What's Still Holding Linux Back? (System76 Interview)

Summary

System76 CEO Carl Richell discusses the company’s development of Linux computers, Pop!_OS and the COSMIC desktop environment, as well as open-source software’s role in age-attestation legislation and the challenges facing Linux.

System76’s Products and Development

• Richell started System76 with $1,500, aiming to make Linux easier to access through dedicated Linux hardware. The company has grown organically and says it is self-funded rather than venture-backed.
• System76 began by selling computers with Ubuntu. After Canonical stopped pursuing its Unity desktop project, the company developed Pop!_OS in response to customer requests. These included fewer desktop interruptions and built-in full-disk encryption that did not require the hardware vendor to hold users’ encryption keys.
• COSMIC grew from the same customer-driven approach: System76 wanted more control over the desktop experience than it could get by assembling components from elsewhere. The company says COSMIC is intended as a foundation for future desktop features.
• System76 sells laptops, desktops and servers, ranging from portable systems to high-performance machines with large amounts of memory and powerful GPUs. Its laptops include hybrid-graphics configurations designed to keep the NVIDIA GPU off when it is not needed, helping preserve battery life.
• The company also manufactures some of its hardware in a Denver factory. Richell described design choices such as steel threaded inserts and thicker aluminum for durability and serviceability, and powder coating as a lower-VOC alternative to anodizing.
• Its broad customer base includes developers and engineers, as well as less technical users. Richell gave examples of customers who valued System76 computers despite having very different levels of technical experience.

Linux Hardware Integration and Ecosystem Challenges

System76 says integrating Linux with each new computer still requires substantial engineering, even as hardware standards and upstream Linux support have improved. The work can include audio behavior, hotkeys, suspend and sleep reliability, and other details that distinguish a fully polished computer from one where Linux merely boots. For example, the company tests suspend by requiring 150 consecutive successful cycles.

Richell described the Linux desktop’s opportunity as making capable features accessible rather than assuming users will find them too complex. He pointed to Wayland as enabling experimentation with new compositors and desktop interactions.

He also recalled two Linux challenges involving Linus Tech Tips: one was affected by a quickly fixed, 24-hour bug involving Steam and systemd; another tested COSMIC during its very early release at a live gaming event.

Age-Attestation Laws and Open Source

Richell said System76 became involved in Colorado legislation after raising concerns about age attestation and age verification. He argued that collecting age or other demographic information through an operating system can create privacy risks, and that age-verification companies have a commercial incentive to make operating systems subject to such requirements.

After a Colorado senator contacted System76, the company helped draft language exempting open-source software. Richell said similar language was later included in California legislation, with help from others, including Red Hat and lobbyists. He cautioned that the issue remains active and noted that Illinois had a law without an open-source exemption.

His arguments for treating open source differently included:

• There is no single company responsible for all open-source operating systems or their users.
• Open-source licenses permit people to download, modify and redistribute software, so users could remove or alter a requirement.
• Open source is used in automated systems and on servers that may not represent individual human users; age requirements could disrupt those uses.
• Requirements could constrain experimentation and innovation.

Practical Advocacy Advice

Richell said the open-source community’s emails to legislators helped create an opportunity for System76 to participate. He recommended contacting relevant representatives with concise, technically grounded arguments rather than angry messages. He particularly encouraged people in Illinois to raise the open-source exemption issue.

On a systemd pull request involving a birth-date field, Richell said Pop!_OS does not intend to use it. He characterized it as optional, while noting that some System76 engineers had technical concerns.

Phones, ARM, AI and Costs

• Linux phones: Richell sees app stores and the convenience of app-based ecosystems as major obstacles. He speculated that well-defined APIs, potentially combined with AI-generated interfaces, might offer a way to build applications that work across platforms. System76 is developing COSMIC to adapt across device sizes, while GNOME and KDE are also working on responsive desktop environments.
• ARM: System76 is interested only if devices are open enough to support other operating systems through sound ACPI and EFI implementations. Richell said the Snapdragon hardware the company evaluated did not meet that standard at the time, though Qualcomm’s work on improving support could change the situation. He also said System76 would not want to release hardware that locks users into a particular operating system.
• AI: System76 serves customers using AI in fields such as robotics, healthcare, pharmaceuticals and scientific work. Richell’s main concern is that people may surrender sensitive data or account access to AI systems because they are useful. He advocated developing AI capabilities responsibly, with approaches such as small private models and careful sandboxing.
• Memory prices: Richell said higher memory prices have made computers more expensive, but he did not know when that might change.

Announcements and Recommendations

Richell teased a new desktop and upcoming Pop!_OS and COSMIC developments, without giving further product details. He described Pop!_OS as using Ubuntu-style version numbering while continuing to update the kernel, Mesa and other packages during a release’s lifetime.

Asked which distributions he would use if Pop!_OS disappeared, he named CachyOS and AerynOS, while saying he would want to explore AerynOS further.

Reviews, Guides or Tutorials

This video is an interview rather than a product review or tutorial. Its practical guidance is Richell’s advice on contacting legislators and the discussion of what to evaluate in Linux hardware support.

Main Speakers and Sources

Techlore’s interviewer and Carl Richell, CEO of System76.