Yesterday, the Simplicity Linux 20.1 development team announced the latest release of the U.K.-based Linux distro, Simplicity Linux 20.1.
Simplicity Linux is a Puppy Linux derivative, and the latest version, 20.1, is based on BusterDog. BusterDog is an offshoot of Debian 10, codenamed ‘Buster.’ However, BusterDog avoids systemd by replacing it with elogind.
What’s New in Simplicity 20.1
Unfortunately, the release announcement was void of detailed information concerning software package changes and updates. However, we can report a few significant changes included in this latest release.
The latest release of Simplicity Linux, 20.1
Simplicity Linux 20.1 development chose to pre-install Pulse Audio in this release instead of using ALSA because of problems with some modern apps used in the distro.
Also, although releases usually come in three different editions:
Simplicity Linux – “Designed To Just Work”
- Mini Edition is the lightweight Linux distro featuring a minimum of pre-installed software. The Mini Edition, instead, relies on cloud-based software, including shortcuts to commonly used cloud-based software in the included browser, Google Chrome.
- Desktop Edition is Simplicity Linux’s most fully-featured edition. The Desktop Edition comes pre-installed with many commonly used FOSS applications, including Claws Mail, Google Chrome, LibreOffice, VLC, Transmission, Geany, and many other FOSS applications.
- X Edition is, for lack of a better term, their development version of Simplicity Linux, showcasing features and software that may or may not appear in future versions of the distro.
The Simplicity Linux 20.1 Desktop Edition
However, with Simplicity Linux 20.1, the developers opted to forgo the X Edition this release and include, instead, a Gaming Edition.
The Simplicity Linux 20.1 Gaming Edition includes Blacknut, Cloud Gaming, Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) for streaming and recording, and the Steam Launcher, which downloads and installs the latest version of Steam on the first run.
Conclusion
Simplicity Linux 20.1 is a serious candidate for Windows 7 refugees still looking for a supported distribution almost a month since Microsoft dropped support for the OS. This is especially true for those with older hardware.
All three editions of Simplicity Linux 20.1 – Mini, Desktop, and Gaming – are available for download from SourceForge.net.
