Tag: kde

Kororaa 16 (Chum) released

It was a little while in coming, but it was worth the wait! It is my pleasure to announce the release of Kororaa 16 (codename “Chum”) which is now available for download.

Features
Derived from Fedora 161, this updated release comes with the usual Kororaa extras out of the box, such as:

  • Tweaked KDE 4.7, GNOME 3.2 and base systems
  • Third party repositories (Adobe, Chrome, RPMFusion, VirtualBox)
  • Firefox 8 as the default web browser (with integration theme for KDE)
  • Firefox extensions included (Adblock Plus, DownThemAll, Flashblock, Xclear)
  • Microblogging client (Choqok for KDE, Empathy for GNOME)
  • Full multimedia support (excluding Flash, see next)
  • Installer for Adobe Flash plugin
  • Jockey device manager to handle drivers such as AMD/ATI and NVIDIA
  • Video editor (Kdenlive for KDE, OpenShot for GNOME)
  • VLC as the default media player
  • SELinux enabled (particularly worthwhile for Flash)
  • English (Australian/British) support & dictionaries
  • and more..

Desktops
The GNOME 3 desktop has several custom themes available, as well as numerous extensions to provide an enhanced user experience (and help ease the transition from GNOME 2.x). It also comes with the GNOME Tweak Tool to allow further customisation.
Kororaa 16 desktop - GNOME

The KDE desktop has a custom layout with specific default applications, such as Firefox for the web and VLC for media, etc.
Kororaa 16 desktop - KDE

Upgrade
It is still recommended that existing Kororaa users perform a fresh install, however we are working on experimental support for in-place upgrade and hope to post more information soon.

Users still on Kororaa 14 should upgrade to 16 as the older version is no longer supported upstream. Unfortunately for users who wish to stay with GNOME 2.x, this means you will need to upgrade to GNOME 3. Do not despair however, Kororaa includes a desktop switcher for GNOME 3, so that users can switch between the new Shell interface and the 2.x style Fallback mode. Just run the “Switch between Shell and Fallback desktops” link on the desktop (see screenshot above).

Word of thanks
We are starting to get a nice little community around Kororaa and I’d to thank everyone for their help and support, which is greatly appreciated. I’d like to especially thank the following people (in alphabetical order), who have helped make this release possible:

  • Alan Gindlesperger (almigi)
  • Hedayat Vatankhah (Parsidora Fedora Remix)
  • Ian Firns (firnsy)
  • Jason Nielsen
  • Jim Dean (ozjd)
  • Liam Campbell (lijcam)
  • Matthew Oliver

Feedback
We’d love to hear your feedback on the forums, so download it today and let us know! 🙂

Thanks!

Note: Kororaa is not provided or supported by the Fedora Project. Official, unmodified Fedora software is available through the Fedora Project website.

Kororaa 16 (Chum) Beta released

The first beta release of Kororaa 16 (codename “Chum”) has been released and is available for download, in 32 and 64 bit versions for KDE and GNOME. This new release includes major updates of most packages including the kernel, office and desktops (KDE 4.7 and GNOME 3.2).

Upgrade
We are currently working on a way for existing version 15 users to upgrade to the final release of version 16, however this is not yet available for the beta release. For those wanting to test out this release, it is recommended to perform a fresh install or use a virtual machine. It’s a Live DVD, so it can be tested without installation too 🙂

Known issues

  • Some addons for GNOME have caused crashes and the gnome-shell-extension-alternative-status-menu is not included in the beta. To shutdown, hold down the Alt key while hovering over Suspend option in menu.
  • Searching (Alt + F2) in GNOME causes Shell to crash.
  • Jockey (the proprietary driver manager) was accidentally left out, but is installable (GNOME: jockey-gtk jockey-selinux KDE: jockey-kde jockey-selinux)

Desktops
The GNOME 3 desktop has several extensions to provide an enhanced user experience (and help ease the transition from GNOME 2.x). It also comes with the GNOME Tweak Tool to allow further customisation.
Kororaa 16 desktop - GNOME

The KDE desktop has a custom layout with specific default applications, such as Firefox for the web and VLC for media, etc.
Kororaa 16 desktop - KDE

Features
Derived from Fedora 161, this new major release comes with the usual Kororaa extras out of the box, such as:

  • Tweaked KDE 4.7 and GNOME 3.2 base systems
  • Third party repositories (Adobe, Chrome, RPMFusion, VirtualBox)
  • Firefox 8 as the default web browser (integrated with KDE)
  • Firefox extensions included (Adblock Plus, DownThemAll, Flashblock, Xclear)
  • Microblogging client (Choqok for KDE, Empathy for GNOME)
  • Full multimedia support (excluding Flash, see next)
  • Installer for Adobe Flash plugin
  • Jockey device manager to handle drivers such as AMD/ATI and NVIDIA
  • Video editor (Kdenlive for KDE, OpenShot for GNOME)
  • VLC as the default media player
  • SELinux enabled (particularly worthwhile for Flash)
  • English (Australian/British) support & dictionaries
  • and more..

Feedback
We’d love to hear your feedback on the forums, so download it today and let us know! 🙂

Thanks!

Note: Kororaa is not provided or supported by the Fedora Project. Official, unmodified Fedora software is available through the Fedora Project website.

Kororaa 15.1 (Squirt) released

The second release of Kororaa 15 (codename “Squirt”) has been released. Version 15.1 is available for download, in 32 and 64 bit with KDE 4.6 and GNOME 3.

This release includes a number of fixes and enhancements, as listed below. A special thanks to Prashanth for the review of Kororaa 15 which outlined many of these shortcomings.

Major changes:

  • Fixed KDE crash in live mode (prelink wasn’t properly disabled)
  • Fixed Kdenlive bug which stopped it from running
  • Fixed KPackagekit crash in live mode
  • Bypass the login screen and load straight to desktop
  • Disable screensaver and locked screen in live mode
  • Renamed desktop switcher to “Switch between Shell and Fallback desktops”
  • Added Google Talk Plugin repo for easy installation
  • Added a wrapper package (skype-helper) for Skype dependencies (can’t ship Skype though)
  • Added more GNOME Shell themes
  • Removed Gloobus preview (not complete in Fedora)
  • Removed GNOME Appearance Properties link (deprecated in GNOME 3)
  • Removed Synaptic package manager
  • Removed Miro (currently broken upstream)
  • Updated to Firefox 7
  • Updated to Openshot 1.4

Kororaa 15.1 comes with an RPM metapackage to install and configure Adobe Flash, now that Add/Remove Extras is gone. To get flash, install the flash-plugin-helper package. To remove flash, uninstall the flash-plugin package.

Kororaa 15.1 also comes with an RPM metapackage to install the dependencies for Skype (but not Skype itself). Simply install the skype-helper package, then download the Skype package for Fedora from their website and install using the package manager.

Upgrade
Existing Kororaa 15 users need not upgrade to 15.1 as these changes mostly affect live mode, while others have been pushed out via system updates.

Users still on Kororaa 14 may wish to upgrade to 15.1 and should do so via a new install (backup your data if necessary). Users who wish to stay with GNOME 2.x should not upgrade to 15.1, as it comes with GNOME 3. However, Kororaa 15.1 does include a desktop switcher for GNOME 3, so that users can switch between the new Shell interface and the 2.x style Fallback mode using the “Switch between Shell and Fallback desktops” link on the desktop.

Desktops
The GNOME 3 desktop has a custom theme available, as well as several extensions to provide an enhanced user experience (and help ease the transition from GNOME 2.x). It also comes with the GNOME Tweak Tool to allow further customisation.
Kororaa 15 desktop - GNOME

The KDE desktop has a custom layout with specific default applications, such as Firefox for the web and VLC for media, etc. It now also comes with Linphone for those wanting a SIP client.
Kororaa 15 desktop - KDE

Features
Derived from Fedora 151, this updated release comes with the usual Kororaa extras out of the box, such as:

  • Tweaked KDE 4.6 and GNOME 3 base systems
  • Third party repositories (Adobe, Chrome, RPMFusion, VirtualBox)
  • Firefox 7 as the default web browser (with integration tweaks for KDE)
  • Firefox extensions included (Adblock Plus, DownThemAll, Flashblock, Xclear)
  • Microblogging client (Choqok for KDE, Gwibber for GNOME)
  • Full multimedia support (excluding Flash, see next)
  • Installer for Adobe Flash plugin
  • Jockey device manager to handle drivers such as AMD/ATI and NVIDIA
  • Video editor (Kdenlive for KDE, OpenShot for GNOME)
  • VLC as the default media player
  • SELinux enabled (particularly worthwhile for Flash)
  • English (Australian/British) support & dictionaries
  • and more..

Feedback
We’d love to hear your feedback on the forums, so download it today and let us know! 🙂

Thanks!

Note: Kororaa is not provided or supported by the Fedora Project. Official, unmodified Fedora software is available through the Fedora Project website.

Kororaa 15 (Squirt) Beta 2 released

The second beta release of Kororaa 15 (codename “Squirt”) has been released and is available for download, in 32 and 64 bit with KDE 4.6 and GNOME 3.

This release fixes the black screen issue that some users were reporting, as well as having the desktop theme customisations for KDE (as well as GNOME) correctly applied. The usual Kororaa goodies apply.

The GNOME 3 desktop has a custom theme applied, as well as several extensions to provide an enhanced user experience.
Kororaa 15 Beta desktop - GNOME

The KDE desktop has a custom layout with specific default applications, such as Firefox for the web and VLC for media.
Kororaa 15 Beta desktop - KDE

Derived from Fedora 151, this updated release comes with the usual Kororaa extras out of the box, such as:

  • Tweaked KDE 4.6 and GNOME 3 base systems
  • Third party repositories (Adobe, Chrome, RPMFusion, VirtualBox)
  • Firefox 5 as the default web browser (with integration tweaks for KDE)
  • Firefox extensions included (Adblock Plus, Flashblock, Xclear)
  • Microblogging client (Choqok for KDE, Gwibber for GNOME)
  • Full multimedia support (excluding Flash, see next)
  • Installer for Adobe Flash, AMD/ATI and NVIDIA video drivers
  • Video editor (Kdenlive for KDE, OpenShot for GNOME)
  • VLC as the default media player
  • KSplice, for rebootless kernel updates
  • SELinux enabled (particularly worthwhile for Flash)
  • English (Australian/British) support & dictionaries
  • and more..

Bug fixes:

  • Fixed the black screen issue
  • Applied custom desktop changes in KDE and 32bit GNOME

Known issues

  • Nothing reported yet..

We’d love to hear your feedback on the forums, so download it today and let us know! 🙂

Thanks!

Note: Kororaa is not provided or supported by the Fedora Project. Official, unmodified Fedora software is available through the Fedora Project website.

Kororaa 14 (Nemo) Beta 5 released

Kororaa 14 (Nemo) Beta 5 has been released for download, in 32 and 64 bit with KDE and GNOME. If you’ve been waiting to try out Kororaa, this is the version to test!

Kororaa 14 (Nemo) GNOME desktop

I have finally packaged up all of the system changes we make, into RPMs in the Kororaa repository. This means future changes can be pushed out via updates – theoretically, no need to re-install when the new release comes out (unless you want to).

This version is recommended for all new installs. For existing installations, you can update get these changes by installing the following packages:
sudo yum install kororaa*

New features:

  • Update to Firefox 4 by default for KDE and GNOME
  • Packaged all Kororaa system changes into RPM repository

Bug fixes:

  • Fixed missing dictionaries in LibreOffice

We’d love to hear your feedback on the forums, so download it today! 🙂

Thanks!

Kororaa 14 Beta3 – Remove KDE themed Firefox in GNOME

I accidentally included the KDE Oxygen theme for the GNOME version of Beta3 (it was correct in Beta2). This means that GNOME users of Kororaa will get a KDE themed Firefox – not quite what I had in mind! KDE users don’t need to do anything, and should have a nice, pretty Firefox.

So, thanks to Arv3n for posting it in the forums, I have fixed it for the next release, but you can also fix it yourself in Beta3. Here’s how.

System wide (for any new accounts created):
sudo rm -Rf /usr/lib*/firefox-3.6/defaults/profile/extensions/\{C1F83B1E-D6EE-11DE-B441-1AD556D89593\}
sudo rm -Rf /usr/lib*/firefox-3.6/defaults/profile/extensions/plasmanotify@andreas-demmer.de
sudo sed -i '/.*oxygen.*/d' /usr/lib*/firefox-3.6/defaults/profile/prefs.js

Your account, close Firefox and run:
rm -Rf ~/.mozilla/firefox/*/extensions/\{C1F83B1E-D6EE-11DE-B441-1AD556D89593\}
rm -Rf ~/.mozilla/firefox/*/extensions/plasmanotify@andreas-demmer.de
sed -i '/.*oxygen.*/d' ~/.mozilla/firefox/*/prefs.js

Sorry about that!!!

-c

Kororaa 14 (Nemo) Beta3 released

Kororaa 14 (Nemo) Beta3 has been released for download, in 32 and 64 bit with KDE and GNOME.

It is recommended to back up your data and perform a fresh install as this fixes several important bugs.

New features:

  • Latest packages including updated kernel, latest KDE, and GNOME
  • Added Kdenlive video editor to KDE
  • Added HandBrake ripper
  • Set previews for various file types in Dolphin (KDE)
  • Added Fedora printer configuration tool to KDE
  • Added deja-dup backup tool
  • Replaced PiTiVi with OpenShot in GNOME
  • Fixed Elementary theme issue under Nautilus in GNOME
  • PolicyKit tweaks for printing, should be seamless (please test!)

Bug fixes:

  • Lots 🙂
  • Problem with new users being added to wheel group
  • Dropped Livna repository due to unreliability
  • Fixed bugs in add-removes-extras script

We’d love to hear your feedback on the forums, so download it today! 🙂

Thanks!

Kororaa Beta2 released – new GNOME version, KSplice, LibreOffice

Kororaa 14 (Nemo) Beta2 has been released for download.

This release includes several fixes, updates to all your favourite applications, as well as the following major changes:

Download it today! 🙂

-c

Kororaa Lite (KDE) beta released

Kororaa Lite (KDE) has been released and is now available for download in 32 and 64 bit.

Kororaa Lite 14 (Nemo) desktop

Kororaa Lite is a minimal KDE based system which provides a smaller footprint for users to then install the programs they want. It disables various services and cuts out some hefty KDE features by default, to reduce the resource footprint. It might be useful for netbooks and lower-end systems, or users who want to start with a solid base and build up from there.

It is designed to provide Internet connectivity out of the box and focuses on the following:

  • CD size (<= 700MB)
  • Smaller resource footprint
  • Network-ability (wireless, VPN, dial-up)
  • Internet browsing and social networking
  • Multimedia support
  • Broad hardware support
  • Uses KDE Netbook interface by default (changeable)

As with the full Kororaa release, it includes:

  • Third party repositories (Adobe, Google Chrome, Livna, RPMFusion)
  • Firefox as the default web browser
  • VLC as the default media player
  • Installers for Adobe Flash and NVIDIA drivers
  • SELinux enabled (particularly worthwhile for Flash)

Unlike the full Kororaa, it does not provide these out of the box:

  • Full range of applications (no office suite, PIM, java, or graphics tools, etc)
  • Build tools required for building external modules
  • Extra fonts
  • Printing support

Please test it out and provide any feedback you might have, especially if you have ideas on how to further tweak KDE to reduce resource footprint!

Thanks,
Chris