It was recently presented new version release update of “Raspberry Pi OS 2024-10-22”, which comes with the implementation of several important changes and improvements.
Among the most notable changes presented by Raspberry Pi OS 2024-10-22, we can find that the Desktop environment has been migrated to Composite Server labwc, that relies on the library wlroots (from the Sway project) and provides functions similar to the window manager open box.
This new server, Based on Wayland, it has been implemented in both builds for legacy boards, which previously used the X server with Openbox, as in motherboards Raspberry Pi 4/5, who had already migrated to Wayland with Wayfire.
Wayland also offers a security advantage. In X, all applications communicated with the display server, and therefore any application could observe any other application. Wayland isolates applications at the compositor level, so applications cannot observe each other.
It is mentioned that Initially the developers tried to adapt Wayfire for all Raspberry Pi boards, but they found that it was not compatible with the graphic performance of the older models. Thus, they opted for labwc, which proved to be more effective in supporting these devices. With the collaboration of the developers of labwc y wlroots, they managed to optimize the graphical shell in labwc to achieve performance similar to that previously achieved with the X server.
For new installations, labwc is enabled by default. For existing systems, users will be prompted on first boot after the upgrade to decide whether to switch to labwc or keep their previous configuration with Wayfire or a combination of X server and Openbox.
In terms of user experience, the environment remains largely the same, although some visual effects have been removed and X11 applications continue to run seamlessly using Xwayland.
Another improvements that is presented in Raspberry Pi OS 2024-10-22 are those of support for touch screens, since now The Squeekboard on-screen keyboard is automatically displayed when input is required, and touch gestures have been added that replicate functions such as double-click and right-click.
In addition to this, the integration with Raspberry Pi Connect has improved, Well now it has been made it easier to connect remotely to the desktop from a web browser by including a connection indicator that appears by default in the system tray, allowing users to activate or deactivate the service with a single click.
Also A new display configurator called Raindrop has been added, that visually reminiscent of the arandr interface, but it has been rewritten from scratch to optimize its operation with the labwc server and improve usability on touch screens.
Moreover, The top bar of the app has also been redesigned. In this new version, the plugin loading logic has been modified, allowing plugins to no longer take up memory after being removed from the panel, as each plugin is now run from its own independent library.
Finally, synchronization is complete of the system with the package database Debian 12 most recent.
If you are interested in learning more about this new Raspberry Pi OS update, you can check out the full details in the original post via from the following link.
Download Raspberry Pi OS 2024-10-22
As with previous versions, this update offers several options for users. These include:
- Reduced version for servers: 438 MB.
- Basic Edition with Desktop: 1.1 GB.
- Full Desktop Edition: 2.9 GB, which includes an additional set of applications.
If you are not yet a user of the distribution and want to try it on your device, you can obtain the system image by going to the official website of the project, where you will find the download section.
Once the image is downloaded, You can use Etcher to burn it to a pendrive and thus booting the system from your SD card. Alternatively, you can use NOOBS or PINN to ease the installation process. Download link
For those who already have the system installed and you want to receive the news of this new version, you just have to execute the following commands in the terminal:
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
If you already have an existing image and want to install NetworkManager, you can do so with the following additional command:
sudo apt install network-manager