System76 Launches Pop!_OS 24.04 LTS with COSMIC Alpha Desktop Environment
While Pop!_OS Linux remains based on Ubuntu, the biggest new feature of the Pop!_OS 24.04 LTS release, besides being derived from Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Noble Numbat) and inheriting its LTS (Long-Term Support) capabilities, is the brand-new COSMIC desktop environment written in the Rust programming language.
Pop!_OS 22.04 and previous releases used a version of the COSMIC desktop that was based on the GNOME desktop environment. However, System76 wanted to create a new desktop environment while keeping the same familiar interface and user experience built for efficiency and fun.
Update (by Roy)
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System76 desktop environment COSMIC alpha now available to try
System76 have today released the first alpha preview for you to try out COSMIC, their brand new home-grown desktop environment. Built with Rust, it should hopefully feel pretty familiar to most Linux users with a visual style that matches up to their current GNOME-based desktop.
Two More:
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Cosmic DE previews the future of Linux in Pop!_OS 24.04 alpha with Fedora, Serpent OS, and Arch support at launch
Cosmic DE delivers System76's custom cosmic compositor with its hybrid tiled-floating approach, alongside custom core apps, like Cosmic Files, Cosmic App Store, Cosmic Terminal, Cosmic Text Editor, and Cosmic Screenshot. It's clear from the alpha build features that the tiling window implementation is a priority to System76, since it's very well fleshed-out and responsive, with support for numerous keyboard shortcuts to switch between, rearrange, and tile or float windows. The combined, compact application title and toolbars — where applicable — make Cosmic DE look quite neat and save screen real-estate for more important things.
As of launch, Cosmic DE ships as the default desktop environment for Pop!_OS 24.04 alpha, but there are also builds and install instructions available for Arch Linux, Fedora, NixOS, and Serpent OS, with openSUSE support in the works. Redox OS also already has support for some Cosmic elements, like Cosmic Files, Cosmic Editor, and Cosmic Terminal.
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COSMIC Is the Linux Desktop of the Future
System76 has been working on its own Linux desktop environment for years, called COSMIC Desktop. The first public alpha release is now live, giving you a chance to try the company’s vision for the future of desktop productivity and customization.
System76 has released the first public alpha version of COSMIC, its new desktop environment intended as a replacement for GNOME Shell, KDE Plasma, Cinnamon, and other similar projects. It has been in development for years, primarily as a replacement for the customized GNOME Shell used in Pop!_OS Linux. However, the desktop is intended to work across many desktop Linux distributions, and the applications created for COSMIC won’t be limited to just Linux.
The COSMIC desktop might look familiar to anyone who has used GNOME Shell, and especially the modified versions used in Pop!_OS and Ubuntu. However, it’s rewritten from the ground up in the Rust programming language, which System76 hopes will improve performance and reduce freezes. It has options for either vertical or horizontal workspaces, an integrated tiling system, and customizable panels for the dock and top bar.
OMG Ubuntu:
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Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha with COSMIC Desktop is Available to Download - OMG! Ubuntu
You’ve heard the hype about COSMIC. You’ve tracked news on its development. You’ve seen screenshots of formative builds on blogs like this one.
But today, you can finally try it out, firsthand.
The first public alpha of the COSMIC desktop environment has landed alongside the Pop!_OS 24.04 alpha release, giving you an early but exciting opportunity to download an ISO, boot it up, and explore what this Rust-based desktop has to offer.
Linuxiac:
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COSMIC Desktop Alpha Released, Expectations Exceeded
COSMIC! This name has become increasingly popular in the open-source community over the past year, raising high expectations. Now, more than two years after System76 unexpectedly announced its bold plan to create a new desktop environment written in Rust programming language from scratch, users can finally try it out. And let me tell you, the wait was worth it.
We recently tested the alpha version of COSMIC, and our initial thoughts can be summed up most briefly with this: it’s a game-changer! Above all, it is incredibly fast. And when I say fast, I don’t just mean fast – it’s fast in the blink of an eye. With that said, let’s now move on to the possibilities the COSMIC alpha version has in store.
Ars Technica:
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You can kick the alpha tires on System76’s Cosmic, a new Linux desktop
System76 has released an alpha version of its Cosmic desktop environment for Linux and Unix-like systems. The Linux hardware firm isn't targeting only its customers with its GNOME replacement; it also hopes to get distro maintainers and app makers on board with its Rust-built, UX-focused desktop.
While the Cosmic desktop will be built into the Linux vendor's Pop!_OS (which is also in the alpha ISO), it's also available to other systems, as you might expect. System76 provides drop-in instructions for Fedora and Arch Linux installs, among others.
System76 says it is "excited to see COSMIC integration elevate Linux as a whole," along with what results "from making UX-building more accessible." By building Cosmic natively in the Rust language, System76 also intends to provide a more stable and memory-safe environment for apps.
OSTechNix:
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Pop!_OS 24.04 LTS First Alpha With COSMIC Desktop Is Released
The first alpha release of Pop!_OS 24.04 LTS with the highly anticipated COSMIC desktop environment has been released for download and testing.
Yes, the wait is over!
System76, a company known for selling computers running Linux, has released the first public alpha of their new desktop environment, COSMIC.
Hackster.io:
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System76 Launches the First COSMIC Alpha, as It Seeks to Redefine the Linux Desktop Environment - Hackster.io
System76, known for its Linux-based laptops, desktops, and servers, has announced a milestone for its Pop!_OS Linux distribution: the release of the first alpha for COSMIC, its in-house desktop environment.
"We aim to liberate the computer with a new desktop environment powerful enough to build custom OS experiences — for users, developers, and makers of any device with a screen," the company claims of the release of the COSMIC alpha. "As the first alpha version of COSMIC Epoch 1, it is incomplete. You’ll most certainly find bugs. Testing and bug reports are welcome and appreciated. New feature requests will be considered for Epoch 2, COSMIC's second release."
DebugPoint:
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COSMIC Desktop Alpha: Hands-on and Review
We did a test run of the maiden alpha release of the System76’s Rust-based COSMIC desktop.
System76, the company behind the Pop!_OS Linux distribution, has announced the first official alpha release (Epoch 1) of the COSMIC desktop environment. This new version of COSMIC is written in Rust and is being developed as a universal project, not tied to a specific distribution, and adhering to Freedesktop specifications. This release was in the works for the past two years, and we did a sneak peek a few months back on what’s expected.
Now with this Alpha release, you can experience the full COSMIC desktop on Pop OS, as well as other distributions as a standalone desktop environment.
ZDNet:
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System76's new COSMIC Linux desktop is out of this world | ZDNET
Linux distributions come and go. We've seen every take imaginable for the open-source operating system and often they're a twist on an old approach. However, at the heart of every Linux distribution is a passion and dedication to creating something special, an operating system that can be used by anyone, without cost, and with a high level of reliability.
Most Linux distributions rise well above the challenge, so when System76 announced it was creating a new desktop environment to sit atop its Pop!_OS distribution, I knew the company would produce something that could challenge every current desktop on the market.
The Belated Coverage of The Register:
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Pop!_OS 24.04 and new COSMIC desktop hit alpha
The latest version of System76's Ubuntu remix is available, but it's not finished by any means. The new Rust-based desktop is somewhat usable, though.
US shifter of Linux boxes System76 has released alpha 1 of Pop!_OS 24.04. It's the company's remix of Ubuntu Noble Numbat, with its own in-house ground-up desktop environment, codenamed COSMIC and implemented in Rust. The result is a new and incomplete desktop, running on top of a fairly stable and mature OS. Some parts are still missing and we saw some occasional but repeatable app crashes, but it's usable if you're patient. It has already received some rave reviews, but we think it will sharply polarize users.