A year of improvements, but this German distro remains true to its Arch-based roots
By Larry Cafiero
Back in April, we took Garuda Broadwing Mokka on a test drive on FOSS Force. If memory serves, the distro got overall high marks on performance for the Arch-based distro.
Fast-forward to today. Garuda has uploaded its latest offering to the Linuxsphere – Garuda Temeraire – and the improvements made are many.
Powered by the 7.2 version of the Linux kernel, Germany’s Garuda has released the first major update in over a year for the Arch Linux-based distribution. The release introduces a new default kernel, Plasma Login Manager, a fully reworked Hyprland edition, better NVIDIA support for Sway, and more unified administration tools.
The release also brings a small change to Garuda’s naming convention. Previously, Garuda versions were named after birds of prey, however Temeraire changes that so well-known dragon names are the current standard. For those who are most curious, the name for this release comes from the dragon in Naomi Novik’s Temeraire novels.
Installing Garuda Temeraire
For purposes of this review, we are putting the Xfce version of the distro through its paces, even though the distro also comes with Cinnamon, Gnome, KDE Plasma and Mokka desktop environments, as well as Hyprland, i3, and SwayFX window managers.
The minimum system requirements for Garuda Temeraire are fairly straightforward. The user will need a 64-bit processor with 4 GB or more of RAM, at least 30 GB of storage space, and a graphics card supporting OpenGL 3.3 or higher.
The ISO for the Xfce edition weighs in at just over 3 GB, and downloaded fairly quickly. Once we got it onto a USB drive, it was installation time. Fortunately Garuda uses a Calamares-based installer which makes the installation of the distro a breeze.
Kicking the tires
The clean lines of the Xfce 4.20 desktop environment greet the user for Garuda Temeraire, with a dark but attractive desktop photo punctuated by a menu button in the lower left and important icons strewn along the left- and right-side of the bottom panel.
The Setup Assistant deserves special mention. Not only does it automatically download any updates that may have transpired in the distro, but it also provides the user with software download options to help him or her set up the system to their liking. Broken down by category, the Setup Assistant provides various software selections grouped by Audio (and we checked Strawberry), Browser, Communication, Development, Gaming (Aisleriot Solitaire and Knights chess, please), Graphics (GIMP, of course), Input Methods, Internet (Filezilla and Putty), Kernels, Mail (Thunderbird, please), Multimedia, Office (LibreOffice, of course), Other (Conky was tempting, but I passed), Software Centers (Octopi), Video (VLC, of course), and Virtualization.
In addition, the Garuda Toolbox – a window that comes up at the start – is also quite helpful in providing options and information on the distro as well. Although it seems to be aimed at more experienced users, the Toolbox provides a wide range of helpful suggestions to make your Garuda experience worthwhile.
Once we selected the additional software, we clicked the Apply button in the lower right, where the installer did its thing. And after a quick review of the Toolbox, we were on our way.
True to its Arch roots, Garuda Temeraire is quite responsive and nimble on its proverbial feet. The distro handled a variety of tasks easily and efficiently. Mutitasking was a breeze, with checking email while surfing the web handled by the distro with the speed and efficiency for which Arch is well-known.
The only glitch – minor, of course – was that, for some reason, the VLC media player didn’t play nicely with some of the hardware. No worries here, though, since Strawberry picked up the music-playing slack and performed admirably in my normally favorite VLC’s place. It makes a user wonder whether Strawberry should be a go-to for all music-playing in the future.
Garuda Temeraire also played well with web apps like Google Docs and Google Drive, hardly breaking a proverbial sweat in dealing with both.
The final word
The amount of effort that the developers of Garuda put into their latest Linux effort is, in short, simply remarkable. All of them can be proud of a first-class effort across the board.
As I wrote in April, Garuda is good for beginners – and even now in August, the latest version still is – if for no other reason that an improved Setup Assistant and Toolbox shepherds the new users accordingly. Additionally, with a number of desktop environments to choose from — and with Arch rumbling under the hood — this distro offers nearly everything to a wide variety of users. Its new-user friendliness, coupled with the wide range of options its Toolbox offers to intermediate users and greybeards, makes it an ideal daily-use distro for nearly everyone.
Additionally, Garuda Linux remains a strong contender in the current Linux distribution landscape, and arguably an heir-apparent to the Arch-based distro crown. Its combination of user-friendly installation, performance optimizations, and stunning visuals makes it a compelling choice for anyone looking to explore the power of Arch Linux without Arch’s associated complexities.
Don’t take my word for it. Download Garuda Temeraire from its download page and give it a spin.
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!