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Solus 4.8 Released with Linux Kernel 6.17, GNOME 49, KDE Plasma 6.5, and More
Coming ten months after Solus 4.7, the Solus 4.8 release is powered by the latest and greatest Linux 6.17 kernel and ships with the latest Budgie 10.9.4, GNOME 49.1, KDE Plasma 6.5.3, and Xfce 4.20 desktop environments as separate editions.
Starting with this release, Solus now uses a new package repository called Polaris, which opened the door to removing “Usr-Merge” compatibility symbolic links from packages and update the systemd package among other changes, while Python 2 has been removed from the repos and live ISOs once and for all.
Update (by Roy)
Also here:
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Solus 4.8 Arrives with New Epoch, Polaris Repository
Solus 4.8 introduces the Polaris repo, completes the epoch jump, updates systemd to 257.10, and ships GNU/Linux kernel 6.17.
Linuxiac:
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Solus 4.8 Arrives with New Epoch, Polaris Repository
Ten months after the previous 4.7 “Endurance” release, the Solus team announced the immediate availability of Solus 4.8, codenamed “Opportunity,” which delivers a wide range of system updates, desktop improvements, and infrastructure changes across all editions, along with a completely redesigned website.
With this release, the team finally completed its long-running Usr-Merge transition. With the new epoch, the project moved to the Polaris package repository, enabling the removal of compatibility symlinks and unblocking major upgrades such as systemd 257.10. The update also allowed the distribution to drop Python 2 entirely after migrating all tooling to Python 3.
DW and original:
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Distribution Release: Solus 4.8
The Solus project has published a snapshot of its rolling release distribution. The new version, labelled 4.8, replaces the old software centre, does away with Python 2, and completes the usr-merge process. [...]
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Solus 4.8 Released
We’re nearing the holiday season, and what better way to kick it off than by releasing new Solus ISOs? This release is called Opportunity, for all the new opportunities that are open to us. A lot has happened since we released Solus 4.7 at the beginning of this year, so let’s go over the changes.
Linux Magazine:
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Solus Linux 4.8 Features Removes Python 2 » Linux Magazine
The rolling release Solus Linux has a new version out, and it includes all the usual upgrades to many bits and pieces. Key upgrades include the latest versions of Budgie (10.9.4), Gnome (49.1), KDE Plasma (6.5.3), and Xfce (4.20). As well, you get kernel 6.17, Mozilla Firefox 145, LibreOffice 25.2.6, and Mozilla Thunderbird 140.5. Other updates include Mesa, GIRepository, and systemd.
There are also two removals of note. First, the Gnome version of Solus is now Wayland-only, which means X11 doesn't even ship with the ISO. That is not the case with the other desktops, as they have yet to make the permanent switch. As well, Python 2 has finally been removed.
There's also a new repository, called Polaris, which, according to the official release notes, "unlocked our ability to remove 'Usr-Merge' compatibility symbolic links from packages, update our systemd package, and more."
FOSS Force:
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Solus 4.8 ‘Opportunity’: An Independent Distro Struts Its Stuff - FOSS Force
One of the perks of this job is that it makes me feel, in a sense, like a jet-setter. Last week, I was in Turkey writing about Pardus. This week, I’ve packed my bags and crossed Europe to Ireland to review this week’s Distro of the Week, Solus 4.8.
Originally called Evolve OS, Solus is a from-scratch distro with its own repositories and tooling, aimed squarely at personal computing. It emphasizes desktop usability with its flagship distro based on the Budgie desktop environment. The package management is handled by eopkg, which is a fork of Pardus’ PiSi system, backed by Solus’ own curated repositories rather than a larger multi-distro ecosystem.