When KaOS Linux dropped KDE Plasma, I worried - now I'm loving the new default desktop

"KaOS, according to the developer's website, is a "rolling and transparent distribution for the modern desktop, built from scratch with a very specific focus -- focus on one DE (desktop environment), one toolkit (Qt), one architecture (x86_64)." That DE is Niri, a scrollable, tiling compositor. Unlike most tiling window managers, Niri tiles all windows in a horizontal plane, which you can scroll left or right to find the window you want to work with."

"Picture this: You've opened an app on Niri. That first app opens on the left half of the screen. Open a second app, and it appears on the right side of the first app. Open a third app, and it appears to the right of the second app, bumping the first app off the screen to the left. Now, click on the titlebar of the second app and drag it to the right to reveal the first app. You can click and drag windows left or right to find the one you're looking for."

"It's like having both a tiling and standard window manager rolled into one, and I like it. No matter what KaOS does beneath the desktop environment, it's Niri that takes center stage for this latest release. Niri is also really good-looking."

KaOS is a rolling Linux distribution built from scratch with focus on a single desktop environment, toolkit, and architecture. The distribution recently made a significant change by replacing KDE Plasma with Niri, a scrollable tiling compositor. Unlike traditional tiling window managers, Niri tiles windows horizontally on a single plane that users can scroll through. Windows appear sequentially left to right, and users can click and drag window titlebars to navigate and reveal other windows. This hybrid approach combines tiling and standard window manager functionality. KaOS remains free to install and use, and Niri serves as the centerpiece of the latest release.

Read at ZDNET