SolydXK Linux

SolydXK is an open source operating system for small and medium-sized businesses, non-profit organizations and home users. It is based on Debian, a Linux operating system that has existed since 1993. Stability, data security, privacy, self-direction and freedom of personal choice are the foundations on which SolydXK is built.

Freedom

Using SolydXK brings freedom. SolydXK is licensed under an open source license. This means that you are free to use the operating system for whatever you want, that you have free access to the source code and can adjust it to your liking and are free to copy this source code with or without changes.

Once you have chosen SolydXK, you are not dependent on SolydXK. Since SolydXK is based on Debian, you can easily fall back on Debian or another Debian-based distribution.

The SolydXK installation ISO file contains a functional live system which you can try before you decide to install.

Stability

SolydXK is based on the Debian distribution. Debian's and SolydXK's entire process of development, testing and production was set up to create a stable working environment. Software packages that undermine this stability are not allowed in the repository. This way you can be sure that all software available in the repository can safely be installed.

Each stable release has a period of about two years until the next stable release and every release is being supported for five years. During each period the updates are limited to security updates. Stability and reliability are the priority – not the latest features.

Safety

All Linux distributions are inherently safe. Only those with administrator privileges can install software, change system configuration and create users. Every user has his own, protected part of the system in which work is done. SolydXK is no exception.

SolydXK has already set a number of security and privacy preferences for you. As long as you install software from the provided repositories, you do not have to worry about unauthorized matters happening to your system. All software was tested by a worldwide team of developers before it was added to the repositories.

Privacy

Privacy is very important to SolydXK and the community and we pay a great deal of attention to it. How can we improve online privacy without having to compromise user-friendliness? This line is not always clear and thus privacy and how to implement it remains a dynamic discussion. SolydXK has configured the default browser, Firefox, to make it harder for sites to take your data. You still need common sense but these measures help you.

You can encrypt your home partition during the installation - or other storage devices later on - with the tools provided by SolydXK.

SolydX

SolydX is the lightest of the SolydXK operating systems with the Xfce desktop. It aims to use as few system resources as possible without having to compromise functionality. This edition is ideal for people that prefer things straightforward or for systems with a limited hardware configuration - or for people migrating from Windows 7.

SolydK

SolydK uses the KDE desktop and emphasizes configurability and modern design. It requires modern hardware. SolydK is ideal for people who prefer to have all the bells and whistles or for those that migrate from Windows 10.

Applications

SolydXK has all the programs you need to get productive right away:

  • Firefox is a popular browser to safely browse the internet, easily extendable with free downloadable addons.
  • Thunderbird is your default e-mail client.
  • LibreOffice contains all you need to write texts, to calculate and to prepare presentations. You can open and edit your MS Office documents as well.
  • VLC media player can play almost any music or video file, and you don’t need to install any additional codecs.

Help

In our forum you can post your SolydXK related question or problem. The official language is English, however you are welcome to also post in your own language. You can use an online translation service like Deepl to add the English translation to your message.

Community

SolydXK is made by the users, for the users. It cannot exist without its community. Without the knowledge, support and passion for this project, SolydXK could not have made it this far.

SolydXK has an active community where mutual respect and the satisfaction of helping each other has always been considered of paramount importance. There is room for those who take the first step and there is room for those who already have a lot of experience with the operating system.

History

The SolydXK operating systems started as a forum post of another distribution: Linux Mint. Initially, it was just than a manual, drawn up by Arjen Balfoort, to make your own Debian-based operating system with the KDE desktop. On 29 June 2012, the first official "Unofficial LMDE KDE" was released. Later that year Linux Mint stopped their Debian version with the XFCE desktop. Arjen Balfoort then decided to adopt this version and to release these two distributions under his own name. That's how SolydXK was born on February 28, 2013.

Contribute

Our core team always welcomes new members. So if you are interested in free software, engaging in our forums and helping other users is a good way to start! Also, if you encounter a bug, please report it on our forum.

Testing a new release and writing a review, for example on Distrowatch, would also be appreciated.

We are also always looking for sites willing to mirror our repository.

Donate

Nothing is set up at the moment but we'll probably get to it soon-ish. Your support is much appreciated!