Elementary OS released to Public Beta for your Mac or PC

Those of you that enjoy changing the theme for your smartphone on a daily basis will appreciate what the folks behind Elementary OS are trying to do. They're not trying to be your "Monday" theme, but your next operating system – and they're trying to do it with Linux tied to an aesthetic that's a cross between Chrome OS and Apple's OS X.

Inside the release of "Luna", the most recent and first free Beta release, you'll find an OS that works for you. Linux isn't exactly an operating system you generally take to overnight – Elementary OS aims to be ready to use for and by anyone right out of the box.

Above you'll see a basic presentation video by the creators of this OS. Below you'll find a demonstration of one of the awesome sets of features included with Elementary OS. Keys for shortcuts on whatever device you're working with.

And what sort of device will you be using to run Elementary OS? Basically whatever you want. System requirements are included here:

Minimum System Requirements

• 1 GHz x86 or amd64 processor

• 512MB of system memory (RAM)

• 5GB of disk space

• CD/DVD drive

Recommended System Requirements

• 1 GHz x86 or amd64 processor

• 1GB of system memory (RAM)

• 15 GB of disk space

• CD/DVD Drive or USB port

• Internet access

Inside this OS you'll be getting a collection of apps for free. The OS is also free or "pay what you want", if you prefer. The following apps are included with the download:

• File Roller (Archive Manager)

• Geary (Email Client)

• GNOME Calculator

• Empathy (Internet Messenger)

• Maya (Calendar)

• Midori (Web Browser)

• Noise (Music Player)

• Pantheon Files

• Pantheon Terminal

• Scratch (Text Editor)

• Screenshot tool

• Shotwell (Photo Manager)

• Simple Scan

• Switchboard (System Settings)

• Totem (Movie Player)

• Ubuntu Software Center

• Update Manager

• There's also an app store with "thousands of free apps"

This is a replacement for Windows on your PC. It's a replacement for OS X on your Mac. Updates are free, apps are free, and there are currently no known viruses in this software's universe.

You can access Elementary OS through ElementaryOS dot ORG where they've just launched their download portal. Give what you want or take for free – make it so!