So, I've created a new image built from scratch using core Ubuntu focal (20.04 LTS release) built with debootstrap, fine tuned Mate desktop and RaspberryPi related packages modified to work best on arm64.
Features:
- Built from scratch using debootstrap and docker...
- RaspberryPi related packages provided in my own repository, following packages are provided:
- kernel packages for 4.19, 5.4 (default, installed), 5.6 and 5.7 built from raspberry sources, header packages are also included, RaspberryPi boot files are included in the packages
- Chromium from Debian bullseye (installed), works better than Ubuntu's snap chromium-browser
- pi-bluetooth (installed)
- libraspberrypi-bin, userspace programs (installed)
- rc-gui, RaspberryPi graphical configuration (installed)
- wiringpi, ver 2.60 (installed)
- rpi-eeprom (installed)
- rp-bookshelf (installed)
- smtube, latest version (20.60), built from sources (installed)
- ffmpeg, including ffplay, built with mmal video decoder
- CodeLite, latest version, newer than Ubuntu's, built from source
- WPS Office, excelent office package, latest version
- ...
- The repositoy will be updated regularly with new kernels and other packages.
- root file system installed on btrfs, subvolume is used which makes backups and snapshots easy
Compression (zstd, level 3) is used which saves ~40% of the sdcard space and also makes sdcard access faster (if running from reletivelly slow cards) - boots from sdcard, sdcard inserted into USB reader or from USB-SSD
The image can be flashed with any image flashing program, for example Raspberry Pi Imager.The image (raspi_ubuntu_focal_arm64_btrfs.img.xz) can be downloaded from Mega.
md5sum file is available, if you want to check downloaded file's integrity before writting to sdcard.
Notes:
- Default user name is pi, password raspberry, you can change it in Mate Control Center
- Default root's password is raspberry, root login over SSH is enabled
- Default language is English, time zone UTC. You can change it from Control Center using Ubuntu provided tools or Raspberry Pi Configuration program.
- There is some screen tearing when moving windows horizontally with Marco adaptive compositor enabled (a known Rpi issue), you can disable it from MateTweaks in Control Center
- Video playback is hw accelerated in VLC, in Chromium, video playback is ok in 720p and 1080p/<30Hz
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