Developers release OpenMandriva 2014.0 with alternative launcher

The OpenMandriva Association has released the second version of OpenMandriva, version 2014.0. It is the first major Linux distribution with KDE that works by default with the alternative launcher Homerun, which works on a tab basis.

The OpenMandriva Association announced this in a blog post. The operating system works with the desktop environment KDE by default and runs on one of the latest Linux kernels, version 3.13.11. The release Phosphorus, as the developers call it, follows the 2013 release introduced in November.

The most notable change is the introduction of the alternative KDE launcher Homerun. It replaces in OpenMandriva Kickoff, which is pre-baked in most other KDE distributions. Homerun is characterized by the operation with tabs, where icons can be grouped. The program is reminiscent of the launcher that Canonical uses with its desktop environment Unity.

OpenMandriva is a fork of the now defunct Linux distribution Mandriva, once a big name within the Linux world. In May 2012, it became clear that the Mandriva project would be handed over to the community, after it was announced earlier that year that the developer was on the verge of bankruptcy. With the second release in a short time, it seems that the Linux distribution is now viable enough.

Incidentally, there is another Linux distribution based on the well-known Mandriva, namely Mageia. That distribution has been around since 2011 and is maintained by a group of former Edge IT employees and developers. This is a subsidiary of Mandriva SA, which went bankrupt in September 2010 and was mainly responsible for the development of Mandriva. Mageia has since become a popular distribution, according to the number of consultations on Distrowatch.