SparkyLinux
Written on Aug 21, 2026
Unlike Kubuntu, the semi-rolling flavor of SparkyLinux provides an up-to-date version of KDE Plasma. Like Kubuntu, however, it's based on the testing branch of Debian ("Forky").
I installed SparkyLinux in a VirtualBox virtual machine to see how it differed from other Debian and Ubuntu distributions offering KDE Plasma. Since it's based on Debian alone, I didn't expect anything to surprise me, and nothing did.
Applications
Instead of using the Discover application to install and update applications, SparkyLinux has its own "APTus AppCenter" application. I didn't find it any harder to use than Discover. Instead of the latest Firefox build, it ships with Firefox ESR.
It's easy enough to switch. All I'd have to do is uninstall the Firefox ESR version in the AppCenter and then install the latest Firefox build. I wouldn't have to contend with something like the Canonical Snap system.
Unfortunately, I can't run the audio-recorder application even though it's a Debian package. I couldn't run it on PikaOS either. It wouldn't be a big deal if I wanted to use either distribution. I could run it on another distribution in a virtual machine along with Spotify.
Bugs
While I was testing applications, and meant to hit alt-tab on the host, I accidentally did so in the virtual machine. A popup told me the window switcher application was broken. I don't know if it would happen if I installed it on bare metal, but I don't want to do that.
I didn't notice anything else that could be broken, but then I wasn't looking for anything to be broken.
KDE Plasma or Cinnamon
Even though KDE Plasma might be more up-to-date than Kubuntu, I don't think the SparkyLinux version is any better. If I ever decide to use KDE Plasma on either of my computers, I'll probably go with Kubuntu. I prefer stability over cutting edge.
I've been using the Cinnamon edition of Linux Mint for so long, I don't remember what it was like to use anything else. The only thing KDE Plasma has that I might find useful is that it reopens applications that were open before shutting down.
It doesn't remember which workspaces they were on, but there's a KWin script for that. Remembering sessions isn't enough of a feature that would make me want to switch away from Cinnamon. I don't use enough applications at the same time to care.
Furthermore, Firefox remembers my tabs. So does Geany, which I use as my text editor. Things would have been much different if I had these choices when I was still working more than 20 years ago.
Image by Pavroo, GPL, via Wikimedia Commons