Mar 17, 2021
KDE Plasma 5.21 has arrived in Feren OS!
I’m proud to announce that KDE Plasma 5.21.2 has just landed in Feren OS’s latest release, now available from Update Manager!
You can see what the changes to KDE Plasma upstream are at https://kde.org/announcements/plasma/5/5.21.0/
Feren OS specific patches
This Plasma version has something special going for it in Feren OS: Its patches.
Plasma 5.22’s Adaptive Panel Transparency
You heard that right — Feren OS’s Plasma 5.21 backports a new feature from the upcoming Plasma 5.22 release, being Adaptive Panel Transparency.
For those from Feren OS Classic, you may be familiar with this feature already as it was prevalent in Feren OS Classic for multiple years by default. For the uninformed, the panel will go opaque when windows are maximised.
Therefore, this same ideology is now present in Feren OS’s KDE Plasma 5.21 for supported Plasma Styles (currently the Breeze and Feren OS Plasma Styles) by default. It’s great to have this feature back, in my honest opinion.
Other Patches
- Added submitted patch that fixes the issue with small width Plasma panels still having reserved space for the Edit Mode Only button.
- Backported 5.22’s Remove KRunner from Desktop right-click menu patch since Tour gives users other methods of launching KRunner.
Feren OS specific changes
Plasma 5.21’s introduction to Feren OS is alongside some huge changes in frontend and backend of the Feren OS experience, too.
A new Applications Menu
It was a long time coming, but it’s finally the end of a short era. Simple Menu has been removed from Feren OS’s default experience.
But, in its place, a new applications menu arises. Meet Feren Applications Menu, based on KDE Plasma 5.21’s Kickoff.
Status Notch
For the uninformed, the Status Notch is this thing on the top of the screen in the Default Feren OS Layout:
In the Plasma 5.21 update, the Status Notch has seen a massive change, albeit not obvious on first looks. While it used to be a Latte Dock, it’s now instead a Plasma panel out of the box. This is a huge change because it means the Feren OS Default Layout no longer makes use of Latte at all, which means a minor resources optimisation has also been achieved.
Feren OS theme
The Feren OS theme has been updated throughout for this update to add a new stylistic choice, imported from a submitted patch for the Breeze window decorations style, to add better contrasting between the windows.
Furthermore, fixes have been made for the GTK3 theme for when compositing’s disabled, mainly regarding the thicc borders applications used to have around them.
Finally, the whole Feren OS Plasma Style has been entirely redone for this Plasma version, with major consistency tweaks and more to address some past feedback on the themes’ design.
Layout updates and improved icon-size consistency
Furthermore, every single Feren OS layout with a non-thin panel present has been updated in the KDE Plasma 5.21 update, now making use of a new Plasma 5.21 feature — Margin Separators.
Because of this change, all of those layouts now have consistent System Tray icon sizing across the whole tray.
Plasma Firewall is here
Introduced in Plasma 5.21, Plasma Firewall has arrived and taken the place of GUFW in Feren OS, sporting an easy interface for configuring Feren OS’s UFW Firewall.
Kubuntu Global Theme Patch depreciation
Finally, if anyone used the patched Kubuntu Global Theme, then you should know that after this update that Global Theme patch is now no more — Breeze Twilight has now taken its place since they’re basically the same configuration.
Other Notes
- Users settings is now officially in Feren OS
- Upon updating, existing users will be prompted about resetting their current layout for that one time
Breeze Twilight
Finally, I guess I should point this out since I mentioned Breeze Twilight earlier:
Yes, I was the person who submitted Breeze Twilight to KDE. You’re welcome. This has probably been my most significant contribution so far to KDE out of a few contributions so far, but alas I plan to increase that number over time.
Now, onto Plasma 5.21.3… when that comes in.
