I Was Already A Pop!_os Fan - But The New Beta Is Stunning

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• System76 Pop!_OS 24.04 beta is now available.
• COSMIC desktop is an out-of-this-world environment.
• You tin download and instal nan beta now for free.

Over 10 years ago, I purchased my first System76 desktop computer. That was a Leopard Extreme, and it was magnificent. Not only was it nan astir powerful desktop PC I'd ever used, but it powered a caller Linux distribution, Pop!_OS, which was besides created by System76.

Pop!_OS was a customized return connected some Ubuntu and GNOME, and I instantly took to it. Pop!_OS was fast, reliable, easy to use, and (as always) customizable.

Over nan years, Pop!_OS mostly stayed nan same. Each merchandise brought a spot much polish to nan OS, but location was thing really successful nan measurement of game-changing features.

Until now.

Also: You tin trial each nan champion Linux distros correct successful your web browser pinch this site

In 2021, System76 introduced nan COSMIC desktop. I retrieve testing those early builds and thinking, "They've sewage a agelong measurement to go."

COSMIC (and type 24.04 of Pop!_OS) has reached beta status, and it's incredible. Not only is nan desktop already very usable, but nan truth that System76 built this caller desktop from scratch, utilizing Rust, successful specified a short clip is impressive.

I've been moving nan beta type of Pop!_OS (with COSMIC) for a fewer days, and I thought I'd stock my thoughts.

One mini glitch for humankind…

I'm not going to lie, nan upgrade from 22.04 to 24.04 beta wasn't precisely smooth. In fact, had I not been utilizing a System76 Thelio PC, I would person had to do a caller installation (losing a bully chunk of information successful nan process). 

After nan upgrade, I had to reboot nan system. Because my difficult thrust is encrypted, I expected nan encryption password punctual to appear. It did not. Instead, each I saw was an correction pertaining to nan inability to entree nan UUID.

Ruh. Roh.

Fortunately, this is System76 we're dealing pinch here, truthful each I had to do was reboot and clasp down nan abstraction bar. This small instrumentality led maine to nan Pop!_OS rescue partition, wherever I could do a refresh installation.

That refresh fixed everything. Not only was I capable to footwear up and log in, but each of my information and customizations were still there.

Whew.

It's each astir COSMIC

Once I was capable to log backmost into nan COSMIC desktop, everything (mostly) looked precisely arsenic nan alpha type did. There were immoderate issues I had to woody pinch (mostly that nan upgrade stripped Pop!_OS of Snap and each of nan apps I'd installed). That was an easy hole (sudo apt-get instal snapd -y, followed by installing nan applications that went missing). 

Outside of that, everything was smooth. Actually, everything was amended than smooth. I recovered that COSMIC was amended capable to taxable non-system applications, which makes for a gorgeous desktop. I would spell truthful acold arsenic to opportunity my existent COSMIC desktop is acold much breathtaking than immoderate I've ever used. The 2nd I started moving pinch COSMIC, I started to callback those aged days of utilizing Linux pinch wide-eyed excitement. 

Also: This Linux distribution amazed maine pinch its minimalistic yet highly-functional OS

I recovered myself spending much clip and effort connected customizing my desktop than I person successful years. COSMIC felt for illustration a marque caller playground, and I had hours of recess to enjoy.

On apical of that, COSMIC is fast. I've ne'er seen applications unfastened truthful quickly. That velocity comes by measurement of Rust, which is an businesslike and accelerated programming language. I tin click an app launcher and earlier I tin blink, nan app is open. This goes for nan caller Pop Store (which replaces nan aged and surgery Pop Shop). Click to unfastened and BAM, location it is. As well, apps instal quickly, nary matter if you're installing them via apt, Snap, aliases Flatpak.

COSMIC is besides rather stable. Even while utilizing nan last alpha release, I recovered COSMIC to beryllium impressively stable. Sure, location were a fewer glitches, but that's to beryllium expected erstwhile utilizing alpha software. Now that COSMIC is successful beta, things are moreover much stone solid. I've been utilizing Pop!_OS 24.04 connected my superior desktop PC and person had possibly a mates of instances wherever I had to activity my measurement retired of a jam. Every time since I first upgraded, I tally nan update, and nan OS gets much stable. 

It's besides astir open-source

This is 1 of nan beautiful things astir open-source software. Updates travel regularly and often, which you ne'er find successful either Windows aliases MacOS. Those updates often see information patches, bug fixes, and caller features, and (so far) each Pop!_OS update has been an improvement.

Open-source operating systems tin spend specified velocity of updates. This isn't proprietary package that tends to update astatine a overmuch slower pace. Open-source package has nan use of developers from astir nan world moving connected software, which intends vulnerabilities are patched faster, bug fixes are made disposable sooner, and caller features travel retired much regularly. 

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That's ne'er going to hap pinch MacOS aliases Windows, and Pop!_OS' way from alpha to beta perfectly illustrates that. 

Remember, this brand-new desktop situation was first released only a twelvemonth ago, and it's already successful nationalist beta. Not only that, but moreover successful beta, it runs amended than astir operating systems I've used. 

Should you effort Pop!_OS 24.04 beta?

I'll opportunity this: if you tin rotation up a virtual instrumentality aliases person a spare PC lying around, you should decidedly springiness Pop!_OS 24.04 beta a try. Keep updating nan OS, and yet you'll upwind up pinch nan unchangeable release.

My conjecture is that arsenic soon arsenic you springiness COSMIC desktop a try, you're going to want to make it your go-to DE. 

You tin download and usage nan Pop!_OS beta ISO for free (because it's ever free) from nan official System76 site.