LXQt 0.9 Released, Now Requires Qt5 & KDE Frameworks 5

Version 0.9 of the lightweight LXQt desktop environment was released this Sunday. LXQt is the next-generation, lightweight desktop derived in part from the LXDE and Razor-Qt desktops. LXQt 0.9 is the release that begins to enforce Qt5.

LXQt 0.9 abandons Qt4 compatibility and now requires Qt 5.3 or newer. LXQt 0.8 that was released last October had full Qt5 support while maintaining Qt4 compatibility, but this new version focuses exclusively on modern Qt5 library support.

LXQt 0.9 is also the first release using KDE Frameworks dependencies. LXQt 0.9 makes use of the KWindowSystem for hanbdling window events, KGuiAddons replaces LXQt's use of Xlib, etc.

LXQt 0.9 also features a new dark theme, changes to existing themes, configurable panel background support, keyboard navigation for the main menu, clock plug-in improvements, and many other changes throughout.

Overall LXQt 0.9 looks very promising and is a huge update for this alternative Qt Linux desktop. Many Phoronix readers have been interested in LXQt as a potential alternative to Xfce and other lightweight desktops. More details on the just-released LXQt 0.5 can be found via the SourceForge mailing list announcement.