14 DAY TRIAL // SolydX and SolydK, two Debian-based distributions that feature the Xfce and the KDE desktops, have been updated with the latest security fixes and they are now at version 201407.
SolydXK was built as an open source alternative for small businesses, non-profit organizations, and home users. If you take a closer look at the names of the distros, you will notice that one features X and the other K, which stand for Xfce and KDE, respectively, the two desktops used.
The distributions were also built as an alternative to Linux Mint, although the two developers are said to be working together in order to improve both operating systems.
SolydXK is not following a regular release model and the developers are upgrading the operating systems on a constant basis. The rolling release model allows SolydXK to get more changes and improvements than a normal Linux distribution.
The two distributions have a few different versions, depending on what the target audience is: SolydK Business Edition, SolydK Back Office, SolydX, and SolydK.
“The Home Editions were upgraded to the latest Upgrade Pack and the Business Editions were upgraded with the latest security updates. “
“Debian has started to move testing to systemd. The Home Editions use systemd while the Business Editions continue to use sysvinit. For the Home Editions, you will notice the difference during boot, but especially during shut down which now takes a lot less time. We can still need your help to improve boot time, though. Samba is on by default, and that is causing no significant improvement in boot time,” say the devs.
The developers also explain that kdenext has been removed from SolydK and Debian KDE is being followed closely. The multimedia repository (deb-multimedia) has been removed from the ISO, but some of the packages have been added to the official repos for this distro.
Another interesting change that was made recently in SolydXk is the replacement of the KDE Display Manager (KDM) with LightDM, and this is not something that you see every day. It turns out that KDM has been deprecated, so the devs needed a replacement for the display manager. LightDM in a KDE environment should be an interesting sight to see.
More details about the SolydK and SolydX can be found on the official website. You can download SolydK and SolydX from Softpedia. Keep in mind that you can test them live before deciding to install.