System76
System76 is an American computer manufacturer based in Denver, Colorado, specializing in the sale of notebooks, desktops, and servers. The company supports and has always supported free and open-source software, and offers either Ubuntu or their own Ubuntu-based Linux distribution Pop!_OS as the preinstalled operating system.

History
System76 was founded by Carl Richell and Erik Fetzer. In 2003, Fetzer registered the domain system76.com to sell computers with the Linux operating system preinstalled. The idea was not pursued until two years later.

In mid-2005, Richell and Fetzer's most important and challenging question in the early stages of the company was that of which Linux distribution to use. Their quest to bring Linux to the mass market required choosing the best distribution for their customers. Red Hat Enterprise Linux, openSUSE, Yoper and other distributions were considered and dismissed. Ubuntu was initially dismissed, but Richell and Fetzer changed their mind quickly after giving it a more thorough evaluation. Furthermore, Richell was particularly fond of Canonical’s business model: completely free software, which was backed by commercial support as necessary. The first computers sold by System76 shipped with Ubuntu 5.10 Breezy Badger preinstalled.

In response to Canonical Ltd. switching to GNOME for future releases of Ubuntu, System76 announced in May 2017 a new shell theme called Pop. To further their efforts in making Ubuntu fit more with System76's vision, the company announced in June 2017 that it would be creating its own Linux distribution based on Ubuntu called Pop!_OS.

Company name
The number 76 in the company name alludes to the year 1776, when the American Revolution took place. The company founders likewise hope to ignite an open source revolution, ultimately leading to a situation in which consumers do not rely primarily on proprietary software.

Products
System76's products are typically named after the fauna of Africa.

Laptops

 Lemur
 Lemur Pro
 Gazelle
 Kudu Pro
 Galago Pro
 Oryx Pro
 Bonobo WS
 Serval WS
 Darter Pro
 Pangolin

Desktops
 Meerkat
 Thelio
 Thelio Major
 Thelio Massive
Thelio Mega

Past systems
 Wild Dog Pro
 Leopard WS
 Silverback WS

Servers

The servers sold by System76 were some of the first servers to offer the Ubuntu Linux distribution pre-installed. Recent models, as of 2012, have garnered generally positive reviews, which cite value and hardware compatibility as primary advantages.

 Jackal 1U
 Jackal Pro 1U
 Jackal Pro 2U
 Ibex Pro GPU
 Starling Pro ARM

Pop!_OS

Pop!_OS is a Linux distribution developed by System76, based on Ubuntu by Canonical Ltd. and using the GNOME Desktop Environment. 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.

Community relations
The company has a history of sponsoring 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.

See also

 Framework Computer
 Linux adoption
 Purism (company)
 Pine64

References

External links
 

Companies based in Denver
Computer companies of the United States
Computer hardware companies
Consumer electronics brands
Online retailers of the United States
Ubuntu