When we look for a Linux distribution, there is life far beyond the typical ones like Ubuntu or Linux Mint. There are developers who create their own distros in order to offer a different experience and go a step beyond where the most popular distros arrive. And, if we are looking for a different experience, one of the Linux distros that will undoubtedly not disappoint us is SparkyLinux .
SparkyLinux is a Linux distro, based on Debian, designed to be one of the fastest, lightest and most customizable. This distro is designed to adapt to the needs of all types of users. To do this, it allows us to choose the desktop we want to use, as well as different “editions” depending on the use we need. For example, the ” GameOver” edition is intended for gamers, the ” Rescue ” edition for users who need to repair a PC, or the ” Multimedia ” edition for those who are going to use it for leisure. We can even download SparkyLinux in its ” MinimalCLI” edition, without a graphical interface. Even Sparky stands out as one of the few Linux distros with 32-bit support.
Its developers have continued to improve this distro. And, as part of its evolution, they have just released a new version of SparkyLinux, an update that changes from base to interface.
What’s New in SparkyLinux 2021.03
The most important thing about this new version is that it changes the base of the distro to be based on Debian 11 “Bullseye” , a version that, for now, is in the testing phase. This will allow the semi-rolling release versions of SparkyLinux to be as up-to-date as possible, receiving the latest versions of the packages and ready to make the leap to Debian 11 as soon as its stable version is reached. Along with the new base, it has been chosen to include the Linux kernel 5.10.
Another great news is that the new SparkyLinux 2021.03 is the first to release a version based on KDE Plasma. Until now, we could find almost 20 different desktops, but KDE, being a very resource-intensive desktop, had been left out of the developers’ plans. If we like this desktop, now we will be able to download the new version with the KDE Plasma 5.20.5 desktop . The rest of the flavors have also been updated to include the latest versions of them, such as Xfce 4.16, LXQt 0.16 or MATE 1.24.1.
Of course, the main programs that we can find pre-installed in the distro have also been updated, such as:
- Firefox 86.0
- Thunderbird 78.8.0
- LibreOffice 7.0.4.2
- VLC 3.0.12
- Exaile 4.1.0
- Squid 3.2.37 + kpmcore 20.12.3
There are also other changes to the default programs. For example, Clementine replaces Exaile, just as Kopete replaces Pidgin.
Download and update
The new SparkyLinux 2021.03 is now available to all users on its website. From this link we can find all the flavors for this new version of Linux, so we can download the ISO we want. Once we have the ISO, we must burn it to a USB, or to a DVD, and start the computer with it to begin the installation and start-up.
If we already have a previous version installed on the PC, we can update to this new version simply by executing the following command:
sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade
We recommend, as always, to make a backup for what may happen.