Feren OS现在是围绕UbuntuLinux18.04和KDE Plasma桌面而不是LinuxMint构建的。肉桂桌面版可能在今年晚些时候退役。
Ubuntu的母公司Canonical去年春天发布了ubuntu18.04，Bionic Beaver，作为一个长期支持版本，有效期至2023年4月。Canonical在去年10月发布了一个更新的版本，Ubuntu19.10，EoanErmine，支持周期为9个月，将于今年7月结束。
Feren OS开发者上个月发布了这个伪滚动版本的新版本，代号为“Yttrium”。这个新的Feren OS 2019.12快照通过测试过程被称为“Feren OS Next”，代表了发行版的新发展方向，具有高度定制的等离子设计。
Feren OS社区还发布了Feren OS肉桂版的主要维护快照更新，现在被称为“ferenos经典版”。英国制造的Linux发行版的开发者在假期的变更通知中解释说，还没有决定是否要将肉桂桌面版保留到即将结束的支持日期之后。
这个新的Feren操作系统版本实现了将一些熟悉的东西（肉桂桌面）与功能更强大的桌面（KDE Plasma 5）混合在一起的目标，从而打造一个更好的发行版。它附带了一个过渡工具，可以将2019.12快照版本中更新的系统组件滚动到修改后的KDE桌面中。
过渡工具为当前用户提供了一个选项，可以保留许多现有的肉桂设置。结果是一个外观和感觉，类似肉桂设计。经过调整的用户界面提供了改进的功能。现在的用户，至少现在，可以跳过使用过渡工具，继续使用现有的肉桂桌面。
然而，这种转变并非完美无缺。从肉桂到血浆的转变伴随着相当多的权衡和发展上的小问题。对于死硬的肉桂用户来说，在Feren OS Classic和新的Feren OS之间选择KDE桌面可能是一个艰难的选择。修改后的等离子设计可能会软化一些谁否则不喜欢等离子环境肉桂桌面的损失。
幕后
根据开发者的变更公告，这是ferenos历史上最大的快照之一。KDE Plasma设计是一个极其稳定和轻量级的桌面环境，超越了Cinnalon的能力。
开发人员指出，作为Linux中可用的主要桌面环境之一，Plasma得到了社区更多的支持。对于那些坚持使用肉桂版本的用户来说，这个更新主要包括对主题的修饰性修改和轻微的视觉调整。
新快照最初的发布日期被推迟了两个月，这样最终的产品就可以在第一次发布时尽可能地完善。新的费伦奥斯是在一年的制造。
对于现有的Feren操作系统用户来说，新的Plasma桌面产品可能有点刺耳。开发人员交换了新的默认应用程序，这些应用程序更符合KDE软件系列。
KDE Plasma默认应用程序集的主要变化是触摸生产力和系统工具。我能够巧妙地调整一些等离子系统的设置，以保留肉桂的部分外观和感觉，但KDE和肉桂台式机最终是在用户界面和引擎盖下的不同。
新的外观和感觉
Feren OS网站将新版的方向转变呈现为一种熟悉的体验，桌面比肉桂更精致、更好。乍一看，这个评估基本上是准确的。然而，KDE Plasma桌面的Feren OS版本集成和编辑得非常好，肉桂色的外观和感觉通常是更主要的UI。
在进入系统设置之前，除了一些功能外，很难区分这两者。KDE风格的设计与Feren OS运行肉桂桌面的整体外观完美融合。许多操作上的变化和将两种风格融合为一种风格的细微调整，在你浏览菜单和使用应用程序的时间越长，就越明显。
例如，Feren OS的主题实用程序现在是新Feren OS中KDE Plasma中全局主题工具的扩展。一个相关的重要后端变化是，在Feren OS Classic中，系统设置->主题中的整体主题页面已经移植到Plasma，作为Plasma全局主题转换器的扩展。这会导致更多可以更改的设置，包括文件外观、GTK主题等等。
更新的菜单样式带来了新的菜单功能。您可以将此功能添加为小部件和可选的标题栏按钮。这使您可以将应用程序菜单放回面板中，或作为每个窗口标题栏中的按钮。
另一个例子是简单菜单，等离子弹弓式菜单。它是默认ferenos（aka KDE）布局的默认菜单。这绝对是一个不同的菜单体验比主要的肉桂菜单。
Plasma也提供平铺菜单作为CinnVIIStarkMenu的替代品，用于肉桂桌面熟悉的布局选项。平铺菜单是一种基于网格的菜单，有点类似于Microsoft Windows的“开始”菜单。布局选项
其他发行版使用的KDE集成中我不喜欢的一件事是对样式和布局选项以及系统设置的混乱处理。在新的Feren-OS等离子体方案中对这些布局的改进是受欢迎的。
开发人员将可用布局的数量显著减少到六种样式选择。我喜欢重质量轻数量。它驯服了血浆中令人眩晕的设置。
这六种布局涵盖了最常见的布局样式。布局选项是一个很好的改进，比肉桂桌面上的几个默认选项。
Cupertino布局提供了一个典型的面板和停靠方案，带有全局菜单和左侧窗口按钮。雷蒙德和熟悉的布局是相似的。雷蒙德提供了一个经典的面板和菜单风格，而熟悉的是一个更现代的变化雷蒙德布局。
平板电脑模式提供了一个更大的面板和一个虚拟键盘按钮，但在其他方面与默认的Feren操作系统是一样的，它有一个底部面板而不是一个拿铁基座。最终的布局选项是ubuntuunity，面板紧靠屏幕左侧。
不是你知道的血浆
我非常感谢开发人员使KDE等离子桌面环境比其他地方更具吸引力和统一性。我开始喜欢肉桂桌面了。如果Feren OS Classic消失了，那么去LinuxMint的前景就变得非常渺茫了——它刚刚宣布了对19.3版本的重大升级，其中包括肉桂、MATE和Xfce台式机——或者使用最近发布的UbuntuCinnon Remix或另一个使用肉桂的发行版。
等待开发者决定今年晚些时候停止Feren OS Classic仍然是一个安全的选择。不过，我发现，通过一些工作，肉桂到KDE Feren操作系统的过渡工具产生了一个接近肉桂桌面计算体验的UI，这要感谢开发人员如何修补和调整Plasma桌面。
这些改变使得KDE等离子体和新引入的应用非常有用和熟悉。开发人员应用的大量补丁和编辑使Feren操作系统中的KDE桌面变得新颖诱人。
看看长长的名单。
旅途并不顺利
请注意，从Cinnalon desktop/Feren OS Classic edition到新Feren OS的升级路径并不适合所有安装。过渡到新的Feren OS Plasma桌面需要克服几个障碍。
我把肉桂桌面放在一台主计算机上，拒绝了滚到KDE选项。我只应用了非等离子更新，Feren OS Classic 2019.12快照。这使我的桌面布局相当完整。如果长期支持经典版，问题就解决了。
我在第二台电脑上应用了升级转换到新的KDE等离子桌面。然后我烧了新发布的ISO，在第三台计算机上进行了新的安装。第二台和第三台计算机安装的结果在几个关键领域有所不同。
我对KDE等离子桌面环境并不陌生，我更喜欢它而不是等离子——至少到现在为止。我花了相当多的时间配置每一个，以反映设置几乎相同的可能有一个直接的比较桌面。
我在第二台电脑上翻滚成等离子时遇到了麻烦。我选择保留肉桂安装的兼容设置。当第二台计算机重新启动时，其外观和感觉与第一台计算机几乎相同。正如预期的那样，添加了以KDE为中心的应用程序。相当多的基于GNOME的应用程序消失了。
一些有缺陷的结果
缺少的几个应用程序是我使用的关键生产和测试工具。因此，评估替换应用程序并在软件中心内寻找替代方案非常耗时。因为我熟悉Plasma环境，所以我在重新调整软件选择方面取得了领先。如果你不熟悉KDE软件家族或等离子桌面，你可以期待更长的学习曲线。
另一个主要的问题是我花了大量的时间来浏览大量的设置面板。KDE不同于肉桂。就像我发现的肉桂桌面一样灵活，Plasma有更多的可用性。不过，你得先习惯。
例如，与肉桂的系统工具相比，KDE的设置工具的组织性和统一性要差得多。当我专注于调整配置的时间越长，近距离观察并感觉到我的计算程序与肉桂桌面的匹配就越令人沮丧，也越具有挑战性。
第三台计算机上的virgin安装也存在这些问题。然而，与第二台计算机的肉桂卷到等离子不同，第三台计算机的安装避免了一些外观和感觉问题，提供了一个全新开始的机会。
一些可用性问题
我怀疑开发者还没有解决将Plasma融合到新的UbuntuLinux基础上的所有问题。以前的Feren操作系统是基于Linux Mint的，Linux Mint又是基于Ubuntu的。在最新的ferenos版本中，我最初遇到了一些设置问题。
最麻烦的问题是任务切换功能依赖于显示的动画。桌面淡入淡出和立方体运动等显示，以及封面开关、翻转开关和网格显示，要么根本无法工作，要么突然停止工作。同样的事情也发生在一些桌面特效上。
我终于找到了原因。显示和动画需要安装OpenGL图形引擎。但是，启动时加载OpenGL的设置面板中的复选框未启用。一旦我找到原因，这是一个简单的修复，但在随后的重新启动，我不得不进入设置和重新保存复选框，以启用OpenGL。
问题还是来了又去。我的第一反应是重新启动电脑。有时屏幕会锁定，导致相同的响应。我有预感，当我打开许多不熟悉的应用程序时，一个或多个应用程序引起了冲突，无论是出于适用性目的还是一般的故障检查。
我最终找到了另一个需要启用的隐藏良好的复选框。它超越了单个应用程序关闭OpenGL的能力。
底线
总的来说，Feren OS的Plasma补丁在外观和功能上超越了肉桂般的桌面。或者，这些补丁可以将大部分（但不是全部）肉桂特性和应用程序带到KDE环境中。
Feren OS Classic和新款Feren OS仅安装Vivaldi网络浏览器。一个方便的网络工具可以让你自动安装其他浏览器。它还可以让你删除维瓦尔第如果你愿意。
在几乎所有运行肉桂桌面的发行版中，许多面板小程序和桌面小程序都无法安装和运行。桌面立方体几乎从不兼容。
但使用KDE桌面的Feren操作系统就不是这样了。立方体任务切换器实际上可以工作。widget，又名applet和desklet，在屏幕和面板上安装和工作。这些成功是罕见的桌面。
原文题：New Feren OS Does Plasma Better
原文：Feren OS now is built around Ubuntu Linux 18.04 and the KDE Plasma desktop instead of Linux Mint. The Cinnamon desktop version could retire later this year.
Ubuntu's parent company Canonical last spring released Ubuntu 18.04, Bionic Beaver, as a Long-Term Support edition, good until April 2023. Canonical released a newer version, Ubuntu 19.10, Eoan Ermine, last October with a nine-month support cycle that ends this July.
The Feren OS developer last month released a new version of this pseudo rolling release, code-named "Yttrium." This new Feren OS 2019.12 snapshot, dubbed "Feren OS Next" through the beta process, represents the distro's new development direction, with a highly customized Plasma design.
The Feren OS community also released a mostly maintenance snapshot update for the Feren OS Cinnamon version, which is now called "Feren OS Classic." The developer of the British-made Linux distro explained in the change notice over the holidays that no decision had been made about keeping the Cinnamon desktop version beyond its approaching end-of-support date.
This new Feren OS release meets the goal of mixing something familiar (the Cinnamon desktop) with a more capable desktop (KDE Plasma 5) to make a better distro. It comes with a transition tool that literally rolls the updated system components in the 2019.12 snapshot release into the modified KDE desktop.
The transition tool gives current users an option to keep many of their existing Cinnamon settings. The result is a look and feel that resembles the Cinnamon design. The tweaked user interface provides improved functionality. Current users, at least for now, can skip using the transition tool and continue with the existing Cinnamon desktop.
The transition is not flawless, however. The shift from Cinnamon to Plasma comes with quite a few trade-offs and developmental glitches. Deciding between the Feren OS Classic or the new Feren OS with its tweaked KDE desktop could be a tough choice for die-hard Cinnamon users. The modified Plasma design might soften the loss of the Cinnamon desktop for some who otherwise dislike the Plasma environment.
Behind the Scenes
This is one of the biggest snapshots in the history of Feren OS, according to the developer's change announcement. The KDE Plasma design is an extremely stable and lightweight desktop environment that pushes beyond Cinnamon's capabilities.
Plasma has much more support from the community as one of the major desktop environments available in Linux, the developer noted. For those users who stick with the Cinnamon version, that update includes mostly cosmetic changes to themes and minor visual tweaks.
The original release date for the new snapshot was delayed by two months so the finalized product could be as polished as possible for a first release. The new Feren OS was a year in the making.
For existing Feren OS users, the new Plasma desktop offering may be a little jarring. The developers swapped new default applications that are more in tune with the KDE software family.
Major changes in the KDE Plasma default application set touch productivity and system tools. I was able to finesse some of the Plasma system settings to retain parts of the Cinnamon look and feel, but the KDE and Cinnamon desktops ultimately are different in both the UI and under the hood.
New Look and Feel, Sort of
The Feren OS website presents the new version's change of direction as a familiar experience with a desktop that is more refined and better than Cinnamon. At first blush, that assessment is mostly accurate. However, the Feren OS version of the KDE Plasma desktop is so well integrated and edited that the Cinnamon look and feel is generally the more predominant UI.
Until you get into the system settings, it is difficult to distinguish one or the other except for a few features. The KDE style design is well blended with the overall appearance of Feren OS running the Cinnamon desktop. Many of the operational changes and the subtle tweaking to blend the two styles into one become more obvious the longer you go through menus and work with the applications.
For instance, Feren OS' theme utility is now an expansion of the Global Theme tool in KDE Plasma in the new Feren OS. A related significant back-end change is that in Feren OS Classic, the overall theme page in System Settings -> Themes has been ported to Plasma as an expansion of Plasma's Global Theme changer. This results in even more settings that can be changed, including the Files look and feel, GTK Theme and more.
The updated menu styles bring a new degree of menu functionality. You can add this functionality as a widget and as an optional title bar button. This lets you put your application menus back in the panel, or as a button in the title bar of every window.
Another example is the Simple Menu, a Slingshot-style menu for Plasma. It is the default menu for the default Feren OS (aka KDE) layout. It is definitely a different menu experience than the main Cinnamon menu.
Tiled Menu is also available in Plasma as a replacement for the CinnVIIStarkMenu for the Cinnamon desktop's Familiar layout option. Tiled Menu is a grid-based menu somewhat similar to Microsoft Windows Start Menu.
Layout Options
One of the things I dislike in KDE integrations other distros use is the helter-skelter approach to styles and layout options, as well as system settings. Refinements to those layouts in the new Feren OS Plasma schemes were welcome.
The developer significantly reduced the number of available layouts to six style choices. I like the focus on quality over quantity. It tames the dizzying settings choices in Plasma.
These six layouts cover the most common layout styles. The Layout options are a nice improvement over the few default choices available in the Cinnamon desktop.
The Cupertino Layout provides a typical panel and dock scheme with global menus and left-sided window buttons. The Redmond and Familiar Layouts are similar. Redmond offers a classic panel and menu style, while Familiar is a more modern variation on the Redmond Layout.
Tablet Mode provides a bigger panel with a virtual keyboard button but otherwise is the same look as the default Feren OS with a bottom panel instead of a Latte Dock. The final Layout option is Ubuntu Unity, with the panel hugging the left side of the screen.
Not the Plasma You Know
I give much credit to the developer for making the KDE Plasma desktop environment more inviting and unified than found elsewhere. I have grown fond of the Cinnamon desktop. If Feren OS Classic goes away, the prospect of going to Linux Mint -- which just announced its major upgrade to version 19.3 with Cinnamon, MATE and Xfce desktops -- or taking up the recently released Ubuntu Cinnamon Remix or another distro using Cinnamon looms heavily.
Waiting out the developer's decision about discontinuing Feren OS Classic later this year remains a safe option. Still, I discovered that with some work the transition tool for the Cinnamon-to-KDE Feren OS produced a UI close to the computing experience of the Cinnamon desktop, thanks to how the developer patched and tweaked the Plasma desktop.
Those alterations made KDE Plasma and the newly introduced applications very usable and familiar. The numerous patches and edits the developer applied make the KDE desktop in Feren OS new and inviting.
Check out the long list.
Not a Smooth Ride
Be aware that the upgrade path from the Cinnamon desktop/Feren OS Classic edition to the new Feren OS is not one fit for all installations. Transitioning to the new Feren OS Plasma desktop requires getting past several stumbling blocks.
I kept the Cinnamon desktop on a primary computer and rejected the roll-up to KDE option. I applied only the non-Plasma update, the Feren OS Classic 2019.12 snapshot. That kept my desktop layout fairly intact. Problem solved if the Classic edition is supported long term.
I applied the upgrade transition to the new KDE Plasma desktop on a second computer. Then I burned the newly released ISO to do a new installation on a third computer. The results on the second and third computer installations were different in several key areas.
I am not a stranger to the KDE Plasma desktop environment, and I preferred it to Plasma -- at least until now. I spent considerable hours configuring each one to reflect settings as nearly identical as possible to have a straightforward comparison to the Cinnamon desktop.
I had trouble with the rollover into Plasma on the second computer. I took the option to preserve compatible settings from the Cinnamon installation. When the second computer rebooted, the look and feel were nearly identical to the first computer. As expected, KDE-centric applications were added. Quite a few GNOME-based applications were gone.
Some Flawed Results
Several of the missing applications were key production and testing tools that I use. So assessing the replacement applications and looking for alternatives within the Software Center was time-consuming. Since I was familiar with the Plasma environment, I had a head start in realigning my software selections. If you are not familiar with the KDE software family or the Plasma desktop, you can expect a longer learning curve.
Another major problem was the time I spent going through the massive panels of settings. KDE is different from Cinnamon. As flexible as I found the Cinnamon desktop, Plasma has even more usability. You have to get used to it first, though.
For example, KDE's settings tools are a lot less organized or unified compared to Cinnamon's system tools. Getting a close look and feel to match my computing routines with the Cinnamon desktop became more frustrating and challenging the longer I focused on tweaking configurations.
Those issues also were present with the virgin installation on the third computer. Unlike the Cinnamon roll-up to Plasma with the second computer, however, the third computer's installation avoided some of the look-and-feel issues by presenting the chance to start with a clean slate.
Some Usability Issues
I suspect the developer has not yet worked out all of the glitches involved in melding Plasma onto the new Ubuntu Linux base. The previous Feren OS was based on Linux Mint, which in turn is based on Ubuntu. With the latest Feren OS release, I initially experienced problems with some of the settings.
The most bothersome problem involved task-switching features that relied on displayed animations. Displays such as desktop fade and cube motions, along with cover switch, flip switch and grid display, either failed to work at all or suddenly stopped working. The same thing happened with some of the desktop effects.
I finally tracked down the cause. The displays and animations need the OpenGL graphics engine, which is installed. However, a checkbox deep in a settings panel that loaded OpenGL at startup was not enabled. Once I found the cause, it was an easy fix, but on subsequent reboots, I had to go into settings and re-save the checkbox to enable OpenGL.
The problem still came and went. My first response was to reboot the computer. Sometimes the screen would lock up, causing the same response. I had a hunch that one or more applications caused a conflict as I was opening numerous unfamiliar applications, both for suitability purposes and general fault-checking.
I eventually found yet another well-hidden checkbox that needed to be enabled. It overrode the ability of individual applications to turn off OpenGL.
Bottom Line
Overall, Feren OS' Plasma patches do a fanciful job of going beyond a Cinnamon desktop-like appearance and functionality. Or the patches do a workable job of bringing most -- but not all -- of the Cinnamon features and applications to the KDE environment.
Feren OS Classic and the new Feren OS install with only the Vivaldi Web browser. A handy Web tool lets you automatically install other browsers. It also lets you remove Vivaldi if you wish.
In almost any Cinnamon desktop-running distro, numerous panel applets and desktop desklets failed to install and run. The desktop cube almost never was compatible.
Not so with Feren OS with the KDE desktop. The cube task switcher actually works. Widgets, AKA applets and desklets install and work on both the screen and the panel. Those successes are rare with the Cinnamon desktop.
