Renard’s Thoughts On SparkyLinux

SparkyLinux is a rock-solid Debian-based Linux distribution; it was first released on Saturday the 5th of May, 2012 (And, it has been active ever since).

This distribution of Linux is fast, lightweight and highly customizable.

I had the privilege of giving SparkyLinux a test run and today I am going to tell you what I thought about it.

I Experimented With The Semi-Rolling Release Of SparkyLinux

SparkyLinux has a stable release (the one that is based on the stable branch of Debian) and the semi-rolling release (The one that is based on the testing branch of Debian).

Since I am no huge fan of the stable branch of Debian, I chose to experiment with SparkyLinux’s semi-rolling release.

Why?

Because SparkyLinux’s semi-rolling release has newer packages than the stable version of SparkyLinux.

Now, in spite of the packages on the semi-rolling release of SparkyLinux being fairly new, they are not quite as up-to-date as the packages on my beloved Arch Linux (That is to be expected because Arch Linux has bleeding-edge software).

I Tried Out The LXQt Desktop Environment On SparkyLinux

My favourite desktop environment is MATE.

However, I went along with the LXQt desktop environment because I wanted to step outside of my comfort zone.

For the record, I am not a newcomer to the LXQt desktop environment; my first experience with it was on Lubuntu many years ago.

Guess what?

I did not like Lubuntu back then.

And, in regards to using the LXQt desktop environment on SparkyLinux, it felt as though I was torturing myself.

By the way, it is no fault of SparkyLinux; I was reminded of the reason why I hated the LXQt desktop environment so much.

LXQt does not feel like a complete desktop; it feels as though a whole lot of it was stripped away in order for the user to have a comfortable computing experience.

On a positive note, the LXQt desktop environment is fast and responsive and that is because it uses approximately 256 MB of RAM on idle (That makes it an ideal desktop environment for computers with very low system resources).

LXQt works well, but in all honesty, it is not for me.

I would also like to state for the record, that in spite of LXQt not being my proverbial cup of tea, it made SparkyLinux look like an outstanding distribution of Linux.

The LXQt Version Of SparkyLinux Is Not Bloated

The LXQt version of SparkyLinux does not come preinstalled with all of the software under the Sun. Out of the box, it comes with:

• Mozilla Firefox Extended Support Release
• Mozilla Thunderbird
• VLC Media Player
• LibreOffice
• qBittorrent

Additional software can be installed via the Synaptic Package Manager, command lines in the Terminal or GDebi.

Who Is SparkyLinux Best Suited For?

SparkyLinux is best suited for:

• Anyone who wants to use a Debian-based operating system.
• The person who has a small business of their own.
• The individual who simply wants to browse the world wide web.
• Anyone who desires to have a fast, lightweight and fully customizable operating system.

Wrapping Up

SparkyLinux is an okay Linux distribution.

By the way, you do not have to punish yourself as I did with the LXQt version of SparkyLinux. There are other desktop environments that you can try; such as:

• Xfce
• MATE
• KDE Plasma

Simply pick the one that you like and use it!

Anyone who has an interest in trying out SparkyLinux for themselves can acquire an iso image via SparkyLinux’s official download page.

The next step is to make a bootable USB drive of your own with SparkyLinux on it (Yash Wate’s article, How to Make a Bootable USB Drive With Etcher in Linux, will teach you how to go about making that possible).

May you have fun experimenting with it.

In my case, I am quite happy with Arch Linux.

The only way I am going to dabble with another distribution of Linux in the future is for the sole purpose of reviewing it.

Advertisement