Turkish distro based on Debian maintains
its latest version’s sky-high standards
By Larry Cafiero
When I first took this week’s Distro of the Week out for a spin – and that was when I was at FOSS Force back in December of last year – I recall being wowed by its performance and simplicity.
Fast forward to today and two version later: Pardus 25.2 Xfce once again does not disappoint, and once again deserves high praise.
The recommended hardware specs for Pardus are very straightforward: It requires a modern multi-core processor, a minimum of 4 GB of RAM although it works better with 8 GB or more, at least 20 GB of disk storage, a compatible graphics card, and it helps to have WiFi, or at least ethernet, network access for the Internet.
A little history
Pardus – the name is derived from Panthera Pardus Tulliana, the scientific designation of the Anatolian Leopard – is a Linux distribution which started with its main focus in Turkish government and public-sector environments.
Started in 2003 by the Turkish National Research Institute of Electronics and Cryptology under the watchful eye of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey, the first live CD version was a fork of Gentoo Linux in 2005. Over time, Pardus evolved from a government-sponsored project into a community-driven distribution, changing its base to Debian in the process.
Installing Pardus 25.2 Xfce
Based on Debian 13 “Trixie,” Pardus’ latest version was released in mid-July. And while the default desktop environment is Gnome, we chose to forego that to opt for the Xfce desktop environment.
The enhancements for the latest version against version 25.1 and the original 25.0 are basic but noteworthy: Pardus 25.2 obviously includes all the updates from the last version, but also the latest version optimizes system performance for speed and efficiency, and includes more security features like AppArmor.
In short, Pardus 25.2 offers a more polished experience with all the updates from 25.1, enhancing performance, security, and user interface.
The ISO for the Pardus 25.2 Xfce version is about 3 GB, which downloaded in roughly six minutes. Once we put the ISO on a USB drive and plugged it in to our various laptops, one at a time, the download was fairly quick, thanks to the Pardus installer YALI – which stands for “Yet Another Linux Installer.”
YALI asks for your language, keyboard layout, time zone, disk partitioning (note: here would be a good time to use “Automated installation,” unless you’re really good at Linux – and don’t forget to check the box for “Install system with updates”), and from there it asks if you’re sure you want to install the distro, and off you go.
Taking Pardus 25.2 Xfce for a spin
One of the first things a user might notice about Pardus 25.2 is the clean design of the Xfce desktop. The bottom panel contains a variety of icons that are convenient for day-to-day use. The menu is activated with a click on the far left, while a variety of icons – including the WiFi, Updater, Bluetooth, Power Manager, Volume, Battery, Notification, Date/Time and Logout – all sit dutifully on the right.
To Pardus’ immense credit, all the software you may need is included in the original install. Web browser? Firefox. E-mail client? Evolution (an interesting choice, but worked wonders nonetheless). Graphics editor? GIMP. Media player? VLC. It’s all here – so much so that I hadn’t even considered installing additional software. It also comes with a hefty amount of Debian-based tools as well.
Because Pardus comes with essentially all the software a user could possibly need installed by default, the only reason you would really do so is if you planned your own personal software shopping spree, if you lean that way. Because the distro is based on Debian, you can apt-get your way through the terminal, but the Pardus Software Center provides a much easier way to go about downloading software and installing.
With Debian rumbling under the hood, Pardus 25.2 responds quickly and efficiently to any and all requests made of it. The distro handled daily multitasking duties with ease, hardly breaking a sweat, which incidentally I could monitor thanks to a sensor-viewer tool in the Systems menu. Going back and forth between software in day-to-day use was simple, and the distro played well with web apps such as Google Docs and Google Drive.
As I said in the original review and it stands to this day: To the distro’s credit, the combination of useful apps and tools make Pardus a distro where a user’s curiosity might be piqued enough to take a deeper dive into the distro itself.
The final word
In the last review back in December, I mused about why Pardus isn’t near the top of the list of all-time great distros. Maybe the fact that Turkey is not exactly a known FOSS hotbed is what’s hamstringing it from getting a wider international audience.
Nevertheless, Pardus 25.2 has improved slightly since I reviewed it last, and is unquestionably an outstanding Linux distro.
Like its predecessor reviewed in December, Pardus 25.2 Xfce performed remarkably this week, passing each test easily with flying colors. It was an absolute joy to use and it did not falter for an instant, meaning it would be suitable to use across the spectrum in the Linux universe.
In other words, beginners should feel at home with the amount of easily usable software Pardus provides right off the bat, and more experienced users will appreciate the wealth of tools it has to offer. Both the new user and the grizzled graybeard will appreciate Pardus’s clean look and nimble responsiveness.
Pardus 25.2 deserves a shot, even if you’re set in your Linux ways. You can download it from the Pardus download page on the project’s website.
Do you have a distro you think would make a great feature for Distro of the Week? Don’t be shy—let me know! Email me at larry.cafiero@gmail.com and I’ll make an effort to make your choice available to the wider public … No suggestion is too mainstream!