SpiralLinux is a new Debian-based Linux distro focusing on simplicity and out-of-the-box usability in all major desktop environments. It covers all the most popular desktop environments in Linux, including GNOME, Plasma, Cinnamon, Xfce, MATE, Budgie, and LXQt.
Three months after the initial version of the distro was released, the updated SpiralLinux 11.220925 is here. So let’s have a look at what has changed.
SpiralLinux 11.220925 Highlights
The essential point to note is that in this updated release, SpiralLinux currently builds on the most up-to-date Debian 11.5, released just two weeks ago.
We immediately move on to another essential feature of this release: SecureBoot support. First, however, one point needs to be clarified:
SecureBoot support may not work out-of-the-box on all systems due to variations and quirks in different UEFI implementations. SecureBoot may not be desirable for some users due to the limitations and complications that it brings by design, and it may be preferable to disable SecureBoot in the device’s UEFI settings.
We also have improved two-finger scrolling with touchpads enabled in Firefox via an environment variable. And, since we’re on Firefox, we’d like to point out that the ESR version of the browser used here has been updated to version 102.3.
Under the hood, SpiralLinux is powered by the Linux kernel 5.18. In addition, it is kept company by systemd 247.3, PulseAudio 14.2, and X.Org Server 1.7.
On top of that, to resolve major connectivity issues with the Debian Stable version of the AX20x Bluetooth hardware firmware, the distro substitutes the firmware-iwlwifi package with one from Debian Testing.
SpiralLinux’s various desktop environments have also received minor improvements:
- Cinnamon: Added missing Catfish search utility.
- Budgie: Added missing AppIndicator applet for system tray functionality with some apps and the
gnome-online-accountspackage. - GNOME: Fixed an issue that caused certain PCs to hang after rebooting after Calamares installation.
- MATE: Added workaround for several preinstalled applications in the menu that required root permissions and would not launch.
Last but not least, SpiralLinux 11.220925 disabled some bitmap fonts to prevent poor rendering, such as in HTML emails.
You can refer to the official announcement for detailed information about all changes.
In conclusion, letโs emphasize that you donโt need to perform a fresh install to upgrade to SpiralLinux 11.220925. In other words, users who have already installed SpiralLinux need just to upgrade their system to receive the most recent version.
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgradeHowever, if you are installing SpiralLinux from scratch, the installation ISO images with the various desktop environments are available for download here.
