Cosmic DE on Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 4: My MV experience

Jose Albert

12 minutes

Cosmic DE on Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 4: My MV experience

Cosmic DE on Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 4: My MV experience

According to official announcement From the company System76, this December 5th was launched the ISO of Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 4, an Ubuntu based Distro with the innovative «Cosmic DE» (Desktop Environment)And curiosity has gotten the better of me, and so I have decided to try it out and tell you about my personal experience with this GNU/Linux Distribution and Desktop Environment, which is currently in its fourth initial development version (Alpha 4) on a Virtual Machine (VM).

And since, on previous occasions, we have talked so much about The Distribution Pop! _OS y Cosmic Desktop Environment, On this occasion we will not go into much detail about what they are, their features and innovations. We will go into the user experience that it has offered me within a VM, which, after all, is the first logical way to try out a new operating system with technology that is still in full development and testing phase. However, it is worth briefly highlighting about both that, Pop!_OS is promoted as an operating system for professionals of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and creatives who use their computer as a tool to discover and create. While, Cosmic DE is touted as a new desktop environment powerful enough to create custom operating system experiences for users, developers, and manufacturers of any device with a screen.

COSMIC alpha 3

But, before starting this interesting post about my personal experience with the ISO of Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 4 and its new Cosmic DE Desktop EnvironmentWe recommend you explore a previous alpha version related content, at the end of reading it:

COSMIC alpha 3
Related article:
COSMIC alpha 3 arrives with improvements in settings, file manager, apps and more

My personal experience with Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 4 and its current Cosmic DE

My personal experience with Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 4 and its current Cosmic DE

Screenshots of Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 4 and Cosmic DE in use on a VM

Before giving you the result or conclusions of my experience with the current ISO of Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 4 and the “Cosmic DE” Desktop Environment I share with you the screenshots of my test with them inside the virtual machine created. And these are the following:

Screenshot 01: Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 4 + Cosmic DE + MV

Screenshot 02: Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 4 + Cosmic DE + MV

Screenshot 03: Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 4 + Cosmic DE + MV

Screenshot 04: Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 4 + Cosmic DE + MV

Screenshot 05: Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 4 + Cosmic DE + MV

Screenshot 06: Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 4 + Cosmic DE + MV

Screenshot 07: Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 4 + Cosmic DE + MV

Screenshot 08: Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 4 + Cosmic DE + MV

Screenshot 09: Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 4 + Cosmic DE + MV

Screenshot 10: Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 4 + Cosmic DE + MV

Screenshot 11: Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 4 + Cosmic DE + MV

Screenshot 12: Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 4 + Cosmic DE + MV

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Result of my experience

The first thing I want to highlight is that, The VM created with VirtualBox I generated and tested with 2, 3 and 4 GB RAM. And also with different graphics drivers (VboxVGA, VMSVGA and VboxSVGA). And in all cases the performance was similar, except that heavy applications such as the Web Browser or the Mail Manager usually open faster. While, in all cases, The only problem presented was the fact that the Installer had graphical (visual) problems and this did not allow me to install the ISO on the generated VM.

In addition, I have loved reviewing and testing its features and applications. Its dark theme, its icons, its rounded edges on the windows, its good RAM consumption (for modern equipment and vast hardware resources) and excellent performance when used. Not to mention that, really It has many customization and configuration options which certainly need to be explored and tested in depth to get a precise idea of ​​their full potential.

I assume that the fact that you have not been able to install it on a VM will not be a problem when installing it on a real (physical) computer. Therefore, I consider that it may be A very good option to consider if you have an extra computer available with a good amount of RAM and a good processor., to try something different and innovative.

What's new in Alpha 4

And to finish this post I leave you a small and brief List of current news, while continuing its current development roadmap:

Essentials

  1. Region and language settings have been added: So now, you can select the required or preferred language, as well as the required format for the date, time and numbers used by the operating system.
  2. A default applications configuration section has been added: This System and Accounts settings page now lets you set your default apps for various purposes.
  3. “COSMIC Media Player” is now the default video and music player: Please note that said Rust-based media player is still under development currently.
  4. A new option called “Updates” within the COSMIC App Store: Which will display a window where you can see a list of all the tasks in progress and completed by the application.

Technological Solutions

  1. Improvements to display power management settings: In Power & battery settings, there are now options to configure how long the display should wait to turn off after being idle, as well as separate settings to determine when the system sleeps when plugged in and on battery power.
  2. Support for accessibility applets and screen readers has been added: To do this, a New Accessibility app that offers a toggle to enable and disable screen reader support. Screen reader now works for COSMIC Settings, Firefox, and GNOME apps. In the alpha release, screen reader testing is being done in COSMIC Settings and will then be rolled out to the rest of the COSMIC apps when ready.
  3. Support for Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) technology has been added: This VRR support has been added to the cosmic-comp compositor and displays settings in order to allow setting VRR to always on or auto, which will enable VRR for fullscreen content.

And for more information about this novel and experimental development environment, we invite you to explore its current official section within GitHub.

Preview. Gallery in Cosmic
Related article:
COSMIC releases second alpha, adds configuration panels, support improvements, and more

Summary 2023 - 2024

Summary

In short, I hope that my small and personal experience of using a VM of the current ISO of Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 4 and its new Cosmic DE Desktop Environment I hope to give you a little idea of ​​what it is like and how it works, and even some possible faults or difficulties. But, in general terms, personally I love the visuals of this Distro and DE, especially its dark theme, icons and performance.And it seems to me that such a great development of the Linuxverse, by the company System76, has a great future within it. Although, without a doubt, they have a lot to continue improving and innovating, little by little, as they have been doing, to reach the long-awaited desktop environment, revolutionary and solid, that they want to offer and that we all hope for.

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