Feren OS 2022.04 — smaller refinements

Before I do the announcement part of this whole announcement, let me just get these out of the way now: This is still based on Ubuntu 20.04, not 22.04 (that’s normal), and this is another ‘calm before the storm’ release as Feren OS’s new Store and new icon set update are in the works and neither of them are anywhere near ready yet.

Anyway, today, I’m proud to announce the release of Feren OS 2022.04. These releases are a regular occurence that usually occur every 4 months and provide the latest updates to Feren OS at the time of the ISO’s release right from the get-go.

Updating to Feren OS 2022.04

As always, it’s simple to update to Feren OS 2022.04. Just go into the Update Manager, hit Refresh, and install any updates that might be there. Once you’ve done that, congrats, you’re now on Feren OS 2022.04!

That being said, some users are reporting still having issues with the KDE Plasma 5.24 update, issues inherited from KDE neon (and thus affecting neon as well) ‘downgrading’ an essential package in the package manager’s eyes ever since Plasma 5.23, so if Feren OS was unable to automatically fix that issue for you after updating, there are two methods for fixing a broken install here, if you know what you are doing: https://github.com/feren-OS/Bug-Reporting-Center/issues/272#issuecomment-1080956824.

Changes

Vivaldi’s Feren OS customised configuration got an overhaul

I, a few days ago (when writing this part), decided to take it upon myself to try and change Vivaldi’s configuration in Feren OS to make Vivaldi a way more approachable interface for the new user. My focuses here were to make a balance between Vivaldi’s functionality and a simple browser with not too many whistles, so as to not scare an everyday person trying out Vivaldi in Feren OS for the first time.

Suffice to say, after two revisions I have given Feren OS’s Vivaldi configuration an overhaul to be a lot simpler, with changes including:

• No more Vivaldi skill level selection screen, unless you manually go to the options yourself on the Welcome page, to not potentially overwhelm a newcomer with that choice the very moment they start using Vivaldi
• Tab Position has also now been skipped on the Welcome page, since that choice is easily made later on
• Downloads and Reading List were moved to the top toolbar by default
• Window Panel (Sidebar item) is disabled by default
• The Feren OS pins on the Sidebar were removed, since Vivaldi already has enough sidebar items, and the Feren OS Start Page can substitute those pins
• Capture Page was moved to the top toolbar by default
• The status bar is set to Overlay again for the first time since Feren OS’s early years
• KDE Connect is now pre-installed as an extension, meaning you don’t need to manually install it anymore

New wallpapers, including a new default wallpaper

Just like every single other version/snapshot ever made for Feren OS, there are a new set of wallpapers to choose from.
With this version comes new wallpapers from Unsplash, as is the norm, so you have new and fresh wallpapers to try and enjoy on your Feren OS device.

That being said, this version also sadly marks the completion of a phase-out of older Feren OS wallpapers. Yes, this does sadly mean the famous Feren OS logo wallpaper is now no more.

In this version, the only old wallpaper left is the Login Screen background by fellow team member Thibault Clm. All the remaining wallpapers have been removed due to their age.

If you want to keep the good ol’ wallpapers, they will at least still be available, for now, via older wallpaper sets.

Anyway, new default wallpaper:

A new default profile picture

Alright, alright, people who don’t like Thibault’s christmas tree light image as the default profile picture, you can now rejoice: One of Thibault’s other profile pictures for Feren OS has now replaced it as the default profile picture that new user accounts will now be using as of Feren OS 2022.04.

This was actually planned for 2022.03, but I ultimately delayed it until 2022.04 to just give this release something extra to be noted for doing.

Other changes and bug fixes

• The titlebar button hover and pressed appearances in Chrome and Chromium have been fixed — a workaround for a bug, at the time the workaround was introduced, affecting the pre-2022.03 buttons was still in place and is now removed, fixing the button appearances entirely
• The colour of the titlebar buttons when using the Coloured Titlebars colour scheme was fixed
• The height of Feren Applications Menu was reverted due to blur-mask issues
• Mozilla Firefox’s custom configuration was updated to fix some config breakages due to changes made since the configuration’s debut, along with other issues
• Feren OS’s Global Theme settings page redesign was updated to the newer official KDE Plasma 5.25 version of the Global Theme settings page redesign

Reminder — Feren OS Classic reaches end of life this month next year

Ultimately, this is also a great opportunity to mention that we are nearly at the “1 year remaining” mark of Feren OS Classic’s support period. At the end of April next year, Feren OS Classic will officially be discontinued, never to get security updates or software updates ever again, outside of major updater fixes and updates.

For 32-bit users, this means you have just over one year left before Feren OS no longer is supported on your hardware. For 64-bit users, this means you have just over one year left to make the decision to transition to Linux Mint with the Major Updater, or update to the latest and greatest Feren OS with the Major Updater.

I do plan on doing something very very special on the week, if not the day, Feren OS Classic reaches end of life, next year, so do look forward to that.

Conclusion

Other than that, you can download Feren OS 2022.04 from the usual place of the Feren OS website. Enjoy Feren OS’s latest release!