Another approach to Arch Linux
Labor of Love
© Photo by Michael Fenton on Unsplash
SDesk aspires to be the Fedora of Arch Linux. We talk to Stephen Byrne about his passion project.
These days, distributions are large-scale projects. Major distributions such as Debian and Fedora are often the size of medium-sized corporations, with dozens of middle management roles, thousands of contributors, and well-developed methodologies. By contrast, SDesk [1] is reminiscent of the earliest days of free software, when distributions were often a labor of love for a single developer. Based on Arch Linux, SDesk is full of individual small design choices, including the option to add parental controls to an account during installation, the Marwaita icons and themes, Gnome extensions enabled by a single click, and the default Swirl Web Browser. Many of SDesk's idiosyncratic choices are enhancements to Arch Linux, such as the inclusion of SELinux. Here, Stephen Byrne, SDesk's developer, talks about his ongoing solo project.
Figure 1: The Arch-based SDesk delivers an easy-to-use, modern desktop.
Linux Magazine (LM): Tell readers about yourself and your involvement with free/open source software.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Digital Autonomy
• The Answer Was Already on the Shelf
• Changing the Chip Industry: How Public Investment Has Grown Open Silicon
• United Nations Open Source Portal Goes Live
• EU Open Source Strategy Plays Key Role in Tech Sovereignty Package
• France Says “Au Revoir” to Microsoft
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
The Bullet-Proof KDE Software Initiative Is Coming
KDE, Techpaladin, and Kubuntu Focus have announced a new initiative that will provide at least three years of support for KDE Plasma 6.6 LTS and related software.
-
Linux Mint Shares a Possible Kernel Cleanup Solution
For those on Linux Mint who like to keep multiple kernels around but don't want them to take up too much space, you might be getting a new automated tool.
-
CachyOS Gets an Update
CachyOS August 2026 release is now available with the latest version of KDE, some new features, and plenty of improvements.
-
The Linux Kernel Dev Staging Area Now Rejects AI-Generated Patches
Unless a kernel patch is a valid security fix, it will be rejected if it was created using AI.
-
Linux Surpasses Double-Digit Market Share
According to two sources, the Linux operating system has hit a major milestone in market share that naysayers thought would never happen.
-
AI Helped Develop a Linux Exploit
A use-after-free race exploit was discovered and exploited on CentOS Stream 9.
-
Yet Another Linux Kernel Vulnerability Discovered
Affecting millions of systems, a kernel flaw discovered by Qualys could allow users to gain root privileges.
-
Ubuntu 26.10 to Include Ubuntu Certified Hardware Check
If you've ever wondered if your laptop or PC is officially certified to run Ubuntu, that curiosity will soon be met.
-
Substantial Update to IPFire Now Available
The lastest version of IPFire features a fundamental change to how the system handles DNS.
-
Gnome Working on Test Center App to Make Testing Easier
It's now possible to test experimental features on the Gnome desktop without worrying that you'll break things.