Getting Ready for PipeWire
Heir Apparent

© Photo by Nathan Mcgregor on Unsplash
In the coming year, PipeWire will replace PulseAudio, resulting in better audio on Linux. If you can't wait, here's what you need to know to get started with PipeWire.
Unless you use a version of Fedora released in 2021, you may not have heard of PipeWire [1]. However, by this time next year, PipeWire will likely be installed on your computer. Already, many distributions are starting to carry PipeWire (marked as experimental) in their repositories. Still unfinished and its installation varying, depending on distribution, PipeWire is about to replace PulseAudio as Linux's main audio server. If you are unwilling to wait until PipeWire becomes a standard part of a Linux installation, here is what you should know.
PipeWire was created by Wim Taymans of Red Hat in 2015. Based on an earlier project called PulseVideo, PipeWire was originally intended as a server for capture and playback of audio and video. The video side of the project is still in development, but the audio side is mature enough that in the spring of 2021 Fedora 34 become the first Linux distribution to install it by default. In Fedora 34, PipeWire is used to manage PulseAudio, JACK, ALSA, and GStreamer-based applications.
Given that Red Hat developed PulseAudio earlier as an audio manager, the reasoning behind rushing PipeWire into general use is being silently passed over. However, the rush is almost certainly due to numerous complaints about PulseAudio. Despite being the most common audio server on Linux, PulseAudio has become infamous for its awkward interface and, especially in its early days, for the project's slowness to respond to numerous bug reports. A recent Google search on "problems with Pulse Audio" [2] returned 289,000 results. At the top of these results is a list of common issues:
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Direct Download
Read full article as PDF:
Price $2.95
News
-
New Linux Ultrabook from TUXEDO Computers
TUXEDO Computers has released a new 15" Ultrabook running Linux.
-
GNOME 43 To Bring Some Exciting New Features
GNOME 43 is getting close to the first alpha development release and it promises to add one particular feature that should be exciting to several users.
-
KaOS 2022.06 Now Available With KDE Plasma 5.25
The newest iteration of KaOS Linux not only adds the latest KDE Plasma desktop but sets LibreOffice as the default.
-
Manjaro 21.3.0 Is Now Available
Manjaro “Ruah” has been released and includes the latest Calamares installer, GNOME 42, and much more.
-
SpiralLinux is a New Linux Distribution Focused on Simplicity
A new Linux distribution, from the creator of GeckoLinux, is a Debian-based operating system with a focus on simplicity and ease of use.
-
HP Dev One Linux Laptop is Now Available for Pre-Order
The System76/HP collaboration Dev One laptop, geared toward developers, is now available for pre-order.
-
NixOS 22.5 Is Now Available
The latest release of NixOS with a much-improved package manager and a user-friendly graphical installer.
-
System76 Teams up with HP to Create the Dev One Laptop
HP and System76 have come together to develop a new laptop, powered by Pop!_OS and aimed toward developers.
-
Titan Linux is a New KDE Linux Based on Debian Stable
Titan Linux is a new Debian-based Linux distribution that features the KDE Plasma desktop with a focus on usability and performance.
-
Danielle Foré Has an Update for elementary OS 7
Now that Ubuntu 22.04 has been released, the team behind elementary OS is preparing for the upcoming 7.0 release.