Linux is one of the best OS available for everyone – for both general users and pro users. It’s open-source, free and very powerful for all types of tasks. Different organizations & communities collect all the Linux parts, compile and pack them into different distributions, shortly named distros. Each comes up with various features and facilities. GeckoLinux is a recent addition to the Linux distro list.

This new one is based on the openSUSE, the best & free alternative to RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux). GeckoLinux is a spin of openSUSE. With a cleaner & lighter system, this is a perfect alternative for openSUSE for general users.

There are plenty of reasons to choose GeckoLinux. For example, you’re an openSUSE user for a long time. You may need to change your OS or refresh your mind with a different distro. This openSUSE spin has every feature you need to be on your desktop. Let’s get GeckoLinux.

The features

Live DVD/USB image – run GeckoLinux before you install

Desktop – GeckoLinux comes up with a big library of available desktop environments: Cinnamon, GNOME, Plasma, XFCE, Budgie, Mate, Barebones & LXQt. Just pick up your favorite one!

Pre-installed software – GeckoLinux comes up with a good collection of pre-installed software (LibreOffice, Clementine, Thunderbird, GParted etc.) and proprietary media codecs. You don’t have to install anything else externally.

Font rendering – If you’ve used openSUSE, you’ll notice the difference clearly. GeckoLinux completely overwhelms in this case. According to official GeckoLinux, quote,” GeckoLinux comes preconfigured with what many would consider being good font rendering, whereas many users find openSUSE’s default font configuration to be less than desirable.”

Program uninstall – GeckoLinux allows uninstalling a program along with its dependencies. In openSUSE, the system often re-installed uninstalled packages.

GeckoLinux doesn’t force install any recommended package after initial installation. OpenSUSE is pretty troublesome – automatically installed many recommended package dependencies when the package manager run the first time. It’s worth mentioning that GeckoLinux uses the same package manager as openSUSE – the RPM (zipper) manager.

Installation

GeckoLinux is a really lightweight OS. As it’s based on openSUSE, it provides several main variations – GeckoLinux Static (based on openSUSE Leap), Rolling (based on openSUSE Tumbleweed) & NEXT (based on openSUSE Leap).

The installation process is very simple; even simpler than most other Linux installations. Rolling editions size up to 1.5GB and Static editions size up to 1GB. Installing is very fast and smooth – faster than openSUSE. GeckoLinux is highly portable – even can be installed into an 8GB flash drive easily and boot into any machine.

Performance

For its lightweight, GeckoLinux is blazingly fast. Though the performance isn’t quite different than openSUSE, it’s a bit faster when compared sharply.

However, GeckoLinux comes up with built-in Firefox 52, a pretty outdated version. So, your first task should be updating the Firefox to the latest version – Firefox Quantum. Then, you’ll see the change – it’ll open instantly after you click it.

If you’re looking for BLAZINGLY FASTER performance than openSUSE, GeckoLinux isn’t the suitable choice. If you’re habituated with openSUSE’s performance, GeckoLinux is a good alternative for home users.

I personally love GeckoLinux. With a lot of desktop environments support and improved polishes, it’s really worth to switch to GeckoLinux. Give it a shot on your desktop – you might even make it your portable companion on your USB flash drive!