System76, Inc. is an American computer manufacturer based in

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, that sells

notebook computer A notebook computer or notebook is, historically, a laptop whose length and width approximate that of letter paper (). The term ''notebook'' was coined to describe slab-like portable computers that had a letter-paper footprint, such as Epson's ...

desktop computer A desktop computer, often abbreviated as desktop, is a personal computer designed for regular use at a stationary location on or near a desk (as opposed to a portable computer) due to its size and power requirements. The most common configuratio ...

s, and servers. The company utilizes

free and open-source software Free and open-source software (FOSS) is software available under a license that grants users the right to use, modify, and distribute the software modified or not to everyone free of charge. FOSS is an inclusive umbrella term encompassing free ...

, and offers a choice of

Ubuntu Ubuntu ( ) is a Linux distribution based on Debian and composed primarily of free and open-source software. Developed by the British company Canonical (company), Canonical and a community of contributors under a Meritocracy, meritocratic gover ...

or their own Ubuntu-based

Linux distribution A Linux distribution, often abbreviated as distro, is an operating system that includes the Linux kernel for its kernel functionality. Although the name does not imply product distribution per se, a distro—if distributed on its own—is oft ...

Pop!_OS as preinstalled operating systems.

History

System76 was founded by Carl Richell and Erik Fetzer. In 2003, Fetzer registered the domain ''system76.com'' to sell computers with

Linux Linux ( ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an kernel (operating system), operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically package manager, pac ...

operating systems preinstalled, but the idea was not pursued until two years later. The number 76 in the company name is a reference to 1776, the year the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

took place. Richell explained that the company hoped to spark an "open source revolution", giving consumers a choice to not use

proprietary software Proprietary software is computer software, software that grants its creator, publisher, or other rightsholder or rightsholder partner a legal monopoly by modern copyright and intellectual property law to exclude the recipient from freely sharing t ...

. In mid-2005, the founders considered which

to offer, with

Red Hat Enterprise Linux Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is a commercial Linux distribution developed by Red Hat. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is released in server versions for x86-64, Power ISA, ARM64, and IBM Z and a desktop version for x86-64. Fedora Linux and ...

openSUSE openSUSE () is a free and open-source software, free and open-source Linux distribution developed by the openSUSE project. It is offered in two main variations: ''Tumbleweed'', an upstream rolling release distribution, and ''Leap'', a stable r ...

, Yoper and other distributions evaluated. Ubuntu was initially dismissed, but Richell and Fetzer changed their mind quickly after a re-evaluation. Richell liked Canonical's business model of completely

free software Free software, libre software, libreware sometimes known as freedom-respecting software is computer software distributed open-source license, under terms that allow users to run the software for any purpose as well as to study, change, distribut ...

, backed by commercial support when needed. The first computers sold by System76 shipped with Ubuntu 5.10 Breezy Badger preinstalled. In response to Canonical switching to the

GNOME A gnome () is a mythological creature and diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and widely adopted by authors, including those of modern fantasy literature. They are typically depict ...

desktop from the Unity interface for future releases of Ubuntu in May 2017, System76 announced a new shell called Pop. The company announced in June 2017 that it would be creating its own Linux distribution based on Ubuntu called Pop!_OS. System76 began manufacturing their Thelio line of desktops in 2018 at a factory in Denver, Colorado. The company moved into a 24,000-square-foot warehouse.

Products

System76's products include the Thelio series of desktops, the Meerkat mini computer, several laptops, and several

rack mount A 19-inch rack is a standardized frame or enclosure for mounting multiple electronic equipment modules. Each module has a front panel that is wide. The 19 inch dimension includes the edges or ''ears'' that protrude from each side of the ...

servers. The computers are shipped with Pop! OS, the company's in-house

Linux Distribution A Linux distribution, often abbreviated as distro, is an operating system that includes the Linux kernel for its kernel functionality. Although the name does not imply product distribution per se, a distro—if distributed on its own—is oft ...

. System76's computer models are named after various African animals. In May 2016, the company released the Launch series of mechanical keyboards, which feature the open source QMK firmware and built-in USB hubs. System76's firmware partly disables the

Intel Management Engine The Intel Management Engine (ME), also known as the Intel Manageability Engine, is an autonomous subsystem that has been incorporated in virtually all of Intel's processor chipsets since 2008. It is located in the Platform Controller Hub of m ...

; the Intel Management Engine is proprietary firmware which runs an operating system in post-2008 Intel chipsets. On 4 April 2023, System76's CEO and founder Carl Richell announced System76's first in-house designed laptop, code-named "Virgo".

Pop!_OS

Pop!_OS is a

developed by System76 based on

. It is intended for use by "developers, makers, and computer science professionals." Pop!_OS provides full disk encryption by default as well as streamlined window management, workspaces, and keyboard shortcuts for navigation. Pop!_OS comes preinstalled on System76 devices, and can also be downloaded and installed on most computers.

COSMIC desktop environment

COSMIC is a

desktop environment In computing, a desktop environment (DE) is an implementation of the desktop metaphor made of a bundle of programs running on top of a computer operating system that share a common graphical user interface (GUI), sometimes described as a graphi ...

for Pop!_OS. Originally intended for the Pop!_OS distribution, it is now available as a standalone desktop environment.

Community relations

The company has sponsored the Ubuntu Developer Summit, Southern California Linux Expo, and other Open Source/Linux events and conferences. Their official support forums are hosted by Canonical Ltd., the primary developer of Ubuntu. System76 is an active member in the Colorado Ubuntu Community, serving as the corporate sponsor for Ubuntu LoCo events and release parties in downtown Denver.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control Companies based in Denver Computer companies of the United States Computer hardware companies Computer systems companies Consumer electronics brands Online retailers of the United States Ubuntu