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submitted 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by JRepin@lemmy.ml to c/linux@lemmy.ml

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/43288310

In KDE Plasma 6.6 Spectacle can read texts from screenshots, a new on-screen keybord is available for testing, a first-time wizard was added, current theme can be saved as a new global theme, emoji selector got a new easier skin tone selection, you can now connect to a Wi-Fi network via a QR code, application sound volume can be changed by scrolling over a taskbar button via mouse, and there is much more.

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[-] iByteABit@lemmy.ml 63 points 2 days ago

KDE absolutely ridiculing Windows yet again

Meanwhile Microsoft broke the fucking Notepad

[-] tirateimas@lemmy.pt 26 points 1 day ago

KDE is awesome. Congrats to all people involved with it.

[-] bugsmith@programming.dev 46 points 2 days ago

Spectacle OCR is fantastic news. That is really going to simplify one of my current workflows.

[-] comrade_twisty@feddit.org 6 points 2 days ago

As long as it can be turned off and does not use any non-local services for OCR it’s a good addition. As much as convenience is nice, privacy still has to come first.

[-] dev_null@lemmy.ml 50 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

The OCR is offline, using Tesseract, there is nothing online about it.

It only activates when you press a button, so there is nothing to turn off either.

[-] anonklay@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

this is the way. They get nice stuff done without shoving AI in. Eat shit microslop!

[-] muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works 20 points 1 day ago

The volume slider with a scroll wheel over the taskbar icons is such a clever little addition. It makes so much sense. I can’t believe nobody else thought of this.

[-] Holytimes@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago

It's one of the things I've missed from windows for a long time.

[-] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I haven't updated to 6.6 yet, and I can definitely do that.

I'm on 6.5.5. Probably gonna update now

edit: nevermind, Just saw the video below. Def a new feature.

[-] Gebruikersnaam@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 day ago

Wait, do other DEs not have this? I believe even Windows has this.

[-] Ephera@lemmy.ml 8 points 1 day ago

Are you thinking of the volume icon in the systray? For that, it's pretty standard that scrolling changes the volume, yeah. @muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works is talking about the volume of each individual application, though:

(I have hardly used Windows for the past decade, so no idea, if it has it.)

[-] Holytimes@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago

It has a functional version of the concept. At least

[-] Ephera@lemmy.ml 6 points 1 day ago

Oh boy, feature freeze for Ubuntu 26.04 is on Thursday. Hopefully, they still include this update.

My work laptop unfortunately comes with Kubuntu LTS and I desperately want the virtual-desktops-only-on-the-primary-screen feature on there. Currently, I'm the guy that actively disables all but one screen, because my workflow does not work at all with the secondary screen switching in sync with the primary screen.

[-] Kazumara@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 1 day ago

my workflow does not work at all with the secondary screen switching in sync with the primary screen

Same here. My workaround so far has been to put the windows that belong on the secondary to the "Keep Window on All Desktops" mode.

[-] Ephera@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 day ago

Yeah, I've done that occasionally, too, but it adds a load of friction for moving windows between screens, in particular also when un-/replugging the screen, so it's still painful enough that I don't bother with a second screen.

I guess, it also plays a role that I do use lots of workspaces, so it's 1) extra painful and 2) I don't have as big of a need for a second screen, since I can just switch out what first screen displays very quickly.

[-] Vincent@feddit.nl 16 points 2 days ago

Sounds like KDE is also doing a lot of work that will be helpful on phones, nice!

[-] thingsiplay@lemmy.ml 12 points 2 days ago

You can also filter windows out of a screencast by choosing a special option from the pop-up menu that appears when right-clicking a window’s title bar:

An option to hide windows from Spectacle, when recording a screencast. Admittedly I am not much of a screencast person, but its good to know in case I need it as I have some future plans. So I could have some notes or the web browser open in same virtual desktop I am recording from.

[-] CtrlAltDyeet@anarchist.nexus 12 points 2 days ago

I am so happy we have such a good desktop option, they are constantly putting out great features :D

[-] rozodru@piefed.world 8 points 2 days ago

The ability to have virtual desktops only on the primary screen

sigh. I guess. I think I just need to settle on the fact KDE is never going to allow dedicated virtual desktops per monitor. I really want to use Plasma but this is a deal breaker for me.

[-] anguo@piefed.ca 14 points 1 day ago

I mean, this looks like a step towards that direction, no?

[-] Ephera@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 day ago

I still wouldn't assume it to actually go further than that. It's a limitation of the EWMH standard, which is used for controlling the placement of windows.

I don't have in-depth knowledge of the standard, but I assume, it can only represent 1 desktop as the active desktop and stuff like that.
Maybe you could try to be clever by e.g. always reporting the active desktop of the active screen and stuff like that, but yeah, no idea if you can do that for all aspects of the standard, and whether applications will still behave as expected.

[-] faizalr@piefed.social 8 points 2 days ago

How about Plasma Login Manager?

[-] rozodru@piefed.world 10 points 2 days ago

it's already available? CachyOS for example switched to using it as the default like a month or two ago. It's already out there.

[-] Strit@lemmy.linuxuserspace.show 8 points 2 days ago

Seems like it's part of the 6.6.0 release. Arch has it in testing at version 6.6.0 at least.

[-] Ephera@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 day ago

It's mentioned as the second point in "But that's not all...":

An optional new login manager for Plasma

[-] gary_host_laptop@lemmy.ml 6 points 1 day ago

I'm still sticking to Gnome but I love these features and how more polished KDE looks with every update (even though I still think they need to perfect some details). It makes me really happy to know we have these really important projects being libre.

[-] osanna@thebrainbin.org 5 points 2 days ago

Nice. KDE is looking schmick. Congrats to the KDE team.

[-] Asfalttikyntaja@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 day ago

Damn, I just love KDE, but my Linux Mint doesn’t support it anymore so I have to satisfy Cinnamon.

[-] lengau@midwest.social 12 points 1 day ago

Just another reason not to use Mint.

[-] Asfalttikyntaja@sopuli.xyz 2 points 1 day ago

What else should I use? It just works and I don’t want to mess with my computer anymore.

[-] lengau@midwest.social 11 points 1 day ago

A distribution with first class KDE support, obviously 😛

[-] carotte@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 1 day ago

fedora KDE has been pretty painless for me, and if you want something that’s still ubuntu based, kubuntu looks good too

[-] tyler@programming.dev 4 points 1 day ago

CachyOS, Nobara, Bazzite, there’s a lot of good options.

this post was submitted on 17 Feb 2026
262 points (99.2% liked)

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