Pop!_OS : Brand new Linux distro in town
- Srijit Sutradhar
Every year we see a new Linux distribution pop up. This is not new as fragmentation is quite common in the Linux community. Last year, we were all hyped for Solus OS which took a pretty big step this January, the reason was Solus being a standalone distro built from scratch. But the most common ones we see around are either based on Ubuntu or Arch. Pop!_OS, yes the fancy named "operating system" as the company calls it is yet another one based on Ubuntu 17.04. It is an homespun distribution from System76, the company best known for their top-of-the-line Linux laptops and desktops in the market.
From the looks of things, it seems that the System76 devices to ship later this year would come with the Pop!_OS pre-installed. But I think there will be an option to select between standard Ubuntu and Pop while buying. That said, Pop!_OS is GNOME by default and comes with the amazing in-house developed Pop GTK theme.
Every year we see a new Linux distribution pop up. This is not new as fragmentation is quite common in the Linux community. Last year, we were all hyped for Solus OS which took a pretty big step this January, the reason was Solus being a standalone distro built from scratch. But the most common ones we see around are either based on Ubuntu or Arch. Pop!_OS, yes the fancy named "operating system" as the company calls it is yet another one based on Ubuntu 17.04. It is an homespun distribution from System76, the company best known for their top-of-the-line Linux laptops and desktops in the market.
From the looks of things, it seems that the System76 devices to ship later this year would come with the Pop!_OS pre-installed. But I think there will be an option to select between standard Ubuntu and Pop while buying. That said, Pop!_OS is GNOME by default and comes with the amazing in-house developed Pop GTK theme.
The company says that Pop!_OS is built exclusively for creators. Their main goal is to make the Linux desktop “as productive as possible for the engineering, devops, and computer science fields where Linux excels”, Carl Richell, CEO of System76 says.
So you might think that apps and tools catering to such users are built right in, pretty much like Ubuntu Studio? Well, that is a thing to be seen as Pop!_OS is pretty much alpha now, as as the team says, the development is at its infancy. So expect to see a load of new features in the coming alpha and beta releases.
The main difference as of now between Pop!_OS and standard Ubuntu GNOME is the use of Pop GTK theme, icons and fonts. They also carry the System76 default set of wallpapers. This all over gives the usual GNOME a fresh look away from the contemporary flat themes.
"Pop!_OS 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. The Pop user interface stays out of the way while offering extensive customization to perfect your work flow. Built on Ubuntu, you have access to vast repositories of open source software and development tools."
Pop!_OS is set to release on October 19, the same date Ubuntu 17.10 will be released. Also, their stable October release will be based on Ubuntu 17.10 itself. As we learnt earlier, System76 will closely follow Ubuntu repositories so as to ensure maximum software availability. But we have to wait to see whether System76 will also maintain their own repositories as until now they used to ship Ubuntu perfected by them for their devices, but now this distribution is free to download and run on any machine.
If you want to download the alpha version of Pop!_OS to try out for yourself, here'a a link
That is all we know of System76's homespun Linux distribution as of now. If you want to know more about System76 and their further developments, stay tuned. Until then, have a nice day. Peace.
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