A rolling release for Debian
Distro Walk – SparkyLinux
© Photo by Dawid Zawila on Unsplash
From its considered basics to its flavor varieties, SparkyLinux is an interesting Debian-based OS.
To judge from the Distrowatch listings, Debian is the source of almost two-thirds of Linux's active distributions. Among such giant Debian derivatives as Ubuntu and Linux Mint, SparkyLinux [1] is easily overlooked. However, SparkyLinux is well worth examining (Figure 1). While hardly revolutionary, SparkyLinux does a thoughtful job of delivering the basics that users need, such as embedded help in the installer (Figure 2) and a variety of flavors for different preferences, while providing a minimum list of default applications. Especially noteworthy is its redefinition of Debian's testing repository as a rolling release, making it a useful alternative to Debian's time-honored general releases. Here, Pawel "pavroo" Pijanowski, SparkyLinux's founder and lead developer, talks about the project's priorities and organization.
Figure 1: SparkyLinux's desktop.
Figure 2: SparkyLinux's installer includes embedded help.
[...]
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
-
It’s Time to Test Fedora 45 Beta
Fedora 45 beta has been released with updated Gnome, KDE Plasma, and kernel.
-
Ubuntu Stonking Stingray Gets Even Rustier
Ubuntu 26.10 has completed its migration to the Rust-based coreutils.
-
AI Fixes Linux Bottlenecks Using “Hideous” Code
A Linux developer used AI to fix bottlenecks that caused problems when building the kernel. The resulting AI-generated code needed a lot of work.
-
Advanced Video Coding Still Under Patent
Brazilian patent BRPI0109962B1 has expired, which means that DivX and Xvid are no longer problematic for Linux, but it doesn’t mean that video is all of a sudden fully unleashed.
-
2,000 Vulnerabilities per Linux Release
Thanks to AI bug hunters, the Linux kernel is seeing record numbers of vulnerabilities, and it's overwhelming developers.
-
Linux Exempt from California’s Age Verification Law
So long as Linux is distributed under the GPL, MIT, BSD, and Apache licenses, the OS is exempt from being required to verify the age of its users in California.
-
Roll Out the Cake: Linux Turns 35
35 years ago, a Finnish student began a humble project that would forever change the course of technology.
-
China Switching from Windows to Linux
China has ordered several government agencies to drop a Chinese-developed version of Windows 10 in favor of either KylinOS or UOS.
-
Pine64 Halts Production of Linux Devices
With continued DRAM and eMMC shortages, Pine64 has decided to discontinue production of Linux devices.
-
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.