The release of the Ubuntu Sway Remix 23.10 distribution is available, offering a pre-configured and ready-to-use desktop based on the Sway tiling window manager. This distribution is an unofficial edition of Ubuntu 23.10, designed with both experienced GNU/Linux users and newcomers in mind, who wish to try out a tiling window manager environment without the lengthy configuration process. Builds are prepared for amd64 and arm64 architectures (Raspberry Pi).
The distribution's environment is based on Sway — a compositing manager that uses the Wayland protocol and is fully compatible with the i3 tiling window manager, as well as the Waybar panel, PCManFM-GTK3 file manager, and utilities from the NWG-Shell project, such as the desktop wallpaper manager Azote, fullscreen application menu nwg-drawer, screen output utility for script contents nwg-wrapper (used to display hotkey hints on the desktop), GTK theme, cursor, and font manager nwg-look, and the Autotiling script, which automatically arranges windows of open applications like dynamic tiling window managers.
The distribution includes both graphical applications, such as Firefox, Qutebrowser, Audacious, Transmission, Libreoffice, Pluma, and MATE Calc, as well as console applications and utilities like the music player Musikcube, the video player MPV, the image viewer IMV, the PDF document viewer Zathura, the text editor Neovim, the file manager Ranger, and more.
Another feature of the distribution is the complete abandonment of the Snap package manager; all programs are provided as standard deb packages, including the Firefox web browser, for which the official PPA repository from the Mozilla Team is used. The installer of the distribution is based on the Calamares framework.
Key Changes:
- Integrated is the sway-systemd component, which implements a mechanism for launching user systemd services at desktop startup, as well as placing the launched applications and services into separate control groups, allowing for more accurate identification of resource-heavy processes and quicker response to memory shortages when using the systemd-oomd daemon. The handling of the directories ~/ .config/ autostart and /etc/ xdg/ autostart has also transitioned to using systemd: automatically launched applications now start only after Sway is fully loaded and the Status Notifier Item (SNI) mechanism is ready, eliminating race conditions. Moreover, sway-systemd enables proper termination of running applications and services upon session exit, reboot, or system shutdown.
- The EarlyOOM daemon, which monitors resource consumption by processes and triggers the OOM Killer when necessary, has been replaced with systemd-oomd.
- The Bluetooth connection management utility Blutuith is utilized, supporting file reception and transmission via the OBEX protocol, remote control of connected devices, flexible management of connected Bluetooth adapters, and more.
- The image viewing utility Swayimg has been replaced with IMV, a more functional tool that supports a greater number of image formats.
- The utility for configuring input devices, Sway Input Configurator, has been updated with localization support (translations added for Russian, Belarusian, and Ukrainian), implemented click method settings on touchpads without physical buttons, and allowed configuration of touchpad events, such as temporarily disabling the touchpad when a mouse is connected, along with minor interface improvements.
- Updated official applications: nwg-look 0.2.2, nwg-drawer 0.3.9, nwg-displays 0.3.7, nwg-bar 0.1.3, musikcube 3.0.
- Support for the single-board computer Raspberry Pi 5 has been added.
Source: opennet.ru
