From c432718d5b9036b6f877673ca1b0f81cef400e56 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: lkxed Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2022 09:06:15 +0800 Subject: [PATCH] =?UTF-8?q?[=E6=89=8B=E5=8A=A8=E9=80=89=E9=A2=98][tech]:?= =?UTF-8?q?=2020220730=20SpiralLinux-=20The=20New=20Distro=20Making=20Debi?= =?UTF-8?q?an=20Easier=20for=20Beginners.md?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit --- ...stro Making Debian Easier for Beginners.md | 199 ++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 199 insertions(+) create mode 100644 sources/tech/20220730 SpiralLinux- The New Distro Making Debian Easier for Beginners.md diff --git a/sources/tech/20220730 SpiralLinux- The New Distro Making Debian Easier for Beginners.md b/sources/tech/20220730 SpiralLinux- The New Distro Making Debian Easier for Beginners.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..e3d21f6092 --- /dev/null +++ b/sources/tech/20220730 SpiralLinux- The New Distro Making Debian Easier for Beginners.md @@ -0,0 +1,199 @@ +[#]: subject: "SpiralLinux: The New Distro Making Debian Easier for Beginners" +[#]: via: "https://itsfoss.com/spirallinux-review/" +[#]: author: "Sagar Sharma https://itsfoss.com/author/sagar/" +[#]: collector: "lkxed" +[#]: translator: " " +[#]: reviewer: " " +[#]: publisher: " " +[#]: url: " " + +SpiralLinux: The New Distro Making Debian Easier for Beginners +====== +SpiralLinux is a new entrant in the world of desktop-focused Linux distributions. + +It is based on Debian Linux and created by the unnamed developer of [GeckoLinux][1]. + +Gecko what? [GeckoLinux][2] is a derivative of openSUSE and focuses on providing out-of-the-box usability to desktop users. + +The aim for [SpiralLinux][3] is also the same. Provide an out-of-the-box usable Debian experience to desktop users. + +Is Debian really that complex? While Debian is considered the most stable distro, the vanilla Debian often overwhelms new users with multiple download options. The focus on FOSS-only software by default policy also makes things difficult for beginners. It requires various tweaks after the first boot to make it useful. + +And those are the areas where SpiralLinux shines! + +Through this article, I’m going to walk you through the features of SpiralLinux and share my experience, so you can have a better idea of what to expect from SpiralLinux. + +### SpiralLinux: Debian simplified + +The first question that will come to your mind is why another [Debian-based distro][4]? The core idea behind SpiralLinux is to get you a well-tuned Debian that can be used out of the box. + +If you [try installing Debian][5], you’ll notice a number of download options but they do not include proprietary drivers and codecs which are necessary for modern hardware (including mine). Getting the right ISO itself is the first struggle. + +Not to forget that you’ll have to further tweak your vanilla Debian system to make it work with your hardware. + +SpiralLinux aims to address those pain points by providing several pre-installed software, performance tweaks and proprietary drivers and codecs support. + +Some key highlighting features are as follows: + +* Ships with a wide range of drivers to support a variety of hardware +* zRAM is enabled by default for better performance +* It can be upgraded to Debian testing Unstable branches with just a few clicks +* It uses Linux kernel 5.18 out of the box to support the most recent hardware +* Proprietary media codecs are pre-installed +* Third-party Debian repositories are enabled by default +* ISOs available for Cinnamon, Xfce, GNOME, KDE, MATE, Budgie, and LXQt desktop environments +* An experimental “builder” ISO for experts + +![SpiralLinux DE offerings][6] + +#### System Requirements + +There’s no mention of 32-bit or ARM support in the official documentation. You only get a single download option for a 64-bit system. + +As SpiralLinux is entirely based on Debian stable, these are the standard system requirements for 64-bit machines: + +* RAM: 2 GB or higher (Depends on the [desktop environment][7] you choose) +* Processor: Dual-core or higher +* Disk: 15 GB or higher + +#### Installation + +![Calamares installer for SpiralLinux][8] + +As you expect from any easy-to-use Linux distro, SpiralLinux provides a graphical installer. Avid distrohoppers can easily see that it uses Calamares installer. + +The installer has all the necessary features you expect such as manual/auto partitioning, disk encryption, changing bootloader location, and so on. + +You can choose Btrfs as the default file system while installing SpiralLinux. + +### My Experience with SpiralLinux + +Experience. This is what really matters in the end because adding tons of features can only reduce steps after the first boot. + +Like any other thing in the world, SpiralLinux has some good and some bad points. I’ll be addressing both pros and cons so that you can have a better idea. + +#### Positives + +Let’s start this review with positives, which includes the parts which I enjoyed. + +##### Hardware support + +My system is equipped with modern hardware and requires a modern kernel. By far, I never thought I would be able to boot into Debian 11, but this changed my mind. + +By default, you get Linux Kernel 5.18, which is newer than what you get on vanilla Debian (5.10 series) and works well on my 12th gen Intel CPU. + +![Linux kernel 5.18][9] + +##### Non-free repositories + +![Non-free repos][10] + +Once in a while, we all need to install proprietary packages that are not available in default repositories. + +These non-free repositories include closed-source firmware and drivers, which will help install proprietary microcodes and other software unavailable in the default repository. + +##### Switching from Stable to Sid and Testing + +![Using Debian Sid][11] + +This is my favorite feature from the entire catalog. Just imagine, you can switch between stable, unstable, and testing branches without using a single command. + +The best part is that users are given simple instructions on how they can switch between branches. You can access them from [here.][12] + +##### Performance + +SpiralLinux is well optimized in terms of RAM consumption and makes it an ideal choice for low-end hardware if you choose the right desktop environment. + +I’ll show you what you can expect from [different desktop environments][13]. So if you are someone with decent hardware, you can opt for Cinnamon, as it only consumes around 900 MB of RAM in idle usage. + +![idle ram consumption on cinnamon de][14] + +But what if you are looking for something lighter? change your current DE to Xfce and as we already know, it is one of the most lightweight DEs; idle RAM consumption will only be around 600 MB. + +![Idle ram consumption on Xfce de][15] + +Either way, I didn’t encounter any performance issues, and things went well. + +#### Negatives + +SpiralLinux shines in various scenarios but I also encountered a few hiccups. Let me share them with you. + +##### Hardware Acceleration Issue in VM + +Once you boot into a VM without any hardware acceleration, you will be advised to enable it, as you may experience poor performance and high CPU usage. + +![Requires hardware acceleration for better performance][16] + +And once you enable hardware acceleration, you will find your VM is often crashing while booting. It’s no minor crash and makes your VM unstable. + +![VM Hardware acceleration issue][17] + +You can easily use SpiralLinux without enabling any hardware acceleration. I found no issues at all while using it without any acceleration enabled. + +##### Snap Issues + +While Snaps are not my go-to choice, I use them when I want to get away from building packages from source. But this was a below-average experience with snaps in SpiralLinux. + +I had two issues. One is that many of the snap packages were not even working. I even tried switching between other branches. + +This was the issue with the fresh installation, without even changing a single config file. I noticed that many of my favorite apps, such as Spotify and Slack were not working in Snap form. + +Some packages did work though. I use Shutter for screenshots and when I installed it using snaps, I was introduced to a quite outdated UI. + +![Shutter][18] + +The second problem was that any installed snap packed are not listed in the system menu by default. You can easily solve that issue by utilizing the given command: + +``` +sudo cp /var/lib/snapd/desktop/applications/*.desktop ~/.local/share/applications/ +``` + +But this was only with Snap packages. Flatpaks were working quite smoothly and none of the problems I mentioned above were faced with Flatpaks. + +### Final Thoughts + +I like the imagination of the developer. GeckoLinux is based on openSUSE. Since openSUSE logo/mascot is a chameleon, the developer named it Gecko (a type of lizard). + +The logo of Debian is a swirl, so the developer named the Debian variant SpiralLinux. + +Both have the intention of simplifying the experience of their popular parent distro. + +[Many other Debian-based distributions][19] have the same purpose as SpiralLinux. Linux Mint Debian Edition ([LMDE][20]) is one such example. + +Personally, I would prefer using the main distribution instead of its derivative. But I understand that a few users may find it more convenient to use these derivatives. + +I leave the comments open for you now. Do you think SpiralLinux has the potential to carve out a niche for itself or is it one of those distributions that will be lost in oblivion? + +-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +via: https://itsfoss.com/spirallinux-review/ + +作者：[Sagar Sharma][a] +选题：[lkxed][b] +译者：[译者ID](https://github.com/译者ID) +校对：[校对者ID](https://github.com/校对者ID) + +本文由 [LCTT](https://github.com/LCTT/TranslateProject) 原创编译，[Linux中国](https://linux.cn/) 荣誉推出 + +[a]: https://itsfoss.com/author/sagar/ +[b]: https://github.com/lkxed +[1]: https://itsfoss.com/geckolinux-review/ +[2]: https://geckolinux.github.io/ +[3]: https://spirallinux.github.io/ +[4]: https://itsfoss.com/debian-based-distros/ +[5]: https://itsfoss.com/install-debian-easily/ +[6]: https://itsfoss.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/spirallinux-flavors.png +[7]: https://itsfoss.com/what-is-desktop-environment/ +[8]: https://itsfoss.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Calamares-installer-1.png +[9]: https://itsfoss.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Linux-Kernel-5.18-1.png +[10]: https://itsfoss.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Non-free-repos.png +[11]: https://itsfoss.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Using-Debian-sid.png +[12]: https://github.com/SpiralLinux/SpiralLinux-project/wiki#switching-from-debian-stable-to-the-testing-or-unstable-branch +[13]: https://itsfoss.com/best-linux-desktop-environments/ +[14]: https://itsfoss.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/idle-RAM-consumption-on-Cinnamon-DE.png +[15]: https://itsfoss.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/idle-RAM-consumption-on-Xfce-DE.png +[16]: https://itsfoss.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Reuires-hardware-acceleration-for-better-performance.png +[17]: https://itsfoss.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/VM-3D-acceleration-issue.png +[18]: https://itsfoss.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Shutter.png +[19]: https://itsfoss.com/debian-based-distros/ +[20]: https://linuxmint.com/download_lmde.php