KDE can explicitly present it without ‘choosing favorites’ among other channel partners. “
Free of outside influence, in control of its own narrative, and directly in charge of its business relationships. This all makes a lot of sense.
The architecture of the distribution is where KDE Linux deviates from anything like KDE Neon. According to the document, it will use Arch as a base with “some degree of continuous updating. ” Like SteamOS and Fedora Kinoite, this fundamental formula will be read-only. Additionally, photos will be “atomic,” allowing for simple restores in case an update introduces unwanted problems.
The team also aims to perform automatic and simple backups of user Btrfs snapshots, with a sleek graphical interface fostered through Apple’s Time Machine on macOS.
Other interesting information: the default Wayland session, the default Flatpak software and the possibility to switch between the 3 editions offered.
The planned editions take a page from KDE Neon: Testing, Enthusiast, and Stable. Notably, the Stable edition of KDE Linux is intended for “everyone else,” as opposed to the Stable edition of KDE Neon being meant for enthusiasts. That’s an important distinction and I hope it forecasts a very user-friendly operating system.
But will KDE Neon update? I’m not sure, but there’s an important trace in the document: “KDE neon meets the requirement of “distributed via KDE”, but fails from a reliability standpoint due to the Ubuntu LTS base which, ironically, becomes volatile because it has to be modified for Plasma to lean on it, thus breaking the promise of the LTS.
At the time of writing, it is unknown when KDE Linux, or “Project Banana,” will be in a position to be widely used. The design document has a Roadmap section, but it’s empty lately. It will be desirable to see this expand openly, and as a fan of all things KDE, I will keep you posted as the task reaches certain milestones.
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