About Linux‎ > ‎

Desktop Environments for Linux




In Linux, there are so many choices, and this includes the desktop environments and window managers. Four of the most popular desktop environments in Linux are GNOME (in its various shells and forks), KDE, Xfce, and LXDE. All four offer sophisticated point-and-click graphical user interfaces (GUI) which are on par with the desktop environments found in Windows and Mac OS X. When you ask different people which of these four is best, you will likely get many different answers. So which is the best between GNOME, KDE, Xfce, and LXDE? Well..... it is largely a matter of opinion, and the capabilities of your computer hardware can also be important in deciding. For example, users with older computers will be better served to choose Xfce or especially LXDE, while users with newer hardware can get more desktop effects by choosing KDE or GNOME. Another consideration when choosing a desktop environment is your preference for customizing it. If you like to have a lot of options to customize and tweak your desktop, then KDE will by default give you the greatest flexibility to do this. Xfce comes next, and then LXDE, while Unity and the default GNOME 3.x shell offer relatively few options in the way of desktop customization. Personally, I like all of them, and if you have the time and are a bit adventurous, then I recommend you try each of the major desktop environments described below, as well as others such as Enlightenment and Razor-qt and decide which of them works best for you. GNOME, KDE, Xfce, LXDE, Enlightenment, and Razor-qt are all excellent and are definitely worth consideration.
A Brief Description of GNOME, KDE, Xfce, LXDE, Enlightenment, and Razor-qt:

GNOME [1] - Currently, GNOME (GNU Network Object Model Environment) finds itself in four major manifestations: the GNOME 3.x shell, Unity, Cinnamon and MATE. With GNOME 3.x comes its new shell, which is a wide departure from the traditional GNOME 2.x desktop (click here to see a screenshot). Many people who loved the GNOME 2.x desktop are unhappy with the direction taken by the GNOME 3.x shell, and this has brought some controversy and a "splintering" of the GNOME world [2]. For example, Ubuntu released the Unity shell as its latest default desktop, which runs on top of GNOME 3.x. Also, developers of Linux Mint have developed their own GNOME 3.x-based desktop called Cinnamon, but has the look and feel of the traditional GNOME 2.x. Additionally, there is MATE, which is a fork of GNOME 2.x. Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Debian, Fedora, and CentOS are major distros which use some form of GNOME in their main editions. 

It should also be mentioned that GNOME has a wealth of applications which are designed for its desktop, but they can also be used in the other desktop environments as well; click here to see a list of them [3]. Following are a few applications and components of GNOME:

Window Manager: Metacity (GNOME 2.x); Mutter (GNOME 3.x shell)
File Manager: Nautilus
Office Suite: GNOME Office (which includes AbiWord and Gnumeric)
Music Player: Rhythmbox
Video Player: Totem
CD/DVD Burner: Brasero
Games: GnomeGames
Widget Toolkit: GTK+

Below are brief descriptions of the GNOME 3.x shell, Unity, Cinnamon, and MATE:


The newly released GNOME 3.x with its GNOME Shell user interface is a drastic change from the "classic" GNOME 2.x shell. While the GNOME 3.x shell is fairly intuitive, for someone who is accustomed to GNOME 2.x, or any other desktop environment for that matter, there will be a considerable amount of adjustment. In the GNOME 3.x shell, there is only one panel located at the top of the desktop, and there is no longer a traditional menu. To open programs, users can either press the Windows key, or they can click on "Activities" found on the left side of the panel. This gives the options of a program launcher that appears on the left side of the desktop, an "Applications" option found on the upper left part of the desktop (which is the closest thing to a
menu), or they can search for programs using the search box on the upper right of the desktop. Additionally, when clicking on "Activities," a desktop switcher appears on the right side of the desktop. Another change involves the buttons on the windows; in GNOME 2.x, and practically every other desktop environment or window manager, there are at least three buttons found at the top of each window: one to exit the window, one to maximize the window, and one to minimize the window. However, in the default GNOME 3.x shell, there is only one button that is used to exit the window, which really takes some getting used to. If you want your laptop or desktop to look and behave like a cell phone or tablet, then the GNOME 3.x shell might be for you. Overall, the GNOME 3.x shell is a very simple, clean, and visually pleasing desktop. 

Click on the pictures above 
to see larger screenshots of the the default GNOME 3.x desktop shell in Fedora 17. 

Recommended System Requirements for the GNOME 3.x shell in its default mode
 Required RAM
768 MB
 Required CPU
 400 MHz

One option in GNOME 3.x is to run it in the "Fallback Mode," which is designed for hardware not capable of handling the more graphically intensive default GNOME 3.x desktop shell. The Fallback Mode strongly resembles the user interface in GNOME 2.x and should appeal to those who are not comfortable with the default, but one problem is that it is not very configurable in its default.
 You can click here to read an informative article about the GNOME 3.x Fallback Mode and how to make it your default desktop [5]. Click on the picture to the left to see a larger screenshot of GNOME 3.x in the Fallback Mode running in Fedora 16. Ubuntu users can have this option by installing a package called "GNOME-Session-Fallback." In the future to be released GNOME 3.8, the Fallback Mode will not be included, so this is really not a long-term solution.

Another option is to install extensions to GNOME 3.x such as GNOME Shell Frippery, which turns the GNOME 3.x Shell into an even more GNOME 2.x-like experience than the Fallback Mode [6].

Unity [7]

Originally designed by Canonical for use on netbooks, Unity has (beginning with Ubuntu 11.04) replaced GNOME 2.x as the default desktop shell in Ubuntu. Starting with Ubuntu 11.10, the Unity now runs on top of GNOME 3.x and it includes a 2D mode which allows it to run on older hardware. In essence, Unity is a move away from a menu-driven desktop to a text and search-based desktop with its "Heads-Up Display," aka HUD, which will anticipate your queries in a manner similar to a Google search. Unity requires more system resources than the GNOME 3.x shell or KDE, not to mention all of the other popular Linux desktop environments. In Unity, there is one panel and it is always at the top of the desktop. Additionally, there is a dock-like program called the "launcher" which is always on the left side of the desktop. In appearance, Unity very much resembles a Mac OS X desktop where the dock has been positioned on the left side. In my opinion, Unity is a very nice looking desktop, but it is still in some ways a step backward in the area of customization compared to the traditional GNOME 2.x desktop. However, Unity has excellent compatibility with touch screen technology and seems to be the way things are going in computing. While there are many people who have criticized Unity, the direction Canonical has taken with it makes sense in light of such endeavors as Ubuntu for Android, which is available with the release of Ubuntu 12.04. Basically, Ubuntu for Android is an app for dual core Android phones, which allows users to dock their phones to a keyboard and monitor to have the full Ubuntu desktop. Unity has improved significantly since it began, and it has grown on me and I like it much more now than when I first began to use it.

Click on the picture above
to see a larger screenshot of the Unity desktop in Ubuntu 12.04 LTS.

Recommended System Requirements for Unity
 Required RAM
 1 GB
 Required CPU
  1 GHz

Unity does not have a "traditional" menu like GNOME 2.x, but programs can be easily accessed by clicking on the Ubuntu symbol on the upper part of the launcher, or by pushing the "Windows" button found on most PCs. This opens up a box called the "dash" where users can search by typing in the name of desired programs to open them. Click on the picture to the left to see a screenshot of Ubuntu's search filter mode found in the dash, which is the closest thing to a traditional menu in Unity.



In order to make a desktop which is more truly in line with the essence of older Linux Mint desktops, while utilizing the newer technologies found in GNOME 3.x, the developers of Linux Mint have created the Cinnamon interface. Unlike MATE, which is a fork of GNOME 2.x, Cinnamon is based on GNOME 3.x. When I first tried Cinnamon in Linux Mint 12, there were a lot of bugs evident, but in Linux Mint 14 it is very clear that Cinnamon has quickly become a very solid desktop and a major force in the world of Linux. In my opinion, Cinnamon easily rivals the KDE desktop in visual beauty and appeal. Currently, Cinnamon along with MATE are the default desktop choices for Linux Mint. Also, Cinnarch uses Cinnamon as its default. Cinnamon is available to be installed on Ubuntu, Fedora, OpenSUSE, Arch Linux, Gentoo, Manjaro Linux, Sabayon, and Snowlinux.

Click on the picture above
  to see a larger screenshot of the Cinnamon 1.6 desktop in Linux Mint 14.

To the left is a screenshot of the default menu in Linux Mint running Cinnamon.

Recommended System Requirements for Cinnamon (probably similar to Linux Mint's requirements)
 Required RAM
512 MB
 Required CPU
 1 GHz

Following are a few applications and components of Cinnamon:

Window Manager: Muffin
File Manager: Nemo











MATE [11]

A fork of GNOME 2.x, MATE looks and acts just like the traditional GNOME 2.x shell which was replaced with the release of GNOME 3.x. As shown in the screenshot to the left, MATE is essentially a return to the much loved desktop found in older versions of Linux. While using MATE in Linux Mint, I felt very much at home with the desktop, and I highly recommend MATE to anyone who misses GNOME 2.x. In my own experiences, MATE seems much more like the old GNOME 2.x than Cinnamon. Currently, MATE, along with Cinnamon are the default desktop choices for Linux Mint beginning with version 13. Linux Mint, Fedora, Manjaro Linux, Sabayon, and Salix OS include MATE in their official repositories, and MATE packages are available to be installed into Arch Linux, Debian, Slackware Linux, OpenSUSE, and Ubuntu by adding repositories. 

Click on the picture above
 to see a larger screenshot of MATE 1.4.2 running in Ubuntu 12.04 LTS.

To the left is a screenshot of default MATE menu.

Recommended System Requirements for MATE (My guess is that they should be similar to the GNOME 2.x shell)
 Required RAM
384 MB
 Required CPU
 800 MHz

Following are a few applications and components of MATE:

Window Manager: Marco
File Manager: Caja
Text Editor: Pluma
Graphics Viewer: Eye of MATE
Document Viewer: Atril
Archive Manager: Engrampa
Terminal Emulator: MATE Terminal


KDE [12] - In many ways, KDE (K Desktop Environment) in its default configuration is very similar in appearance to Microsoft Windows and Windows users will likely feel very much at home when using it. KDE is arguably the most powerful, versatile, smoothly integrated, and visually pleasing of all the Linux desktops and has more point-and-click customization options and "eye candy" than any of the various GNOMEs, Xfce, LXDE or any other Linux desktop. With its Plasma Workspaces, users can easily add a variety of widgets to the desktop. While KDE is the most polished in appearance when compared to other Linux desktops, it can be quite resource-hungry. On the other hand, KDE requires less CPU resources than Ubuntu's Unity and less RAM than the GNOME 3.x shell. OpenSUSE, PCLinuxOS, Mageia, Chakra, and Mandriva are some major Linux distros running KDE in their main editions. Kubuntu is the KDE version of Ubuntu. In summary, KDE is an outstanding desktop environment that is most definitely worth consideration.

Click on the picture above
 to see a larger screenshot of KDE 4.8.2 in Kubuntu 12.04 LTS.

To the left is a screenshot of the default KDE menu in Kubuntu.

Like GNOME, KDE includes a large number of applications which are designed to be used in its desktop, many of which have a name that begins with the letter "K." For example, Konqueror is a web browser and file manager, and KStars is a desktop planetarium. Also like the GNOME applications, the KDE applications can be used in other desktop environments. You can click here to see a list of KDE applications [13]. Following are a few applications and components of KDE:

Window Manager: KWin
File Manager: Dolphin
Office Suite: KOffice
Music Player: Amarok
Video Player: Dragon Player
CD/DVD Burner: K3b
Terminal Emulator: Konsole
Education: KDE Edu
Widget Toolkit: Qt

Recommended System Requirements for KDE

One option in newer versions of KDE is to run it in the "Search and Launch" mode, which in some ways is similar in appearance to the GNOME 3.x shell and to Ubuntu's Unity. This mode with its large icons and search can be used with a touchscreen, and is great for smaller devices such as netbooks and tablets. While the Search and Launch mode is an option in KDE, it is not the default like it is in the GNOME 3.x shell and in Unity. The Search and Launch mode is easily activated or deactivated by clicking on the "Show Activity Manager" button found on the desktop panel, next to the "Application Launcher Menu." Click on the picture to the left to see a larger screenshot of the KDE 4.7 Search and Launch mode.

Xfce [15] - Less resource-hungry than GNOME or KDE, 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. In my opinion, Xfce provides a nice balance between functionality and conservation of system resources, while still having a beautiful desktop. In its default appearance, Xfce very much resembles Mac OS X with its dock-like panel found at the bottom of the desktop. Users can drag their favorite applications from the menu (found on the left side of the upper panel) and place them on the bottom dock/panel in a similar manner as can be done in Mac OS X. Just like GNOME 2.x and KDE, Xfce may easily be customized to more closely resemble Windows, or to be configured otherwise as desired. Xubuntu is the Xfce version of Ubuntu, and Mythbuntu has Xfce as its desktop. Also, VectorLinux uses Xfce as its default desktop, and many other Linux distros offer Xfce versions as well. In many ways, Xfce looks and acts like GNOME 2.x, and for those who like the GNOME 2.x desktop and are not completely satisfied with the changes in the GNOME 3.x shell or Unity, Xfce could be a great fit.

Click on the picture above
 to see a larger screenshot of Xfce 4.8 in Xubuntu 12.04 LTS.

To the left is a screenshot of the Xfce menu in Xubuntu.

Following are a few applications and components of Xfce:

Window Manager: Xfwm
File Manager: Thunar
Media Player: Parole
CD/DVD Burner: Xfburn
Task Manager: Xfce Task Manager
Widget Toolkit: GTK+

Recommended System Requirements for Xfce
Required RAM
 192 MB
Required CPU
  300 MHz
http://wiki.xfce.org/minimum_requirements [16]


LXDE [17] - When compared to GNOME, KDE, and Xfce, LXDE (Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment) is the least resource-hungry, which makes it an outstanding choice for older computers. Additionally, it will run extremely fast on newer computers. Even with its super-efficiency, LXDE is still a nice and feature-rich desktop environment that has menus which are simple and straightforward and very easy to navigate. In its default appearance LXDE resembles older versions of Windows (such as Windows 98 or 2000), with a single panel at the bottom of the desktop and a menu found on the left side of that panel, but like GNOME 2.x, KDE, and Xfce, it can be customized in a variety of ways. Lubuntu (the LXDE version of Ubuntu), Peppermint OS, and Knoppix are popular distros which have LXDE as their default desktop environment. Many other Linux distros offer LXDE versions as well.

Click on the picture above
 to see a larger screenshot of LXDE in Lubuntu 12.04.

To the left is a screenshot of the LXDE menu in Lubuntu.

Following are a few applications and components of LXDE:

Window Manager: Openbox
File Manager: PCManFM
Task Manager: LXTask
Terminal Emulator: LXTerminal
Widget Toolkit: GTK+

Recommended System Requirements for LXDE
Required RAM
 128 MB
Required CPU
  266 MHz
http://lxde.sourceforge.net/about.html [18]


Enlightenment [19] - Though Enlightenment (a.k.a. "E") is a window manager, it can also be considered a desktop environment, and the project has grown to encompass a number of libraries which are together known as EFL [20]. 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, Xfce Razor-qt, or even LXDE, yet it also is quite visually appealing and offers a lot of "eye candy," which is amazing given its very small footprint. The Enlightenment desktop is somewhat unique in its appearance, and users can simply click anywhere on it to access the menu. Bodhi Linux is a popular distro that uses Enlightenment as its default desktop.

Click on the picture above
  to see a larger screenshot of Enlightenment running in Bodhi Linux 1.1.0.

To the left is a screenshot of the Enlightenment menu in running in Lubuntu.

Following are a few applications and components of Enlightenment:

Window Manager: Enlightenment 
File Manager: EFM 
Web Browser: Eve
Terminal Emulator: Eterm 
Widget Toolkit: Elementary

Recommended System Requirements for Enlightenment (E17) to be fully functional on a netbook, laptop, or desktop
Required RAM
64 MB
Required CPU
 200 MHz
http://www.enlightenment.org/p.php?p=about&l=en [21]


Razor-qt [22] - A relative new-comer to the world of desktop environments for Linux, Razor-qt is still very much in its fledgling stages. As it says on the Razor-qt website, 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. At this point, Razor-qt does not yet have its own file manager or other applications (other than a clock widget), but perhaps it will have more applications in the future. Overall, it is a clean interface, which to me is reminiscent of older versions of KDE.

Click on the picture above
  to see a larger screenshot of Razor-qt running in Lubuntu 12.04.

To the left is a screenshot of the Razor-qt menu running in Lubuntu.

Currently, Razor-qt does not have its own applications.

Widget Toolkit: Qt




At this point, there are not any recommended system requirements for Razor-qt that I can find, but based on my own tests, it appears that the system requirements for Razor-qt should probably be something similar to Xfce. So the Recommended System Requirements below are the same as those for Xfce.
Required RAM
192 MB
Required CPU
300 MHz

Popular Window Managers in Linux:

GNOME, KDE, Xfce, and LXDE are complete desktop environments, each of which come with their own programs and applications, menus, icons, a file manager, and a window manager. Window managers are, as the term suggests, simply used to manage the opening and closing of programs in a graphical, point-and-click windowed desktop. Window managers can be used as a component of a desktop environment, or they can run on their own. GNOME 2.x uses Metacity as its default window manager, the GNOME 3.x shell uses Mutter, KDE uses KWin, Xfce uses Xfwm, and LXDE uses OpenBox [23]. Some other examples of popular X11 window managers are Fluxbox [24], IceWM [25], and JWM [26]. To varying degrees all of these window managers are less resource-hungry than GNOME, KDE, Xfce, Razor-qt, and even LXDE and Enlightenment and are great for extremely old computers.

A Comparison Desktop Environment / Window Manager RAM and CPU Usage:

Below are the results of an ongoing "unscientific" test I began conducting (out of my own curiosity) in 2011 with various desktop environments and window managers. In the most recent round of this test, I ran Unity in Ubuntu, the GNOME 3.x shell in Fedora, and all of the other desktop environments and window managers in Lubuntu. All systems tested were 32-bit. Each of these were installed and ran through VirtualBox. In all of the desktop environments and window managers I opened the LX Task Manager (lxtask) to record the RAM and CPU usage numbers, while each system was at idle after a fresh boot with no other open applications. As a side note, to "compare apples and oranges," I opened Windows 7 on a newer HP laptop and recorded the system usage numbers. While Windows 7 used 0% of the CPU at idle from a fresh boot which was slightly better than the Linux desktop environments or window managers, it used significantly more RAM at 1.13 GB which is more than four times that of the GNOME 3.x shell. Finally, it should be mentioned that this is simply a test I completed out of curiosity, and while the results are interesting, it is probably best for you to use the recommended system requirements for each desktop environment as a guide when deciding which one is best for your computer. Below are my most recent results (ranked in order from highest RAM usage to the lowest) for the Linux desktop environments and window managers:

 Name of Desktop Environment / Window Manager

In Parenthesis: Operating System Used for Testing		  RAM used
  % of CPU (2.6 GHz total) used
  Type
 GNOME 3.x shell (Fedora 17)  248 MB  1-2 %  desktop shell (GNOME 3.x-based)
 Unity (Ubuntu 12.04 LTS) 218 MB 1-4 % desktop shell (GNOME 3.x-based)
 MATE (Linux Mint 13) 205 MB9-10 % desktop environment 
 GNOME 2.x shell (Lubuntu 11.04)  191 MB
  1 %
  desktop shell (GNOME 2.x-based)
 Cinnamon (Linux Mint 13) 175 MB  11-12 % desktop shell (GNOME 3.x-based) 
 GNOME 3.x Classic (Fallback Mode) (Lubuntu 12.04)         141 MB 1-2 % desktop shell (GNOME 3.x-based)
 KDE 4.8.2 (Lubuntu 12.04) 131 MB 1-3 % desktop environment
 Razor-qt (Lubuntu 12.04) 117 MB 1-2 % desktop environment
 Xfce 4.8 (Lubuntu 12.04)
  106 MB
  1-2 %
  desktop environment
 LXDE (Lubuntu 12.04)  82 MB
  1-2 %
 desktop environment
 OpenBox (Lubuntu 12.04) 76 MB 1-2 % window manager
 Enlightenment (E17 Standard) (Lubuntu 12.04)
  72 MB
  1-14 %
  desktop environment
 JWM (Lubuntu 11.04) 58 MB 1 % window manager
 Fluxbox (Lubuntu 12.04) 55 MB 1-3 % window manager
 IceWM (Lubuntu 12.04) 53 MB 3 % window manager

Because the GNOME desktop environment has become splintered into a variety of forms, I have included the most popular shells for GNOME in my tests above. One thing which surprised me was that MATE used more RAM than Cinnamon in my tests.

Interchangeability / Flexibility of Linux Desktop Environments and Window Managers:

One great feature of Linux is that programs / applications that are made to run in any one of these desktop environments will normally work in the others. For example, GNOME Games can also run in KDE, Xfce, or LXDE while KDE Games can likewise run in GNOME, Xfce, and LXDE. It should also be mentioned that many major Linux distros offer versions in multiple desktop environments / window managers, which includes all four of the desktop environments described above, and it is even possible to have any combination of GNOME, KDE, Xfce, LXDE, Enlightenment, or other desktop environments / window managers installed simultaneously on your Linux system. However, when installing multiple Linux desktop environments / window managers on the same computer, it is important to know that there will be may redundancies between similar applications (system tools, games, etc.) found within each. 

Another outstanding feature of Linux desktop environments / window managers is their flexibility, which gives users the ability to
customize them to look quite unique, or to imitate the look of other operating systems such as Windows and Mac OS X. Click here to see a larger screenshot of the Xfce desktop in Xubuntu which has been made to look similar to Mac OS X, using Docky. Like other software in Xubuntu, Docky can be downloaded and installed from the Ubuntu Software Center or the Synaptic Package Manager. The default desktop in Dreamlinux looks much like Mac OS X, and Zorin OS has a nice feature called "Look Changer" which allows users to choose the normal GNOME desktop, or from desktops very similar to either Windows 7 or XP. Click here to see a larger screenshot of Zorin OS in the Windows XP mode, but without the legion of viruses. Click here to see more examples of customized Linux desktops [27]. Below are links to websites which offer a wide variety of eye candy for the GNOME, KDE, and Xfce desktops:

http://GNOME-Look.org/ [28]
 http://KDE-Look.org/ [29]
 http://Xfce-Look.org/ [30]

Click here for a nice comparison between KDE and GNOME [31]. Click here to learn more about the differences between the various Linux desktop environments in an article by linuxreviews.org [32]. Wikipedia also provides an excellent comparison of the various desktop environments in an article entitled "Comparison of X Window System Desktop Environments" [33]. Another great resource is the Windows Managers for X website [34].

Which Desktop Environment is My Favorite?

Since I began using Linux in 2008, I have spent a great deal of time in GNOME 2.x, KDE, Xfce, LXDE, Unity, GNOME 3.x, MATE, and most recently Cinnamon. To a lesser degree, I have also spent some time using Enlightenment and Razor-qt. Of these desktops, my current favorites are Unity, Cinnamon, and MATE. Another desktop that I like is Xfce, which has seen significant improvements in recent releases. On older hardware, my preference is LXDE. Of course this is just my opinion, and each of the desktops described on this page are worthy choices. My recommendation to anyone would be to try all of these desktops and decide which one(s) work best for them. 

References:

1.    ^ GNOME. http://www.gnome.org/.
2.    ^ "Controversy Over GNOME 3." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controversy_over_GNOME_3.
3.    ^ "List of GNOME Applications." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_GNOME_applications.
4.    ^ "Get Fedora." http://fedoraproject.org/en/get-fedora.
5.    ^ "GNOME 3 Fallback Mode - Get Your Productivity Back." http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/gnome-3-fallback.html.
6.    ^ "Fedora 16 and GNOME Shell: Tested and Reviewed." http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/fedora-16-gnome-3-review,3155.html.
7.    ^ Unity. http://unity.ubuntu.com/.
8.    ^ "Will Ubuntu 11.04 Work on My Old PC?" http://askubuntu.com/questions/22402/will-ubuntu-11-04-work-on-my-old-pc.
9.    ^ Cinnamon. http://cinnamon.linuxmint.com/.
10.    ^ "Linux Mint." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_Mint.
11.    ^ MATE. http://mate-desktop.org/.
12.    ^ KDE. http://www.kde.org/.
13.    ^ "List of KDE Applications." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_KDE_applications.
15.    ^ Xfce. http://www.xfce.org/.
16.    ^ "Xfce System Requirements. "http://wiki.xfce.org/minimum_requirements.
17.    ^ "LXDE." http://lxde.org/.
19.    ^ Enlightenment. http://www.enlightenment.org/.
20.    ^ "EFL Overview." http://www.enlightenment.org/p.php?p=about/efl.
21.    ^ Enlightenment-About. http://www.enlightenment.org/p.php?p=about&l=en.
22.    ^ Razor-qt. http://razor-qt.org/.
23.    ^ OpenBox. http://openbox.org/.
24.    ^ Fluxbox. http://fluxbox.org/.
25.    ^ IceWM. http://www.icewm.org/.
26.    ^ JWM (Joe's Window Manager). http://www.joewing.net/programs/jwm/.
27.    ^ "25 Best Linux Desktop Customization Screenshots." http://www.tux-planet.fr/25-best-linux-desktop-customization-screenshots/.
28.    ^ GNOME-Look. http://gnome-look.org/.
29.    ^ KDE-Look. http://kde-look.org/.
30.    ^ Xfce-Look. http://xfce-look.org/.
31.    ^ "KDE and Gnome Comparison." http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/kdegnome.
32.    ^ "Desktops: KDE vs Gnome." http://linuxreviews.org/software/desktops/.
33.    ^ "Comparison of X Window System Desktop Environments." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_X_Window_System_desktop_environments.
34.    ^ Windows Managers for X. http://xwinman.org/.







Number of Visitors - Powered by www.statcounter.com
blogger web statistics

Creative Commons License
The content of Renewable PCs (c) by Charles E. Craig, Jr. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.renewablepcs.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.renewablepcs.com.

Updated May 6, 2013