SparkyLinux is a lightweight, fast, and simple Linux distribution designed for old and new computers. It is based on Debian, which means it benefits from Debian’s stability and vast software repositories.
The distro has two editions. The first is a regular point release based entirely on Debian’s stable branch. The second one, however, adheres to the rolling release model and features three special flavors – GameOver, Multimedia, and Rescue – using Debian’s test branch.
Today, the Sparky team announced the release of three updated ISO images for its special edition line, so let’s look at what’s new.
Sparky 2023.10 Special Editions Highlights
Although the names of all three releases pretty well describe their purpose, let’s say a few words about each.
The GameOver Edition is specially curated for gaming enthusiasts, including many preinstalled games, useful tools, and scripts.
For content creators, artists, and multimedia enthusiasts, the Multimedia edition is packed with tools to help you create and edit graphics, audio, video, and HTML pages.
Lastly, for those unforeseen circumstances when your system faces issues, SparkyLinux’s Rescue comes to the rescue with a large set of tools for scanning and fixing files, partitions, and operating systems installed on hard drives.
In its latest update, 2023.10, each of the three releases comes powered by Linux kernel 6.5 (with 6.1.57-ESR & 5.15.135-ESR available in Sparky repos) and promises a seamless user experience thanks to the latest and greatest Xfce 4.18 desktop environment.
The main changes are solely related to the updated package base. In other words, all available software has been updated to the current versions in the Debian and Sparky testing repositories as of October 17, 2023.
In this regard, you will find updated application packages that include the following:
- Firefox 115.3.0 ESR (with 118.0.2 available in repos)
- Thunderbird 115.3.1
- LibreOffice 7.5.6
- Transmission 4.0.2
- VLC 3.0.19
- Raspberry Pi Imager preinstalled
The inclusion in the default installation of RiseupVPN is an interesting decision. It allows for anonymous VPN usage, requiring no manual setup, preventing many forms of censorship and surveillance for simple, safe, and encrypted communication. However, its presence seems odd in releases aimed at gamers and digital artists.
You can refer to the release announcement for detailed information about all changes.
Of course, you do not need to reinstall Sparky rolling if you already have an older 2023.07 version installed on your computer. Instead, you may easily update via the command line, executing “sudo sparky-upgrade.”
