Desktop Environments

Desktop Environments for Linux

Desktop Environment: 

In graphical computing, a desktop environment (DE) is an implementation of a desktop metaphor graphical user interface (GUI). The desktop environment was seen on most personal computers until the rise of mobile computing. Desktop GUIs help the user in easily accessing, configuring and modifying many important and frequently accessed specific operating system (OS) features. The GUI usually does not afford access to all the many features found in an OS. Instead, the traditional command-line interface (CLI) is still used when full control over the OS is required in such cases. A desktop environment typically consists of icons, windows, toolbars, folders, wallpapers and desktop widgets.  (From Wikipedia)

GNOME: 

GNOME is one of the most popular Linux desktop environment. The GNOME 2 series was used as default desktop environment by Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian and other Linux distributions. GNOME 2 was lightweight desktop environment. The newly released GNOME 3 comes with GNOME Shell user interface and there is a drastic change from GNOME 2.

GNOME 3

UNITY: 

Unity is Ubuntu’s own default desktop environment. If you’ve installed Ubuntu using the standard installer, you’re probably using the Unity desktop right now because Unity is probably synonymous with Ubuntu. From its searchable Dash (which also searches online sources) to its application dock that functions similarly to Windows 7′s taskbar, Unity has its own identity as a desktop. Prior to Unity, Ubuntu used GNOME — many of these GNOME programs, like the Nautilus file manager, are still used on Unity today.

Unity Desktop Environment

KDE: 

KDE and GNOME are the two most popular Linux desktop environments. KDE has always been more complex than GNOME, packing in many more configuration options and features. KDE software consists of a large number of individual applications and a desktop workspace as a shell to run these applications. It’s a bit more Windows-like than the other desktop environments here, coming with a single taskbar on the bottom of the screen that includes a menu, quick launch-type icons, a taskbar, a notification area, and a clock. You can run KDE applications just fine on any desktop environment as they are built to integrate well with your system's components. By also using the KDE workspace, you get even better integration of your applications with the working environment while lowering system resource demands.

KDE Desktop Environment

Xfce: 

Xfce is a famous for its lightweight Desktop environment. Xfce embodies the traditional UNIX philosophy of modularity and re-usability. It consists of a number of components that provide the full functionality one can expect of a modern desktop environment, while remaining relatively light. Xfce is a great choice for older computers and it is still a full-fledged desktop environment that offers a great deal to the user. Xfce provides a nice balance between functionality and conservation of system resources, while still having a beautiful desktop. It was once very similar to GNOME, but with GNOME 3 striking out in a different direction, Xfce now has its own identity as a more traditional Linux desktop environment that’s quite similar to GNOME 2.

XFCE Desktop Environment

LXDE: 

LXDE more lightweight than Xfce. LXDE is focused on being as lightweight as possible and is especially designed for older computers, netbooks, and other systems with low hardware resources. It comes with a beautiful interface, multi-language support, standard keyboard short cuts and additional features like tabbed file browsing. Fundamentally designed to be lightweight, LXDE uses less CPU and RAM than other environments. It is especially beneficial for cloud computers with low hardware specifications, such as netbooks, mobile devices or older computers. While it’s a lightweight desktop, it includes all the standard desktop features — some lightweight desktops omit the taskbar entirely, but LXDE doesn’t.

LXDE Desktop Environment

Cinnamon: 

Cinnamon was developed for Linux Mint. Cinnamon is based on GNOME 3, so it uses up-to-date libraries and other software, but it takes that software and tries to create a more traditional-looking desktop with it. amon is a fork of GNOME 3. Cinnamon strives to provide a traditional user experience, similar to GNOME 2.

Linux Mint

MATE: 

MATE is fork of the original GNOME 2 that aims to preserve GNOME 2, continually updating it so it will continue to work on modern Linux distributions. Mate provides an intuitive and attractive desktop to Linux users using traditional metaphors. MATE has also seen some new features, but the main purpose of MATE is to give people who desperately miss GNOME 2 the opportunity to install it on new Linux distributions. This desktop environment is ideal for people who really miss GNOME 2.

Mate Desktop Environment

Enlightenment:  

Enlightenment is a window manager, it can also be considered a desktop environment. One very nice feature of Enlightenment is its flexibility, which among other things allows it to run on a wide variety of devices that includes mobile phones, game systems, laptops, and powerful desktop computers. Enlightenment requires less system resources than the GNOME, KDE. The Enlightenment desktop is somewhat unique in its appearance, and users can simply click anywhere on it to access the menu.

Pantheon: 

Pantheon is the default desktop environment originally created for the elementary OS distribution. It is written from scratch using Vala and the GTK3 toolkit. With regards to usability and appearance, the desktop has some similarities with GNOME Shell and Mac OS X.

Razor-qt: 

Razor-qt is an advanced, easy-to-use, and fast desktop environment based on Qt technologies. It is tailored for users who value simplicity, speed, and an intuitive interface. A nice feature of Razor-qt is its ability to run with a variety of window managers such as Openbox, Metacity, or KWin.  Razor-qt does not yet have its own file manager or other applications, but perhaps it will have more applications in the future. It has been tailored for users who value simplicity, speed, and an intuitive interface. While still a new project, Razor-qt already contains all the key DE components.

ROX: 

ROX is a fast, user friendly desktop which makes extensive use of drag-and-drop. The interface revolves around the file manager, following the traditional UNIX view that 'everything is a file' rather than trying to hide the filesystem beneath start menus, wizards, or druids. The aim is to make a system that is well designed and clearly presented.



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