HandyLinux, a Linux distribution based on Debian and a heavily modified Xfce desktop, has been upgraded to version 2.2 and is now available for download.

HandyLinux is not your typical operating system, despite using Debian and Xfce, which are a couple of technologies used in all sorts of projects. You would think that it's difficult to be surprised by anything, but the HandyLinux developers have managed to transform the Xfce desktop into something recognizable and unique to this OS.

Most of the important distributions out there are easy to recognize with just one look and HandyLinux is one of them. The makers of the OS have worked very hard to make sure that the desktop environment is easy to use, different, and the same time provide a smooth learning curve for new users.

HandyLinux 2.2 is a big upgrade

The developers of HandyLinux have always been quick to adopt the latest version of Debian, and they are doing the same thing right now. The new version of the OS is now based on Debian 8.2, which was released only a couple of days ago.

According to the changelog, Iceweasel 40 has been added by default, μblock has been replaced by μblock.origin, qwant, wiktionary and openstreetmap have been added, the famous  HandyMenu has been upgraded to version 3, a Gimp 'light config has been added, pulseaudio has been removed, and custom actions have been implemented in the file manager Thunar.

Also, curl, mpg321 and sox have been added as well, unbound is now used as a local DNS resolver to avoid filtering ISP, and the Xfce menu editor has been suppressed and it's now useless.

You can find more details about this distribution in the HandyLinux release notes, but they are written in French. Don't worry, the system has English support. You can also download HandyLinux 2.2 right now from Softpedia.