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Linux: What You Want To Know

Linux Desktops

From this point on, we'll be talking about the Red Hat Linux distribution because it is what Mr. Lake uses and is most familiar with. It is reasonable to expect that what is said about Red Hat Linux is true of the other general purpose distributions as well.

As we mentioned earlier, Microsoft Windows gives you one desktop. Linux gives you six: GNOME, KDE, FVWM, Enlightenment, WindowMaker and TWM.

Look and Feel

Each desktop has its own look and feel, and each one may default to different software packages for a particular function. Which one to use is strictly a matter of personal taste and preference.

Desktops may be customized by setting a theme, by changing individual settings, or both. Window controls may also be changed.

GNOME

The user may put GNOME's panel on the bottom of the screen, like Microsoft Windows. It may also be placed on the top, or on one of the sides. A user might like to have a floating panel, or more than one panel. GNOME users may have more than one menu on a panel. Panels may have applets on them. Applets are similar to the items in the Windows task bar. Here are some screenshots of the GNOME desktop. The Ximian company is the primary developer of the GNOME desktop. Its releases are more frequent than new versions of Linux. Screenshots of Ximian GNOME may be seen here.

KDE

KDE's design is more intentionally like Windows. It has one panel at the bottom of the screen with a taskbar in it. One of the KDE panel icons will move all of the windows on the desktop down into the task bar (minimize) with one click and restore them to the desktop with the next click. This makes access to desktop icons much easier. KDE also has a program that supports AOL. Here are some KDE screenshots.