The latest version of this KDE-based distribution can be downloaded from Softpedia

Aug 1, 2014 12:29 GMT  ·  By

Kubuntu 14.10 Alpha 2 (Utopic Unicorn) is now ready for download and its developers provide both the KDE 4.14 branch and the new Plasma 5 for testing.

Kubuntu 14.10 Alpha 2 (Utopic Unicorn) is based on KDE 4.14.x, but the developers are also tracking the upcoming KDE Frameworks 5. This latter version won't be provided by default in Kubuntu, although they made it possible for users to test it.

Besides the integration of KDE Applications and Platform 4.14 Beta, which took over from the 4.13.x branch, the new release is not all that exciting.

“Plasma 4 is our recommended stable offering and what you get from the default download, but is now in maintenance mode. It runs the software you are familiar with and will be getting updates and bugfixes but not new features from now on.”

“Plasma 5 a work in progress. The next generation of KDE Software is still a work in progress. You can test it and install it from the Kubuntu Plasma 5 image but beware it will remove your stable software,” the developers say.

KDE Frameworks and Plasma 5 are still a long way from being implemented in Kubuntu, although other developers might not have a problem making some new distros with Plasma 5 as default. It's very likely that Kubuntu 15.04 will be the one to feature the new KDE components, but there's still a long time until then.

As you would expect from a piece of software that's still in development, users will only be able to install the system with the English language pack, and syslinux offers no OEM mode on Kubuntu Utopic Alpha 2. These are just the problems that are known, but other bugs certainly exist.

It's also possible to upgrade to the new Kubuntu 14.10 Alpha 2 (Utopic Unicorn) from Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (Trusty Tahr), but that would only be advisable if you know what you are doing. The developers are working constantly on the system and they might break it from time to time. If you insist on upgrading, then all you have to do is to open a terminal and enter the following command (you will have to be root):

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sudo kubuntu-devel-release-upgrade
Kubuntu 14.10 (Utopic Unicorn) will be supported for a period of nine months, just like the Ubuntu base. Check the official announcement for more details about this release. You can download Kubuntu 14.10 Alpha 2 (Utopic Unicorn) right now from Softpedia and Kubuntu with Plasma 5 from the official website.

Remember that this is a development version and it should NOT be installed on production machines. It is intended for testing purposes only.