14 DAY TRIAL // The KDE maintainers for Kubuntu 14.04.3 have upgraded the desktop environment to version 4.14.3 and users should now get the newest package.
Just like Ubuntu LTS, the Kubuntu project also has an LTS version every two years. Kubuntu 14.04 LTS was launched more than a year and a half ago, and it’s still being maintained. Even if technically, the KDE maintainers were under no obligation to continue to provide upgrades for these particular components, they did it nonetheless.
“I have been hard at work to bring to you 4.14.3 Bugfix release for Trusty! Yes, a bit of a delay here due to lack of manpower. Better late than never right? :) The updates have been uploaded to Trusty backports PPA. Enjoy!” wrote Scarlett Clark on her blog.
As the announcement says, users will need to have the option backports checked in the update manager in order to get the new version. Once they do that, they just need to upgrade the system, either with the provided tool or with a few simple commands, from a terminal (root is needed):
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
Why not KDE 5.x?
The modern KDE versions can’t work with older versions or at least not without a lot of work. This would divert efforts from the regular development cycle and that could be a problem.
As it stands right now, Kubuntu 14.04.3 is the only way to properly use the old KDE SC version of the desktop environment. The distribution is still supported and some users who are not happy with the way the new KDE is evolving might choose this version instead.
You can download Kubuntu 14.04.3 right now from Softpedia and give it a try. Don’t forget to change the settings for the backports repository and to upgrade the system as soon as possible.