Ubuntu Studio Switching To KDE Plasma Desktop

Ubuntu Studio Switching To KDE Plasma desktop

Ubuntu Studio is one of the popular Ubuntu derivatives. Ubuntu Studio 20.04 LTS is the latest version, based on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. This release is a Long-Term Support release and it is supported for 3 years (until April 2023).

Ubuntu Studio Switching To KDE Plasma desktop

Yes, you heard it right as Ubuntu Studio is switching to KDE Plasma desktop from upcoming releases. You will see KDE Plasma desktop environment as a default desktop environment from Ubuntu Studio 20.10.

Ubuntu Studio 20.04 LTS will be the final release of Ubuntu Studio using the Xfce Desktop Environment.

From the blogpost:

Future versions of Ubuntu Studio, beginning with 20.10, will be using the KDE Plasma Desktop Environment by default. Plasma has proven to have better tools for graphics artists and photographers, as can be seen in Gwenview, Krita, and even the file manager Dolphin. Additionally, it has Wacom tablet support better than any other desktop environment.

It has become so good that the majority of the Ubuntu Studio team is now using Kubuntu with Ubuntu Studio added-on via Ubuntu Studio Installer as their daily driver. With so many of us using Plasma, the timing just seems right to focus on a transition to Plasma with our next release.

For audio production, nothing in terms of resource usage changes. If the display compositor proves to be problematic, a simple alt-shift-F12 disables the display compositor. It can also be disabled from starting at login. A known resource hog from KDE, the Akonadi server in the KDE Personal Information manager, will not be included by default (Kubuntu currently does not use KDE PIM, but Thunderbird as do we). The Plasma desktop environment has, without Akonadi, become just as light in resource usage as Xfce, perhaps even lighter. Other audio-focused Linux distributions, such as Fedora Jam and KXStudio, have historically used the KDE Plasma desktop environment and done well with audio.