We are going with another release, which we accumulate: we are talking about Nitrux 1.6 (Available to Download) , a singular distribution where they exist, and it is that there are not many those that use a recognizable, but ultra-modified KDE Plasma as a desktop environment. Nitrux, in addition, is a project with a fairly light march, at the rate of a monthly version in which there are significant changes.
It has been several years since we talked to you about Nitrux for the first time, although as I said, the pace of development of the distribution has picked up quite a bit, a remarkable fact to have only three developers, of which it is the Mexican Uri Herrara who directs the draft. Since then, my opinion regarding Nitrux has changed: it doesn’t excite me, but it doesn’t leave me cold either, but I am interested in how it evolves.
In case someone doesn’t know it, the nNitrux project describes itself as “a desktop Linux distribution based directly on Debian. It uses the Calamares installer and includes NX Desktop and NX Firewall, as well as the KDE Plasma 5 desktop environment and the MauiKit « applications . Formerly known as Nomad Desktop, NX Desktop is “a custom layer for Plasma 5” while MauiKit is a framework for frontend modular “with which to develop user experiences.”
MauiKit is, in fact, the defining aspect of Nitrux. Dichio other words, the framework of frontend modular “with which to develop user experiences” pivots around Kirigami the framework of KDE to create converged applications and QQC2, a style for QtQuickControls2, the module Qt on which it is based . The Maui Applications are Nitru * sauce, very interesting in appearance, although I have tried to try them a couple of times without success.
Returning with Nitrux 1.6, this release is nothing more than a summation and continues from what has already been seen: Linux 5.4 remains as the default kernel, with the option to update to the very latest Linux 5.14 ; It also offers the possibility of using optimized kernels such as Liquorix and Xanmod (5.13) and even opting for the additive-free version, Linux-Libre (5.10, 5.13). In terms of desktop and applications, Nitrux 1.6 includes KDE Plasma 5.22.4, KDE Frameworks 5.8, KDE Gear 21.08, and of course the latest from MauiKit and Maui Applications.
The ‘surprise’ of the launch, however, is the addition of NX Software Center 1.0 , whose name is not misleading, with nuances. And it is “a graphical frontend to manage AppImage (and only AppImage) built with MauiKit”, with AppImageHub as a repository. Besides, Nitruix 1.6 also has the option to install the KDE application store, Discover, through which it is possible to access ordinary repositories or add support for Flathub (or the Snap Store, which is not named, but It also can).
Other new features in Nitrux 1.6 include default support for touchpad gestures, only for X11; a new theme for the ZSH terminal emulator or new scripts with effects for KWin and various other details. If you want to try, remember to read the official Nitrux 1.6 announcement carefully, because there are mentioned different things to take into consideration, for example to install in virtual machines and that everything flows accordingly.
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