Budgie-Remix is a new Linux distribution based on Ubuntu that uses the Budgie desktop environment. This is the first try in having an Ubuntu-based distribution running this new desktop as default.

Budgie is a desktop environment developed by the same people who are working on Solus, a relatively new Linux distribution. Just last week, the founder of Canonical, Mark Shuttleworth said that he would support a new Ubuntu flavor based on this new and very popular desktop.

The idea of having an Ubuntu OS with Budgie took hold in the community, and it only took a developer a few days to put an ISO together. The work is done by David Mohammed, but it's just a preliminary iteration. It's not stable and it will be likely modified in the coming months.

Ubuntu Budgie is a thing

David didn't name the new distro Ubuntu Budgie because he didn't want to get into the whole Ubuntu trademark discussion. If the developer continues on this road, he could eventually turn the Budgie-Remix into a proper Ubuntu flavor.

"I’ve added my budgie PPA. Hand-cranked a wallpaper, icon and theme via directly editing some base operating files. LightDM logon screen has been edited manually. I’ve added Gnome-Software, Nautilus (Files), Gnome-tweak-tool and dconf-editor to the mix. Then used the wonderful Pinguy Builder to create an ISO. It’s 64bit only and is only to be used in VirtualBox/Gnome-Boxes etc.," David wrote.

This is very early work, and it will take a long time until it is good enough to enter the greater Ubuntu family. You can think of it as a proof of concept, to show that it can be done and that it's easy to build.

There is no guarantee that Budgie-Remix will become the next Ubuntu Budgie, but it's nice to see just how implicated the community really is and how fast they can mobilize.

The lead developer for Budgie, Ikey Doherty already gave his blessing and said that other developers using Budgie are also a good thing since they would eventually send patches upstream, improving the desktop environment in the process.