{"id":6271,"date":"2014-08-19T10:00:52","date_gmt":"2014-08-19T14:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.nccomputertech.com\/?p=6271"},"modified":"2014-08-19T10:00:52","modified_gmt":"2014-08-19T14:00:52","slug":"six-popular-linux-desktop-environments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/08\/19\/six-popular-linux-desktop-environments\/","title":{"rendered":"Six Popular Linux Desktop Environments"},"content":{"rendered":"

Unlike Windows and OS X, Linux allows you to fully customize not only the look and feel of your desktop, but also its functionality and settings, thanks to a host of desktop environments it offers. Different desktop environments offer different styles and options, and unavoidably, with choice often comes confusion.<\/p>\n

Here’s an overview of the current most popular Linux desktop environments, so you can have a better idea about their core differences, what each has to offer and what could potentially suit you best.<\/p>\n

Gnome<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Gnome, which stands for GNU Network Object Model Environment, is one of the oldest and most widely used Linux desktop environments. Its design goals include simplicity, accessibility, and ease of internationalization and localization.<\/p>\n

The project was initiated in August 1997 by Miguel de Icaza and Federico Mena as a reaction against KDE. While Gnome 2.x was one of the most popular and well received versions of the desktop environment, Gnome 3.x, its latest offering which seems to be more inclined towards handheld devices, failed to impress a large section of its users.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Gnome\u2019s user interface starts in the Activities Overview mode, which allows you to launch new applications, switch windows, and move them between workspaces. The dashboard on the left contains your favorite as well as currently active applications.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a Show Applications icon at the bottom, clicking on which displays all applications installed on your system.You can also search for a specific application by using the search bar present at the top of the screen.<\/p>\n

Pros: The interface is fast; Supports a lot of keyboard shortcuts.<\/p>\n

Cons: Application search isn’t very smart; Requires time to become proficient.<\/p>\n

Cinnamon<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Based on Gnome 3.x, the Cinnamon desktop environment aims to provide innovative features along with a Gnome 2.x-like user experience. The idea is to make users feel at home and provide them with an easy to use and comfortable desktop experience. At present, it is the default desktop for Linux Mint, but can also be installed on other Linux distros.<\/p>\n

Cinnamon came into existence in 2012 after Gnome transitioned from version 2 to version 3, as the team behind Linux Mint felt that the new version did not fit the design goals they had in mind for the distribution. It started as a Gnome 3.x-based frontend, but soon became a complete desktop environment built on Gnome technologies.<\/p>\n

Cinnamon provides a powerful and customizable, yet easy to use desktop layout. Out of the box, the desktop environment\u2019s UI features a single panel located at the bottom of the screen, with applications menu on the left, and system tray, clock, notifications, and more on the right.<\/p>\n

Applications can be added to your panel by right clicking on their icon and choosing \u2018Add to panel\u2019. You can easily change the panel layout to place it at the top or both top as well as bottom, or change its look and feel with applets and themes.<\/p>\n

Pros: Combines the power of Gnome with its in-house features and applications; Easy to navigate.<\/p>\n

Cons: Requires 3D acceleration, which means it might not work well for you depending on your machine\u2019s graphics card and\/or drivers; It might not be as stable as some of the more mature and established desktops.<\/p>\n

Full Story: Six Popular Linux Desktop Environments – TechSpot<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Unlike Windows and OS X, Linux allows you to fully customize not only the look and feel of your desktop, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,9],"tags":[421,1113],"class_list":["post-6271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-linux","category-software","tag-gnome","tag-ubuntu"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/papNkV-1D9","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9655,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2021\/03\/09\/fuquay-varina-and-holly-springs-computer-repair\/","url_meta":{"origin":6271,"position":0},"title":"Fuquay Varina and Holly Springs Computer Repair","author":"NCCT","date":"March 9, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Welcome to our blog. NC Computer Tech services Fuquay Varina, Holly Springs, and surrounding NC areas. We offer prompt, professional, courteous service with over twenty years of experience dealing with residential and small business clients offering them solutions and fixing their computer and network issues at reasonable rates. Our services\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Technology"","block_context":{"text":"Technology","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/technology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9428,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2018\/10\/28\/all-the-presidents-phones-this-week-in-tech-690\/","url_meta":{"origin":6271,"position":1},"title":"All the President’s Phones – This Week in Tech 690","author":"NCCT","date":"October 28, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/pmfcU05twvo IBM buys Red Hat, worst Windows 10 ever, Right to Repair wins, and more. -- What's in store for Apple's big event this Tuesday? -- Tim Cook vs the \"data industrial complex\" -- Amazon's government controversies -- IBM buys Red Hat for $34 billion - the largest software purchase\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Apple"","block_context":{"text":"Apple","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/apple\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/pmfcU05twvo\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9450,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2018\/11\/20\/are-passwords-immortal-security-now-690\/","url_meta":{"origin":6271,"position":2},"title":"Are Passwords Immortal? – Security Now 690","author":"NCCT","date":"November 20, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/mOSTtkK7vy0 Pwn2Own, the Future of Passwords. -- All the action at last week's Pwn2Own Mobile hacking contest -- The final word on processor mis-design in the Meltdown\/Spectre era -- A workable solution for unsupported Intel firmware upgrades for hostile environments -- A forthcoming Firefox breach alert feature -- The expected\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Security"","block_context":{"text":"Security","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/security\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/mOSTtkK7vy0\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9520,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2019\/02\/18\/tiny-incremental-and-frictionless-this-week-in-tech-706\/","url_meta":{"origin":6271,"position":3},"title":"Tiny, Incremental, and Frictionless – This Week in Tech 706","author":"NCCT","date":"February 18, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/DQfKKr7ZQQQ Amazon Cancels NY HQ2 Plans Amazon Pays $0 Federal Income Taxes Amazon Buys Eero \u2022 Facebook vs Anti-Vaxxers The Most Popular App in China Samsung Galaxy S10+eF5G Our 5G Augmented Reality Future Apple News Event March 25th New HoloLens Coming Next Sunday Buzzfeed Unionizes Pokemon Go Trespassing Legal Battle\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Technology"","block_context":{"text":"Technology","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/technology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/DQfKKr7ZQQQ\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9934,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2025\/05\/16\/8000-disaster-prebuilt-pc-corsair-origin-fail-again\/","url_meta":{"origin":6271,"position":4},"title":"$8000* Disaster Prebuilt PC – Corsair & Origin Fail Again","author":"NCCT","date":"May 16, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/mW5WQY7Ym0I In this review of the Corsair \/ Origin Genesis Pre-Built Gaming PC with an RTX 5090, we're tearing down the computer, running a cost comparison, benchmarking thermals, acoustics, power, and frequency, and looking at the overall build quality. Unfortunately for Origin and Corsair (which owns Origin), this build is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hardware"","block_context":{"text":"Hardware","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/hardware\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/mW5WQY7Ym0I\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9405,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2018\/10\/07\/odorless-and-weightless-hackers-this-week-in-tech-687\/","url_meta":{"origin":6271,"position":5},"title":"Odorless and Weightless Hackers – This Week in Tech 687","author":"NCCT","date":"October 7, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/lb4rnqfNdas Chinese Spy Chips, Microsoft Highs and Lows, Pixel 3 Event Predictions, and More! Bloomberg reports that China used tiny chips to spy on Apple, Amazon, and the US government. Apple and Amazon deny it. How do we know who is right? All the news from the Microsoft Surface event,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Apple"","block_context":{"text":"Apple","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/apple\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/lb4rnqfNdas\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6271\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}