Parsix is based on Debian Testing, with its own repository and using the Gnome 3 desktop. The disk offers the choices of checking the media or running a live session, and the language and keyboard are selected at this stage. The installer doesn’t do disk partitioning, but Gparted is provided. Unfortunately the installer doesn’t do encryption either, or even allow you to set a bootloader password. Nor does it set language, keyboard, or time zone: this has to be done after installation.

Software includes Iceweasel, Empathy, Evolution, Gwibber, Liferea, Xchat, LibreOffice, Grisbi accounts, Gimp, Inkscape, VLC, and Virtual Box. Everything worked, with a few minor warnings for Empathy and Gwibber when run from the CLI. Codecs and the flash plugin are installed and everything played, even my ‘mp4 from hell’. Help files were missing for Empathy, Grisbi, and Inkscape. This leaves you needing on-line documentation, and Grisbi doesn’t have any! Evolution was not listed in the menu. I needed to download an English dictionary and found that Synaptic has been replaced by PackageKit, which is even slower than in Fedora: stick to apt-get. Unlike many Debian derivatives, it had the ability to select USB speakers.

The lack of easy encryption is bad: I wouldn’t want to put this on a laptop with personal data on it. Also, I don’t find this version as good as the previous one. As a Debian or Ubuntu derivative with Gnome, it’s comparable with Arios, Pinguy, and Solus, but not as nice as Mint.