System76, a company specializing in the production of laptops, PCs and servers shipped with Linux, has published the release of the Pop!_OS 21.10 distribution. Pop!_OS is based on the Ubuntu 21.10 package base and comes with its own COSMIC desktop environment. The developments of the project are distributed under the GPLv3 license. ISO images are generated for x86_64 and ARM64 architectures for NVIDIA (2.9 GB) and Intel/AMD (2.5 GB) graphics chips, as well as for Raspberry Pi 4 boards (2.4 GB).
The distribution is primarily aimed at people who use a computer to create something new, such as developing content, software products, 3D models, graphics, music, or scientific work. The idea to develop their own edition of the Ubuntu distribution came after Canonical's decision to move Ubuntu from Unity to GNOME Shell - the developers of System76 started creating a new GNOME-based design theme, but then realized that they were ready to offer users a different desktop environment that provides flexible tools for customizing to the current working environment. process.
The distribution comes with a COSMIC desktop based on a modified GNOME Shell, a set of original add-ons for GNOME Shell, its own theme, its own set of icons, other fonts (Fira and Roboto Slab) and changed settings. Unlike GNOME, COSMIC continues to use a split view for navigating open windows and installed applications. 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. After the release of Pop!_OS 21.10 is formed, the developers intend to transform COSMIC into a self-contained project that does not use the GNOME Shell and is developed in the Rust language.
In the new release:
- The interface for navigating through installed applications has been redesigned. Instead of a full-screen view, the list of available applications and software search tools are now displayed in a small window displayed on top of the desktop content. The list of programs can be opened through the top panel, a gesture on the touchpad (four-finger swipe to the right) or the hot key Super + A.
Of the features of the new application navigation interface, there is an improvement in work on systems with multiple monitors (the window opens on the screen in which the mouse cursor is located); sorting in alphabetical order; the ability to group applications into subdirectories in drag & drop mode (separation resembles the use of tabs); support for filtering the output by mask of both already installed applications and applications available for installation; layout more optimal for widescreen monitors.
- The formation of experimental assemblies for Raspberry Pi 4 boards has begun.
- Expanded hardware support. The system ships with a Linux 5.15.5 kernel and fresh NVIDIA proprietary drivers. Before the release, the distribution was tested on a wide range of chipsets, processors and hardware components.
- Simplified system update process. During the launch of the installer, the presence of an already installed version of Pop!_OS is checked, and if it is found, the option of updating the system without a complete reinstallation and saving user files is offered, available at the stage before unlocking the encrypted partitions. To improve the reliability of the upgrade, the spare disk partition (restore) is now upgraded separately and before the upgrade of the main operating system, which allows you to keep working in case of failures during the upgrade. Improved handling of user-made changes in /etc/fstab. Disabled user-added PPA repositories.
- Implemented distribution of package updates from own repository. Introduced our own continuous integration infrastructure for testing and evaluating the quality of packages before they are placed in the repository.
- Ported fixes and improvements from the current GNOME codebase. Including support for sorting by current and past connections, as well as signal strength, has been transferred to the Wi-Fi settings interface. The ability to dynamically refine search results as you enter a search query has been moved to the file manager.
Source: opennet.ru