14 DAY TRIAL // The KDE Project today released the beta version of its upcoming KDE Applications 17.12 open-source software suite for GNU/Linux operating systems.
Now that the KDE Applications 17.08 series reached end of life last week with the release of its last maintenance update, KDE Applications 17.08.3, it's time to look forward to the next major update, KDE Applications 17.12, coming December 14, 2017, to a GNU/Linux distro near you.
KDE Applications 17.12 entered development a while ago, and, as of today, it's available in a beta form for public testing. This release promises to port more KDE apps to the latest KDE Frameworks 5 stack, including JuK, KGet, Sweeper, KMix, KMouth, KImageMapEditor, Palapeli, and Kolf.
On the other hand, it will drop support for several KDE apps and modules, including the Blogilo blogging client, Jovie text-to-speech subsystem, which was replaced by Qt Speech, KRemoteControl LIRC frontend, KPPP dialer for pppd, KStars astronomy software, as well as the popular Kopete instant messenger client.
"With dependency and feature freezes in place, the KDE team's focus is now on fixing bugs and further polishing," reads today's announcement. "The KDE Applications 17.12 releases need a thorough testing in order to maintain and improve the quality and user experience."
KDE Applications 17.12 Release Candidate launching November 30
The development of the KDE Applications 17.12 software suite will continue at the end of the month with the Release Candidate (RC) milestone, which should be out on November 30. After that, the final release is expected on December 14, 2017, and the series will be supported until March 2018.
Until then, you can try out the beta release of the KDE Applications 17.12 software suite on your favorite GNU/Linux distribution if the packages are available for it. Most likely, KDE Neon will be the first GNU/Linux distribution to offer the KDE Applications 17.12 beta on its Developer Edition.