Linux Desktops

What is the desktop?

See all Distros - Ubuntu, OpenSuSE, Fedora, Debian, Mandriva, Xandros, etc
Installing Linux. Scary stuff! Installing Linux with important notes.
The desktop is what you can see on the screen. It allows you to start programs using the mouse or with keyboard shortcuts by selection of some key. Hopefully, it is what makes the computer & its programs easier to use. Most have used Windows desktop at some stage in their lives or perhaps you've used Apple's desktop. You have that desktop & that is it. You have no choices here. You get what they offer.
With Linux you have a variety of selections. There are the very basic desktops that are just that, basic. I won't waste any more time on these. Gnome is the Linux standard fair. In it's basic form it is a capable desktop that is functional & responsive but a little boring. With a little configuring it becomes an extreme user interface with as many desktops as your graphics card memory can handle. Changing desktops has the desktops spinning around in a globe with all the open windows displaying their ghostly visage. This configuration is not easy to do in Gnome & again, if configuration goes awry you may end up with an unusable system.
KDE has grown to become the better of the 2 major desktops. It's a more exciting desktop even in its most basic form & has a more professional look overall than Gnome. Configuring KDE to do handstands & backflips is a much less arduous task & much less fraught with danger. The ultimate theme with extras flying around is the equal best that Gnome can do but it was much easier getting there.

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Which desktop is for you?

Choosing now doesn't stop you adding another later on. You can have several desktops on your system & choose whichever one you want to use at the login process. The effects available to every Linux user will make Apple & Windows users very jealous. They have no equivalent. Their attempts so far have been fairly damning. If you're a newbie to Linux then start with either KDE or Gnome
KDE4 is a beautiful desktop with purposeful Personal Information Manager interfacing between utilities. KDE has an easy to follow & a simpler desktop experience than Gnome. The desktop settings manager is easy to use & has a great amount of configurability. KDE has a simpler Compiz Fusion settings manager for those "COOL" effects. Search Youtube for KDE's Compiz Fish-eye
Gnome is also a beautiful desktop. Easy to use with a great program manager. More difficult to alter the look & less effects available
XFCE is better for Netbooks or low-powered, lower graphics systems. Very easy to use & after effects can be added to make XFCE a stunning desktop
Enlightenment is a beautiful favourite with many Linux long term users
Compiz Fusion is about the graphic effects & user experience rather than program running. Search Youtube for Compiz for view of what Compiz does. Compiz can be complicated to setup & can cause some problems with bad settings

All information printed on these pages has been expressly written by Rex Alfie Lee of Daggerlee Computing. This page has been opened separately from the original. If you have closed the original page & wish to return to it then click on this link for
Daggerlee Computing
Dated: May 2011
Email: alfielee at gmail.com