System76, a Linux PC vendor, has announced the launching of its own operating system called Pop!_OS. The system is based on Ubuntu GNOME 17.04 with access to repositories of “open source software and development tools”. The first release is planned for October 19, 2017, meanwhile Pop!_OS Alpha version is already available for download.
Pop!_OS, a Linux distribution built for creators, according to System76,
“is designed for people who use their computer to create; whether it’s complicated, professional grade software and products, sophisticated 3D models, computer science in academia, or makers working on their latest invention. “
Pop!_OS uses Pop GTK theme and icon set. The distro has borrowed a lot from GNOME shell. The branding and theming are the only major difference that can be seen between Pop!_OS and Ubuntu with GNOME.
Why a new Linux distribution?
According to Carl Richell, the CEO of System76, the aim of Pop!_OS is to make Linux desktops “as productive as possible for engineering, devops, and computer science fields where Linux excels”.
The biggest question now is why is System76 creating another Linux distribution when they can use other elementary OS or even Linux Mint? Swapnil Bhartiya tries to answer this in an article in ConsumeIT.
Pop!_OS can cater to the needs of System76’s customers. Some of the customers that use System76 hardware include Pixar, Aleph Objects which produces Lulbot 3D printer, Tesla and some Amazon and Google departments.
According to Ryan Sipes, System76 Community Manager, “We know who our customers are and what kind of problems they are trying to solve…We can tailor an experience for them that increases their productivity, and makes Pop!_OS their first choice for working on their projects.”
System76 is a relatively small company and hence can easily respond to its customer feedback and their needs. According to Snipes, “We’ve been focusing our engineering effort on helping our customers achieve more and have a fantastic computer experience.”
On why they didn’t choose an existing distro like Linux Mint, Snipes said Linux Mint and the other elementary OS are not for the users that they are targeting. He claims their projects are more focused on the “mainstream computer” users.
To System76, Pop!_OS was not built as an alternative to Windows or Mac operating systems that are for mainstream users. It was developed “for jobs where Linux excels which coincides with where the System76 customer base resides. That’s computer science fields of artificial intelligence, engineering, IOT, devops and other edge technologies.”
Release date
It should be noted that Pop!_OS track Ubuntu releases. And considering Ubuntu 17.10 release schedule, their first stable releases on October 19, 2017.
System76 will also ship their distro by default on both their laptops and desktops on October 19th. Meanwhile, Ubuntu LTS will still be available as an option for those who want it.
You can download Pop!_OS Alpha right now while waiting for for the stable release in October. Don’t hesitate to share your experience if you have tried it in the comment section.
I am using it now, but its a bit of a hog on my Asus notebook (but GNOME shell tends to be) it is just rebranded GNOME on Ubuntu. Its pretty, but its not out stranding. Its quite laggy and slow for me. I’m thinking I’ll replace it tomorrow.
Gave ‘Pop!_OS’ a quick look.
Basically, it’s Ubuntu Gnome 17.04 with a new wallpaper and a few bits and pieces that could be got from repositories or ppa’s from other sources. Absolutely nothing that could describe it as a new distro. Ok for use by a laptop provider to make it look original, but little else.
Disappointing. 1/5 for trying
It bothers me that the article keeps referring to Pop!_OS as an “OS”. To me it’s a distro. I also played with this alpha a bit and agree with Roy. There are 14 packages with the string “system76” in them mostly dealing with control center and plymouth (branding for boot up).
I own 3 system76 products and I’m happy with them. That being said, I find their level of branding to be annoying.
Understanding the difference between a distro and an OS can get confused.
May I suggest that Linux is the OS, the likes of Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora, and Suse are Linux Families – recognising the functional differences between them, and those based upon them are distros?
Thanks for noticing that. I updated the article.
Should be named Poop!
System76 would disagree ;)