System76, which specializes in the production of laptops, PCs and servers shipped with Linux, has introduced a new user environment COSMIC (Computer Operating System Main Interface Components), which will replace the modified GNOME desktop supplied with the Pop!_OS distribution. The new user environment will start shipping with the Pop!_OS 21.04 release scheduled for June. The COSMIC code is developed under the GPLv3 license.
The user environment previously supplied with Pop!_OS was based on a modified GNOME Shell with additional extensions, its own design, icon set, and changed settings. COSMIC continues this endeavor and is also based on GNOME technologies, but differs by going deeper into the desktop and making conceptual changes. Of the main tasks that are planned to be solved during the development of COSMIC, it is called the desire to make the desktop easier to use, expand functionality and increase work efficiency by customizing the environment to your preferences.
Instead of the unified horizontal navigation of virtual desktops and applications in the Overview mode (Activities Overview) that appeared in GNOME 40, COSMIC continues to separate views for navigating desktops along with open windows and existing applications. A split view gives you the ability to access a selection of applications in one click, and a simpler design will allow you not to distract attention from visual clutter.
For window manipulation, both the traditional mouse control mode, familiar to beginners, and the tiled window layout mode, which allows you to control the work using only the keyboard, are provided.
When you press the Super key, the default launch of the Launcher interface is provided, which makes it possible to launch applications, execute arbitrary commands, calculate expressions (use as a calculator) and switch between already running programs. The user can press Super and immediately start entering the mask to select the desired program. If desired, you can change the binding of the Super key to other actions, such as opening desktop and application navigation.
Source: opennet.ru