Linux Desktop Environments

About Desktop Environments

            Possibly, your first encounter with a Linux System could be desktop environment. A Desktop Environment is a set of programs that control the screen and provide small utility programs to perform tasks such as manage files. Moreover unlike Windows or MAC OS X, Linux provides multiple Desktop environment options, so if you don’t like one you can choose another.

Popular Desktop Environments

1) GNOME

GNOME is developed by The GNOME Project and provides the GNOME Desktop Environment, a graphical user interface and a set of core applications, and the GNOME Development Platform, a framework for building applications that integrate with the desktop.

Features:

• Completely open source
• Uses Metacity as default window manager
• Comes with Nautilus as default file manager
• Supports desktop notifications using a convenient messaging system
• Enables on/off switching of desktop notifications and many more

2) KDE

           The K Desktop Environment (KDE; http://www.kde.org ) is one of the

most popular desktop environments for Linux. It’s the default desktop environ-

ment for Mandriva and SUSE. It includes many powerful tools that integrate

together very well.

Features:

• Optional Menus
• Web Shortcuts. ...
• Accessibility Tools. ...
• K3B CD/DVD Ripper. ...
• Optional System Setting Displays. ...
• Rotating Icons and Widgets. ...
• Multiple Clipboard. ...
• Customizable Virtual Workspaces.

3) Or simply Roll your own

          It’s possible to build a desktop environment of your own from components you like. At a minimum, you need a window manager (dozens are available; see http://xwinman.org for a partial list), but for the configuration to truly be a desktop environment, you’ll need other components, such as a file manager and small productivity tools. All of the components need to be accessible from some sort of menu system.

Conclusion

   New users who are accustomed to Windows or Mac OS will probably be happiest with KDE; this environment is most like these traditional desktop operating systems’ environments. Although they deviate more from the model used by other OSs, GNOME and Unity aim for ease of use and so can be good choices for the inexperienced. Users who are familiar with commercial Unix OSs might give Xfce a try. Xfce and LXDE are good choices on systems that have less than copious RAM or less than blazing CPUs. People who like to customize everything or who have less-capable computers should investigate the roll-your-own approach.