Available now, the distribution Tileos 1.0 “t-rex” is now released. This distribution is built on the package base of Debian and offers a desktop using mosaic window managers. Tileos aims to provide a user-friendly interface that is suitable for both experienced Linux users and beginners interested in trying out mosaic window managers without the need for extensive setup.
Unlike Ubuntu Sway Remix, Tileos allows for more customization and is free from potential copyright issues. While Ubuntu Sway Remix uses registered Canonical trademarks, there has been no official response regarding its inclusion in the official Ubuntu family. The downloads for Tileos are available for AMD64 architecture, with future plans to support ARM64, including the Raspberry Pi board. The source code for Tileos components can be found on GitLab.
Tileos focuses on window managers that utilize the Wayland protocol, featuring desktops like sway and river. In development are desktop environments like swayfx (a fork of SWAY with additional desktop effects) and qtile. The distribution utilizes the Debian Stable package base with enhancements and fresher software versions from the testing branch, including optimizations for disk and memory management and improvements borrowed from Ubuntu.
Key features of Tileos include:
- Linux 6.6.15 with enhanced response time
- Open video drivers, Mesa 23.2.1, and Xwayland 23.2.2
- Default ZRAM mechanism with ZSTD compression algorithm
- Preinstalled non-free drivers and firmware for increased device support
- Additional software repositories connected by default
- Possibility to choose additional software in the Calamares installer
- D-Bus Broker for managing user sessions
- Pipewire as the sound server
- Systemd control for user sessions