New Linux User

Why having a separate desktop environment on Linux rocks

by Clair on April 21st, 2008

Why having a separate desktop environment on Linux rocks

It’s probably something cool or something alien to new Linux users: the separation of the operating system with the desktop. You might be thinking, sure, I could have a new look if I install StyleXP or LiteStep on Windows. But the thing is that it’s not quite the same. I used to think it was so cool that I could do that on Windows. It made my desktop distinct from the rest of my co-workers’. But it was at a cost. Litestep was running on top of Windows and it was heavy on my resources.

On Linux desktops, you can choose your desktop environment or window manager. It could be something resource-heavy like the full-blown environments like GNOME and KDE, or it could be as lightweight and minimalist as FVWM or Ratpoison. You could also get something not too minimalist but still relatively lightweight like Openbox or Fluxbox. :)

It’s the power of choice when it comes to your desktops. You could customize the look of each desktop environment and/or window manager to your heart’s delight. However, the cost is more related to the time you’d spend on learning the intricacies of each aspect of the desktop environment.

For new Linux users, most distros have GNOME or KDE installed by default. But I also recommend you to check out the following:

• Openbox
• FVWM
• WindowMaker

They would look very different but they are worth checking out, especially for those who are on older computers.

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