This lightweight distro loaded with apps is not your father’s GNU/Linux – here’s why

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ZDNET’s key takeaways

• Besgnulinux could be one of the best lightweight Linux distros.
• Besgnulinux is based on Debian Trixie.
• This distribution ships with tons of preinstalled apps.

Besgnulinux. Besgnulinux. Besgnulinux.

Say it three times, and Richard Stallman appears to shame you for not using 100% GNU/Linux tools.

When I see GNU/Linux associated with a Linux distribution, I immediately assume it will contain a minimal amount of preinstalled applications, all of which will tightly adhere to the GNU/Linux standards. While I’m not opposed to that, my problem is that such a list of applications will be limiting for me.

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For years, I’ve been of the “whatever tool works” mindset, which sometimes means I use open-source applications and sometimes not. 

Whatever works.

With Besgnulinux, you are getting only open-source software, but unlike many distributions that have come before it, this take on Linux includes tons of apps that allow you to hit the ground running.

There’s LibreOffice, Sylpheed (email client), Synaptic package manager, mpv media player, KeePassXC, Conky Control, Kernel Manager (a third-party software manager), Brave browser and Brave browser with Tor integration, Deluge (a Torrent app), and many more. You also get a collection of open-source games and plenty of configuration tools.

All of these apps are found in the JWM desktop menu. 

What is JWM? It’s Joe’s Window Manager, a lightweight Linux desktop UI that is blazingly fast and immediately familiar. JWM harkens back to an earlier time of Linux desktops, but not quite back to the Common Desktop Environment era. JWM isn’t modern-looking, doesn’t include a variety of effects, and isn’t nearly as visually appealing as, say, Cosmic or KDE Plasma.

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But JWM will make you feel right at home, even on an aging computer (aka that Windows 10 desktop or laptop that can’t run Windows 11). The minimum system requirements for Besgnulinux are:

• CPU: 64-bit (x86-64)
• RAM: A minimum of 250MB is listed, but 512MB or more is recommended for smoother operation
• Storage: At least 8GB of disk space

That’s right, 250MB of RAM is the minimum, but 512MB or more is recommended. When was the last time you thought a PC could run on 512MB of RAM? Maybe when Windows XP was still a thing?

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Don’t let the old-school look and feel deter you. Besgnulinux can easily serve you in this modern world. And given that it’s based on Debian “Trixie,” there are always the standard repositories from which to install any necessary software.

No universal package manager?

I was actually surprised to find neither Snap nor Flatpak installed on Besgnulinux. With the vast amount of preinstalled software, I would have assumed the developer understood that, in the case of software management, more is better. As a result, you are limited to APT out of the box.

The good news is that you can install either Snap or Flatpak with APT, so you don’t have to be without the apps you need, such as Spotify, Slack, or other proprietary software.

Also: Why Snap and Flatpak make Linux a better OS and how they’re different 

Gasp! Am I implying that it’s OK to install non-open-source software on a Linux distribution with the word GNU in its title?

Of course I am.

If you need it, install it.

If you want Flatpak, install it with:

sudo apt-get install flatpak -y

After that, add the Flathub repository with:

flatpak remote-add –if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

You’re good to go. 

Be Brave

When I noticed two iterations of the Brave browser, my curiosity was piqued. The first thing I did was launch Brave Tor to see how well it worked. Upon launching Brave Tor, the browser immediately began the process of connecting to the Tor network. Once connected, I pointed Brave Tor to What’s My IP and found it was working perfectly.

That’s pretty nice. Having a popular browser installed that can be used in the normal fashion or as a perfectly anonymous browser is a breath of fresh air, especially given that it all works out of the box.

Also: 7 features that make Brave such a good browser

For someone who values their privacy, this matters. There are times when I need complete anonymity and security, and Tor is my go-to. Having the ability to simply fire up a specific version of Brave (which is already a secure browser by default) with Tor built in out of the box can be a game-changer.

Old isn’t always bad

To be certain, Besgnulinux is a Linux distribution with an old-school charm. If you don’t mind a desktop environment that looks like it was yanked out of the early 2000s, this distribution could be a great introduction to Linux for just about anyone. While the sheer number of preinstalled apps in the desktop menu might be a bit off-putting to some users, it shouldn’t take anyone long to get up to speed with this lightweight Linux distribution.

Although Besgnulinux has been around for a while (this is the third major release), I predict it will become a darling among the lightweight distributions in the coming year.