Overview

I spent a month using Fedora 42 on a Slimbook laptop and tested the COSMIC desktop (Cosmic DE). This post documents daily impressions, battery life, UI tweaks, and practical tips for newcomers.

First impressions: installation & setup

Fedora 42 installed cleanly on my Slimbook. The installer was modern and the hardware was recognized with minimal fuss. COSMIC (a polished, Wayland-native desktop from System76) offered a different workflow from GNOME but remained intuitive.

Performance and battery life

The Slimbook hardware paired well with Fedora 42. Battery life was comparable to a Windows install, sometimes better due to fewer background processes. CPU and GPU drivers worked well after enabling the recommended repos.

Desktop experience: COSMIC vs GNOME

COSMIC focuses on workflow improvements and is developed with Rust and Wayland-first design. It felt responsive and introduced productive UI patterns that suited my workflow.

Tips & tweaks

• Enable the official Slimbook firmware/driver repos if available for better hardware support.
• Use GNOME extensions or COSMIC settings to customize keyboard shortcuts.
• Install Flatpaks for sandboxed app installs and easy updates.

Conclusion

After one month I found the combo of Fedora 42, COSMIC, and a Slimbook laptop a compelling, modern Linux experience—fast, customizable, and future-proof.