Considering a switch from Microsoft Windows 11? Check out SparkyLinux 7.3

For those of you considering a switch from Windows 11, the latest update from SparkyLinux might just be the ticket. Sparky 7.3 "Orion Belt," the third quarterly update of Sparky 7, has been released, and it's packed with features that make it an attractive alternative to Microsoft's offering.

Based on Debian 12 "Bookworm," Sparky 7.3 offers compatibility and stability. The update brings all packages up to date with the Debian and Sparky stable repositories as of March 13, 2024. It includes the Linux kernel PC 6.1.67 LTS, with other versions like 6.8.0, 6.6.21-LTS, and 5.15.151-LTS available in the Sparky repositories.

For those who prioritize productivity, LibreOffice 7.4.7 is included, along with a range of desktop environments to suit different preferences, including KDE Plasma 5.27.5, LXQt 1.2.0, MATE 1.26, Xfce 4.18, and Openbox 3.6.1. The update also features Firefox 115.8.0esr, Thunderbird 115.8.0, VLC 3.0.20, and Exaile 4.1.3, among other applications.

A notable addition to Sparky 7.3 is the new application Noi, available for amd64 only. Noi is a chatbot GUI application that supports various AI models, including ChatGPT, Claude, Bard, Poe, Perplexity, Copilot, HuggingChat, Pi, Coze, and YOU.

Sparky 7.3 "Orion Belt" is available in several versions, catering to different hardware requirements, including amd64 BIOS/UEFI+Secure Boot, i686 non-pae BIOS/UEFI (Legacy), and ARMHF & ARM64 Openbox & CLI. For users concerned about bootable partition detection, Sparky provides a GRUB option to detect other OSes, with instructions to fix any issues caused by GRUB package updates.

For those already using Sparky 7, there's no need to reinstall the OS. Simply keep it up to date to enjoy the benefits of the 7.3 update. New ISO images can be downloaded from the SparkyLinux website here.