Kde – SparkyLinux

Sparky 6.1

2021/11/11 by pavroo

There is a next point release of Sparky 6 – 6.1 “Po Tolo” of the stable line ready to go. Sparky 6 is based on and fully compatible with Debian 11 “Bullseye”.

Changes:
– system upgraded from Debian & Sparky stable repos as of November 9, 2021
– Linux kernel 5.10.70 (PC)
– Linux kernel 5.10.63-v7+ (ARMHF)
– Firefox 78.14.0esr
– Thunderbird 78.14.0
– VLC 3.0.16
– LibreOffice 7.0.4
– LXQt 0.16.0
– Xfce 4.16
– Openbox 3.6.1-9
– KDE Plasma 5.20.5
– small improvements

System reinstallation is not required; if you have Sparky 6.x installed, make full system upgrade:

sparky-upgrade

or:

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

or via the System Upgrade tool.

Sparky 6 is available in the following flavours:
– amd64: LXQt, KDE Plasma, Xfce, MinimalGUI (Openbox) & MinimalCLI (text mode)
– i686: LXQt, MinimalGUI (Openbox) & MinimalCLI (text mode)
– armhf: Openbox & CLI (text mode)

New live/install media of the stable line can be downloaded from the download/stable page.

Informacja o wydaniu w języku polskim: https://linuxiarze.pl/sparky-6-1/

Sparky 6.0 “Po Tolo”

2021/08/212021/08/19 by pavroo

Sparky 6.0 “Po Tolo” has been released. It is based on and fully compatible with Debian 11 “Bullseye”.

Highlights:
– based on Debian stable 11 “Bullseye”
– all packages updated from Debian “Bullseye” & Sparky “Po Tolo” repos as of August 16, 2021
– Firefox 78.13.0ESR instead of Firefox (latest)
– Thunderbird 78.13.0
– VLC 3.0.16
– LibreOffice 7.0.4
– Calamares 3.2.41.1
– Linux kernel 5.10.46 LTS as default
– desktop fonts set to 11
– exfatprogs replaced exfat-fuse & exfat-utils to manage exFAT partitions
– installed ipp-usb to allow a USB device to be treated as a network device
– MinimalGUI: PCManFM replaces DoubleCMD-GTK; Firefox-ESR replaces Epiphany browser
– MinimalCLI: removed multilingual from boot settings and cli installer

Sparky APTus is no loger under development and has been replaced by Sparky APTus AppCenter, introduced over a year ago. It lets you:
– install, reinstall & remove over 2300 popular applications, including over 20 pre-configured desktops

– use all tools from the old APTus

– install and remove Linux kernels:
* Debian default, RealTime, (Backports & Backports RealTime when ready)
* Liquorix
* XanMod
* Sparky

Having in mind security and anonymity whilst surfing the net, all Sparky 6 iso images have RiseupVPN application preinstalled. It is not loaded as default, but can be started from your application’s Internet menu.

Sparky FirstRun app has been removed and replaced by Sparky Welcome.

Package “sparky-artwork-nature” features 12 new, beautiful nature wallpapers created by:
– Pavbaranow: sparky-nature 36-38
– Aneta: sparky-nature 39-43
– Dana: sparky-nature: 44-47

There is no need to reinstall your Sparky installation, if you have Sparky rolling (Po Tolo) installed – simply keep Sparky up to date. Sparky 6 “Po Tolo” has been moved from rolling to stable automatically.

If you want to keep Sparky rolling, based on the testing branch – wait a few days to new repos will be created. It will be posted separately, so stay tuned.

Sparky 6 “Po Tolo” is avialable in the following flavours:
amd64: Xfce & KDE Plasma
amd64 & i686: LXQt, MinimaGUI (Openbox) & MinimalCLI (text mode)

Note 1: Sparky 6 still supports old machines x86 (32bit).

Note 2: Sparky 6 amd64 can be installed on BIOS or UEFI machines using Sparky Installer (Calamares) or Sparky Advanced Installer (with Yad GUI or cli) as well. Sparky 6 i686 works on BIOS machines only.

Note 3: Installation of Sparky 6 on UEFI machines can be done with Secure Boot off. After installing, the Secure Boot can be turned on back, all required libs is installed during the system installation process.

Note 4: There are 3 repo mirrors located in Germany and USA, feel free to switch to a one:
wiki.sparkylinux.org/doku.php/mirrors
If you would like to provide a new one – simply send out a message.

Note 5: If you would like to upgrade Sparky 5 to the present stable Sparky 6 – follow the Wiki page: wiki.sparkylinux.org/doku.php/upgrade_5_to_6

Note 6: ARM images are not ready, stay tuned.

Send a small tip if you like SparkyLinux.

New iso images of Sparky 6 “Po Tolo” can be downloaded from the download/stable page

Many thanks to all community members for supporting and helping Sparky project.

Informacja o wydaniu w języku polskim: https://linuxiarze.pl/sparky-6-0-po-tolo/

Sparky 2021.06

2021/06/24 by pavroo

Sparky 2021.06, the semi-rolling release which is based on Debian testing “Bullseye” is out.
Debian Bullseye is hard frozen now, and is going to Full Freeze soon, so it is perfect time to give Sparky 6 a try before become stable.

Changelog:
– all packages updated from Debian and Sparky testing repos as of June 22
– Linux kernel 5.10.40 LTS (5.12.13 & 5.13-rc7 in Sparky unstable repos)
– added RiseupVPN to all iso images, which helps you protect your privacy using all networking applications
– fonts set to size 11
– a new application Sparky Welcome which replaced Sparky First Run
– small improvements
– MinimalGUI: changed Thunar to a two panels DoubleCMD-Gtk

System re-installation is not required, make full system upgrade via Sparky Upgrade gui tool or a command:

sparky-upgrade

or:

sudo apt update sudo apt full-upgrade

New rolling iso images can be downloaded from the download/rolling page.

Sparky 2021.03

2021/03/072021/03/06 by pavroo

Sparky 2021.03 of the (semi-)rolling line is out. It is the first snapshot in 2021 of Sparky which is based on the Debian testing “Bullseye”.

Changes:
– packages upgraded from Debian testing repos as of March 5, 2021
– Linux kernel 5.10.13 (5.11.3 & 5.12-rc2 in Sparky unstable repos)
– Firefox 86.0
– Thunderbird 78.8.0
– LibreOffice 7.0.4.2
– LXQt 0.16.0
– MATE 1.24.1
– Xfce 4.16
– Openbox 3.6.1
– New edition with KDE Plasma 5.20.5
– VLC 3.0.12
– Exaile 4.1.0
– Calamares 3.2.37 + kpmcore 20.12.3
– Sparky APTus AppCenter 20210302
– added extra keyboard shortcuts to Xfce, LXQt and Openbox: https://wiki.sparkylinux.org/doku.php/custom_shortcuts
– removed packages: sparky-xdf, bleachbit

LXQt:
– audio player: Exaile replaced by Clementine
– IM: Pidgin replaced by Kopete; HexChat replaced by Konversation
– Web: Cheese replaced by Webcamoid

System re-installation is not required, make full system upgrade via Sparky Upgrade gui tool or a command:

sparky-upgrade

or:

sudo apt update sudo apt full-upgrade

New rolling iso images can be downloaded from the download/rolling page.

Known issues:
– can not open terminal emulator via right click in Thunar in all non Xfce desktops and window managers; it requires xfce4-settings to be installed

Plasma video wallpaper

2018/01/09 by pavroo

There is a new, small tool available for KDE & Sparky users: Plasma video wallpaper module.

The module lets you use a video file as an animated wallpaper or lock screen.

It can be installed from Sparky repository via Synaptic or apt commands:
sudo apt update sudo apt install qml-module-org-kde-video-wallpaper
Then go to your desktop settings and change Image option to Video, then pick a video file.
It needs to log out and log in back.
Tested on Debian testing “Buster” / Sparky 5.

SparkyLinux 4.5.2

2016/12/182016/12/18 by pavroo

New, updated iso images of SparkyLinux 4.5.2 “Tyche” are ready for download.

The new images provide a Virtualbox related bug fix, which has been solved via the latest updates from Debian testing repos.

If you have Sparky already installed – you do not need to reinstall your system, simply keep it up to date.

So, the updated iso images let you play, test and install Sparky inside the VirtualBox virtual machine, as before.

There are a few important updates landed in Sparky repos in meantime:
– Budgie Desktop 10.2.9
– CDE (Common Desktop Environment) 2.2.4-1 (some small issues fixed)
– Enlightenment 0.21.5 & EFL 1.18.4
– Firefox 50.1
– Linux kernel 4.8.15
– Lumina Desktop 1.1.0-p1 (own build)
– Palemoon 27.0.3
– SlimJet 12.0.12
– Vivaldi 1.6
– Skype Installer 0.1.10 (installs 4.x i386 on 32 bit/1.x Alpha amd64 on x86_64 bit systems now)
– TOR Browser 6.0.8

Sparky iso images can be downloaded from the download page as usually.

SparkyLinux 4.5 is out

2016/12/03 by pavroo

There is an update of SparkyLinux 4.5 “Tyche” available now.

As before, Sparky “Home” editions provide fully featured operating system based on Debian ‘testing’ with desktops of your choice: LXDE, LXQt, KDE, MATE and Xfce.

Sparky MinimalGUI and MinimalCLI lets you install the base system with a minimal set of applications and your favorite desktop, via the Sparky Advanced Installer.

Changes between 4.4 and 4.5:
– full system upgrade as of November 29, 2016
– Linux kernel 4.8.7 as default (4.8.12-sparky available in Sparky ‘unstable’ repo)
– Firefox 45.5.0 ESR (Firefox 50.0.2 available in our repos)
– Icedove 45.4 (Thunderbird 45.5.1 available in our repos)
– LibreOffice 5.2.3-rc1
– libc6 2.24, systemd 232-6, python 2.7.12 + 3.5.2, gcc 5.4.1 + 6.2.0
– added 2 new desktops to be installed via the MinimalGUI/CLI and APTus: CDE (Common Desktop Environment), DDE (Deepin Desktop Environment); Pantheon desktop has been removed from the configuration
– all Sparky pages (blog, forums, wiki) are encrypted so they are available via the https protocol now; it did not make changes in Sparky repos
– Netsurf web browser replaced by Midori in MinimalGUI Edition – it does not work well with the https protocol
– added support for ‘exfat’ file system

Big thanks go to our community members, for their intensive help on Sparky forums and community portals.

Known issues:
– the live system does not work well inside VirtualBox (but works fine inside VMware Workstation, in BIOS and EFI mode)

ISO images of SparkyLinux can be downloaded from the download page.

Calligra suite

2021/06/162016/08/26 by pavroo

The Calligra suite 2.9.7 is available for Sparkers now.

From Wikipedia:

Calligra Suite is a graphic art and office suite by KDE split from KOffice in 2010. It is available for desktop PCs, tablet computers, and smartphones. It contains applications for word processing, spreadsheets, presentation, databases, vector graphics, and digital painting.
Calligra uses the OpenDocument format as its default file format for most applications and can import other formats, such as Microsoft Office formats. Calligra relies on KDE technology and is often used in combination with KDE Plasma Workspaces.

Calligra provides tools such as:
– Author – an e-book authoring application like iBooks Author[43] with EPUB export, newly introduced with Calligra Suite 2.6.
– Braindump – a notetaking and mindmapping application newly introduced with Calligra Suite 2.4.
– Flow – a programmable flowchart drawing program with dynamically loadable stencils. Formerly known as Kivio.
– Karbon – a vector graphics editor, formerly known as Karbon14.
– Kexi – a visual database management front-end, similar to Microsoft Access and with limited compatibility to Access’ file format.
– Krita – a digital painting program with some image editing features. Formerly known as Krayon and KImageshop.
– Plan – a project management application that can create Gantt charts. Formerly known as KPlato.
– Sheets – a spreadsheet program, formerly known as KSpread and Calligra Tables.
– Stage – a presentation program, formerly known as KPresenter.
– Words – a word processor with the ability to import Microsoft Word documents.

Installation:
sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install calligra
or via “Sparky Office” 0.1.12 tool.

Locales packages are also available to install.

SparkyLinux 4.4 is out

2021/09/042016/08/20 by pavroo

New updated live/install iso images of SparkyLinux 4.4 “Tyche” are available to download now.

As before, Sparky “Home” editions provide fully featured operating system based on the Debian ‘testing’, with desktops of your choice: LXDE, LXQt, KDE, MATE and Xfce.

Changes between versions 4.3 and 4.4:
– full system upgrade as of August 15, 2016
– Linux kernel 4.6.4 (4.7.1-sparky is available in Sparky repos, see howto)
– firefox 45.3.0.ESR (firefox 48 is available in Sparky repos)
– calamares is available (but not default yet) in our repos
– new default theme called ‘Numix-SX’
– added new desktops to MinimalISO and APTus: Lumina, Trinity and PekWM
– ‘tint2’ panel replaced by ‘fbpanel’ in the MinimalGUI iso images
– added ‘rootactions-servicemenu’ to the Dolphin file manager in the KDE edition
– added short key which runs a terminal emulator in the MinimalGUI edition (Super+t)
– added an option which lets you install a PDF viewer, to the ‘sparky-office’ tool
– Midori web browser replaced by NetSurf in the MinimalGUI edition
– the ‘sparky-firstrun’ which lets you fully upgrade the system and install missing language packages has been fixed
– the ‘sparkylinux-installer’ – a part of ‘sparky-backup-core’ tool refreshes package list itself and installs the latest desktop settings in the MinimalGUI and MinimalCLI editions
– added Vivaldi and NetSurf web browsers to Sparky repos
– improved Wiki pages

The Sparky Advanced Installer runs on MinimalGUI or MinimalCLI iso image lets you install the base system with a minimal set of applications and a desktop of your choice, such as: awesome, bspwm, Budgie, Cinnamon, Enlightenment, Fluxbox, GNOME Flashback, GNOME Shell, i3, IceWM, JWM, KDE Plasma 5, Lumina, LXDE, LXQt, MATE, Openbox, Pantheon, PekWM, Trinity, Window Maker, Xfce.

It also lets you choose a web browser to be installed: Chromium, Dillo, Epiphany, Firefox (esr or latest), Konqueror, Midori, NetSurf, QupZilla, SeaMonkey, TOR Browser, Vivaldi.

The installation of a desktop of your choice via the Advanced Installer is possible only if your network connection is on (online installation). Otherwise, the Advanced Installer installs the Live system as it is.

Read the MinimalISO how to https://wiki.sparkylinux.org/doku.php/minimal

ISO images of SparkyLinux can be downloaded from the download page:
https://sparkylinux.org/download/

Sparky ISO images verification how to: https://wiki.sparkylinux.org/doku.php/verify_iso

Known issues: login screen failed, see how to fix it.

SparkyLinux 4.3 is out

2021/09/042016/04/29 by pavroo

New, updated iso images of SparkyLinux 4.3 “Tyche” are available now.
As before, Sparky “Home” editions provide fully featured operating system based on the Debian ‘testing’, with desktops of your choice: LXDE, LXQt, KDE, MATE and Xfce.

Changes between version 4.2 and 4.3:
– full system upgrade as of April 24, 2016
– Linux kernel 4.5.1
– Iceweasel web browser replaced by Firefox
– Turpial microblogging client replaced by Corebird
– APTus 0.3.x with an option of installation a set of pre-configured desktops: https://sparkylinux.org/aptus-0-3-0/
– Ceni network manager changed by Network Manager in the CLI edition; the manual network configuration can be done via the ‘nmtui’ command
– openjdk and icedtea-plugin updated to version 8.x
– LibreOffice 5.1.2
– gstreamer0.10 completely removed, the system uses only gstreamer1.0 now
– Exaile audio player (based on gstreamer0.10) replaced by Audacious
– Gnome-Screenshot changed by Gscreenshot
– all the iso images are signed with the GPG key, check how to verify Sparky images:
https://wiki.sparkylinux.org/doku.php/verify_iso

“Base Openbox” and “CLI” editions changed their names to: MinimalGUI and MinimalCLI. They feature upgraded Sparky Advanced Installer, which lets you install the base system with a minimal set of applications and a desktop of your choice, such as:
– awesome
– bspwm
– Budgie
– Cinnamon
– Enlightenment
– Fluxbox
– GNOME Flashback
– GNOME Shell
– i3
– IceWM
– JWM
– KDE Plasma 5
– LXDE
– LXQt
– MATE
– Openbox
– Pantheon
– Window Maker
– Xfce

Find screenshots of all available Sparky desktops at:
https://sparkylinux.org/4-3-minimaliso-screenshots/

* Make sure that the Sparky Advanced Installer lets you install a desktop of your choice using the MinimaGUI or MinimalCLI iso images only. Using the Advanced Installer in the Home editions will install the Live system as it is.

ISO images of SparkyLinux can be downloaded from the download page:
https://sparkylinux.org/download/

Known issues:
* The Pantheon desktop needs to be chosen in the LightDM window instead of the default session at first login.

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