Alternative Linux desktop environments
Manjaro
Although Manjaro [5] primarily uses Xfce and KDE, in 2019 the distribution introduced Just Another Desktop Environment (JADE, Figure 4). Originally written as a learning exercise in Python, it is a minimalist desktop, with many features hidden until required. It opens, for instance, on a few basic items like Help, Settings, and Exit arranged around a sticky-note utility. The main menu opens horizontally rather than vertically, giving plenty of room for details about each item. Each top-level item is identified by its own wallpaper.
The desktop also features audio notifications, as well as a written list of recent ones. Another small innovation is a list of recent events, a kind of undo feature for the entire desktop that seems such an obvious feature that you might wonder why it did not appear years ago.
JADE is only starting to mature, but those in search of something new may appreciate its fresh take on the desktop.
Solus/Ubuntu Budgie
Solus's [6] desktop environment is called Budgie (Figure 5). Budgie received a boost when it became an official Ubuntu flavor; it is now widely available in major distributions, including Ubuntu Budgie. Like many alternative desktops, Solus's goal is a clean, minimalist look, and it is perhaps second only to Moksha for speed.
Budgie's popularity has led to the creation of a small ecosystem of applets, including ones for countdowns, external drives, hot corners, separate keyboard bindings for each app, and menus that place favorite items at the top. By choosing which of these applets to work with, users can customize the basic desktop environment according to their own preferences, often using choices that are unavailable elsewhere.
Sugar Labs
Sugar Labs [7] contributed the desktop for One Laptop Per Child Project, a popular cause in the early years of the century. Called Sugar (Figure 6), the result is still available as a desktop for children in many distributions. It is radically different from most interfaces, running full-screen and one program at a time. Moreover, it is designed to be entirely task-oriented and primarily to run its own programs – or activities, as Sugar calls them.
Sugar boots to a screen showing the current user surrounded by favorite activities. Open activities, as well as the user's journal and log, appear beneath the user's icon. Also available at boot time is a list of installed activities, with the most recently used ones at the top, accessible from an icon or via function keys. Activities are heavily documented with mouse overs or with text embedded in the activities. Available activities include Calculate, Image Viewer, Terminal, Write, Browse, and introductory programming tools.
Sugar is not for everybody, but it offers a different desktop view in an era in which innovation is frequently lacking. You can try it from a flash drive using Sugar on a Stick.
« Previous 1 2 3 Next »
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Linux Servers Targeted by Akira Ransomware
A group of bad actors who have already extorted $42 million have their sights set on the Linux platform.
-
TUXEDO Computers Unveils Linux Laptop Featuring AMD Ryzen CPU
This latest release is the first laptop to include the new CPU from Ryzen and Linux preinstalled.
-
XZ Gets the All-Clear
The back door xz vulnerability has been officially reverted for Fedora 40 and versions 38 and 39 were never affected.
-
Canonical Collaborates with Qualcomm on New Venture
This new joint effort is geared toward bringing Ubuntu and Ubuntu Core to Qualcomm-powered devices.
-
Kodi 21.0 Open-Source Entertainment Hub Released
After a year of development, the award-winning Kodi cross-platform, media center software is now available with many new additions and improvements.
-
Linux Usage Increases in Two Key Areas
If market share is your thing, you'll be happy to know that Linux is on the rise in two areas that, if they keep climbing, could have serious meaning for Linux's future.
-
Vulnerability Discovered in xz Libraries
An urgent alert for Fedora 40 has been posted and users should pay attention.
-
Canonical Bumps LTS Support to 12 years
If you're worried that your Ubuntu LTS release won't be supported long enough to last, Canonical has a surprise for you in the form of 12 years of security coverage.
-
Fedora 40 Beta Released Soon
With the official release of Fedora 40 coming in April, it's almost time to download the beta and see what's new.
-
New Pentesting Distribution to Compete with Kali Linux
SnoopGod is now available for your testing needs