Ubuntu Web Remix 20.04.1: First Stable Version Of Chrome OS Alternative

It’s been over four months since I reported about the arrival of yet another Ubuntu-based Linux distribution called Ubuntu Web Remix.

So, if you were also waiting for it just like me, the wait is over because its creator, Rudra Saraswat, has finally announced and made its first stable release, Ubuntu Web Remix 20.04.1, available to download.

Ubuntu Web Remix: A Chrome OS Alternative Linux With Firefox

To remind you, after Ubuntu Unity and UbuntuEd, Ubuntu Web is the third unofficial Ubuntu remix distros by the same developer Rudra Saraswat.

Unlike the other two, Ubuntu Web Remix aims to be a web-centric operating system and an alternative to Google’s Chrome OS or Chromium OS.

Interestingly, Ubuntu Web employs Mozilla’s free and open source Firefox web browser instead of Google’s proprietary Chrome browser.

It uses an easy web-app (wapp) format to create and package web-apps using wadk tool for the desktop and install them using winst tool. You can also create your own web apps and package them for this remix distros.

And to install apps? Ubuntu Web features an official yet experimental Open Web Store to download packaged web applications. Once you download the package from the store (in original a script), install it by running the command:

sudo sh ./install-instagram

Or, you can also install without using terminal by first searching for ‘Run a file’ in the application launcher and then select the downloaded file and click ‘OK’.

After authentication, the app will be successfully installed.

Currently, it offers tons of unofficial and already packaged web applications such as DTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, YouTube, SoundCloud, Google Drive, Google Classroom, and Opendesktop.

Obviously, you can also install other Linux desktop applications using apt command line tool.

Surprisingly, Ubuntu Web does come with Anbox tool by default to install Android apps. I tried Anbox on Virtual machine and it works well there too.

If you use /e/ Foundation’s Cloud Services, then Ubuntu Web gives you out-of-the-box support for integration. As Rudra Saraswat quotes Ubuntu Web will have tighter integration with the /e/ App Store too in near future.

At last, if you want to give it a spin, donwload the ISO image available here or torrent file from here.