System76 with Jeremy Soller

Jul 25, 2024

Jeremy Soller, Principal Engineer at System76 and mastermind behind the Rust-based Redox OS, shares his fascinating journey in low-level computing. He reveals the challenges of writing correct C code and how Rust transforms OS development. From kernel work to creating the COSMIC desktop, Jeremy emphasizes the advantages of Rust in refactoring and safety. He discusses System76's vertical integration approach and the importance of modular design in avoiding legacy pitfalls. Plus, he offers tips for newcomers looking to dive into OS and Rust contributions!

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ANECDOTE

From Job Listing To System76 Hire

Jeremy found the System76 kernel engineer job after scanning the listing for months and finally applied by email.
He completed a coding test in about an hour, interviewed, and started at System76 on January 17, 2017.

INSIGHT

Selling Bleeding‑Edge Hardware Requires Backports

System76 targets bleeding-edge hardware so they must backport kernels, Mesa, and drivers to support new CPUs and GPUs.
That trade-off satisfies customers wanting modern hardware while keeping Ubuntu LTS-compatible packaging.

ANECDOTE

Fixing A Tricky Laptop Audio Bug

Jeremy's first System76 project fixed a laptop SPDIF digital audio issue that required both kernel quirks and user-space ALSA fixes.
That work exposed him to motherboard quirks and later motivated System76 to do lower-level firmware and board development.

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Many devs dream of one day writing their own operating system. Ideally in their favorite language: Rust. For many of us, this dream remains just that: a dream.

Jeremy Soller from System76, however, didn't just contribute kernel code for Pop!_OS, but also started his own operating system, RedoxOS, which is completely written in Rust. One might get the impression that he likes to tinker with low-level code!

In this episode of Rust in Production, Jeremy talks about his journey. From getting hired as a kernel developer at Denver-based company System76 after looking at the job ad for 1 month and finally applying, to being the maintainer of not one but two operating systems, additional system tools, and the Rust-based Cosmic desktop. We'll talk about why it's hard to write correct C code even for exceptional developers like Jeremy and why Rust is so great for refactoring and sharing code across different levels of abstraction.

About System76

From hardware all the way up to the UI, System76 pushes hard for vertical integration. The company has a strong following amongst Linux enthusiasts and is a big advocate for Rust. They use it across the stack for most (all?) of their major projects. Instead of GNOME or KDE, the Denver-based company even built their own user interface in Rust, called COSMIC.

About Jeremy Soller

Jeremy is a hardware and kernel hacker who has an intricate understanding of low-level computing. With Redox OS, an operating system fully written in Rust, he was one of the first developers who pushed the boundaries of what was possible with the still young language. The first release of Redox was in April 2015 when Rust hadn't even reached 1.0. By all means, Jeremy is a pioneer in the Rust community, an expert in low-level programming, and an advocate for robust, reliable systems programming.

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"Rust in Production" is a podcast by corrode, a company that helps teams adopt Rust. We offer training, consulting, and development services to help you succeed with Rust. If you want to learn more about how we can help you, please get in touch.