Posted on 09/06/2021 5:53:07 AM PDT by ShadowAce
This is a series that offers a gentle introduction to Linux for newcomers.
A desktop environment is a collection of disparate components that integrate together. They bundle these components to provide a common graphical user interface with elements such as icons, toolbars, wallpapers, and desktop widgets. Additionally, most desktop environments include a set of integrated applications and utilities.
Desktop environments (now abbreviated as DE) provide their own window manager, system software that controls the placement and appearance of windows within a windowing system. They also provide a file manager which organizes, lists, and locates files and directories. Other aspects include a background provider, a panel to provide a menu and display information, as well as a setting/configuration manager to customize the environment.
Ultimately, a DE is a piece of software. While they are more complicated than most other types of software, they are installed in the same way.
Ubuntu 21.04 uses the GNOME 3 DE.
Ubuntu flavours offer a unique way to experience Ubuntu, each with their own choice of default applications and settings. To date, this Linux for Starters has focused on the GNOME edition of Ubuntu. But there’s other official flavors including:
It’s possible to install these flavours (and others) as a fresh installation. But what if you want to try a different desktop to GNOME 3? It’s easy to experiment with different desktops without wiping Ubuntu and installing a flavour from scratch.
First, we strongly recommend you create a separate user as DEs can share the same configuration files causing strange things to happen, especially with theming.
Running multiple DEs is possible and a great way to experiment, but you may need to resolve minor issues (which can be a good way of learning in itself). But if you want everything to “work out of the box”, you might wish to experiment running multiple desktop environments in a different way (such as using another machine or with virtualization software such as VirtualBox).
Let’s start with KDE Plasma 5.
You’ve installed Ubuntu with its GNOME desktop. If you want to try KDE, you don’t need to remove the present Ubuntu and install Kubuntu from scratch. Instead there’s a few different metapackages you can install. You can still switch back to GNOME 3 whenever you want.
Before we start, open up a Terminal and make sure your system is up-to-date with the command:
$ sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade
This metapackage pulls in the core modules released with the KDE Software Compilation including the basic KDE Plasma Desktop, together with a minimal set of basic applications (browser, file manager, text editor, system settings, panel, etc.), important libraries and data.
No other applications are installed, but they can be separately installed later. The download size is around 247 MB and uses 957 MB of disk space. Install with the command:
$ sudo apt install kde-plasma-desktop
Once the metapackage is downloaded, you’ll be asked to configure SDDM (stands for Simple Desktop Display Manager). This is the recommended display manager for KDE Plasma. Select ‘sddm’ from the list and press Enter.
The remaining packages will then be unpacked and installed.
Once this is done, the remaining packages will be unpacked and installed. Reboot your system, and you’ll be welcomed by the SDDM Lockscreen.
Here’s an image of the desktop.
Click image for full size
One of the aspects that stands KDE Plasma head and shoulders above its desktop peers is extensibility. Plasma lets you configure the desktop to your specific preferences.
KDE Plasma widgets (also known as plasmoids) are a smart way of customizing the desktop. There’s an abundance of widgets available that act like building blocks, constructing a desktop that’s perfect for your needs and requirements. We explore the best KDE Plasma widgets in this roundup.
It’s easy to switch between GNOME and KDE Plasma using the “Desktop Session” dropdown available from SDDM’s lock screen.
There are other metapackages available:
The standard KDE includes Plasma desktop with a selection of the most common used applications.
The download is 351 MB in size, using 1,378 MB of disk space. You can install it using the command:
$ sudo apt install kde-standard
This is the complete package and core KDE plasma desktop. This metapackage includes all the official modules released with KDE Software Compilation that are not specific to development and as well other KDE applications that are useful for a desktop user. This includes multimedia, networking, graphics, education, games, system administration tools, and other artwork and utilities.
This is the largest of the metapackages. It’s a whopping 1,109 MB download, and will use 3,282 MB of disk space.
$ sudo apt install kde-full
Depending on your internet connection, you might want to put some filter coffee on while the process completes.
XFCE is a lightweight and versatile desktop environment that utilises a classic drop-down or pop-up menu to access applications. A little time and effort is needed to properly customise the desktop to suit personal taste.
Before we start, open up a Terminal and make sure your system is up-to-date with the command:
$ sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade
We can install xfce with the command:
$ sudo apt install xfce4
This will install 45 packages. It’s a 16.9 MB download and uses 84.9 MB of additional disk space.
To get the full experience, we recommend you install the xubuntu-desktop package that offers several applications of its own.
$ sudo apt install xubuntu-desktop
This metapackage installs 280 packages. It’s a 157 MB download using 590 MB of additional disk space. It installs useful programs such as xfce4-terminal (a lightweight terminal emulator) and engrampa (an archive manager).
Once the xubuntu-desktop metapackage is downloaded, you’ll be asked to configure LightDM, a display manager that aims to be lightweight and fast. While Ubuntu 21.04 uses GDM as its display manager, several Ubuntu flavors still use LightDM. It’s the recommended display manager for XFCE too.
Select ‘lightdm’ from the list and press Enter.
We can now reboot our system, and XFCE will be your resident DE.
The MATE Desktop Environment is the continuation of GNOME 2. It provides an intuitive and attractive desktop environment using traditional metaphors for Linux and other Unix-like operating systems. MATE is under active development to add support for new technologies while preserving a traditional desktop experience.
Before we start, open up a Terminal and make sure your system is up-to-date with the command:
$ sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade
There’s a couple of ways of installing MATE. We can issue the command:
$ sudo apt install mate-desktop
This installs 4 packages including the desktop environment and its user guide. It’s a small download (approximately 8.2 MB) and uses 87.6 MB of additional disk space.
We recommend you install MATE with this command:
$ sudo apt install mate-core
mate-core is a meta package. It installs 46 new packages including mate-desktop. It’s a 41.6 MB download using 300 MB of additional disk space.
Here’s an image of MATE in action. We’ve added a few things to the desktop.
Click image for full size
The Budgie Desktop is a modern desktop designed to keep out the way of the user. The desktop focuses on simplicity and elegance. It provides a traditional desktop metaphor based interface using customisable panel based menu driven system. Budgie-Desktop is written from scratch using many GNOME based sub-systems such as GNOME-Session and Mutter.
Before we start, open up a Terminal and make sure your system is up-to-date with the command:
$ sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade
We can install Budgie with the command:
$ sudo apt install budgie-desktop
This package installs the minimal GNOME based package-set together with the key budgie-desktop packages to produce a working desktop environment. It installs 8 packages including budgie-core. It’s a download just over 1 MB and uses nearly 6 MB of additional disk space.
We also suggest you install budgie-extras-common which provides applets for the desktop.
$ sudo apt install budgie-extras-common
Here’s an image of the Budgie Desktop in action.
Click image for full size
All articles in this series:
| Linux For Starters | |
|---|---|
| Part 1 | What is Linux? Why use Linux? What do I need? |
| Part 2 | Choose a Linux distribution meeting your specific needs and requirements. |
| Part 3 | Make a bootable Ubuntu USB stick in Windows. |
| Part 4 | We show you how to install Ubuntu 21.04 on your hard disk. |
| Part 5 | Things to do after installing Ubuntu. |
| Part 6 | Navigating your way around the Desktop. |
| Part 7 | Updating the system, install new software. |
| Part 8 | Open source replacements for proprietary Windows desktop software. |
| Part 9 | Get started with the power and flexibility of the terminal. |
| Part 10 | We cover the basics of files and permissions. |
| Part 11 | Getting help from your system. |
| Part 12 | Learn all about the file system. |
| Part 13 | Manipulating files from the shell. |
| Part 14 | Maintain your system with these simple tips. |
| Part 15 | Managing users on your system. |
| Part 16 | Explore different desktops to GNOME 3. |
Plasma desktop has the cube thing too. Also has wobbly windows and other GUI goodies. Grab a window by the title bar and move it and it distorts/wobbles. I have them both turned off because all those GUI goodies tend to make this old laptop’s CPUs run a bit warm. It’s about time for me to open it up and blow the dust out of it.
Virtual desktops is the handiest thing ever. I run 6 of them and have the keyboard shortcut — hold Alt + Ctrl and use left/right arrow keys to rotate through them. So much nicer than using Alt Tab repeatedly to find one of many programs in a pile/stack.
“Linux will never be a windows replacement with the continued reliance on the terminal sudo commands to call down upgrades, patches and installs. Without a serious PnP capacity it is crippled.”
That’s my take as well - as long as you have to go to the command line to do anything that windows can with pnp it’s just going to be a product for the nerdy.
I’m running Linux Mint, I finally got it set up the way I want it, but it’s taken a lot of googling and sudo this and that.
And all the different distros is also a negative. It’s sold as a plus, but it’s confusing for the person trying to decide which one to pick and dilutes the efforts of the developers.
“This article sums it all up.”
Exactly. If you’re a beginner you need to read these hundreds of pages to just make a choice, and you need to be familiar with all the technical terms within them.
No beginner or typical computer user is going to do that.
I’m using Mint, but I’m hardly the typical computer user. My wife would never pick it up.
All this talk about windows versus linux and command line vs. GUI seems absurd to me.
Maybe it’s a terrible analogy but it seems like saying until you make baseball like golf golfers aren’t going to want to play it.
First off baseball ain’t golf it’s baseball and that difference is always going to be there.
Second of all people who play baseball don’t really care if the golfers join in the fun or not.
This is sure to get some people’s hackles up but face it - it is what it is.
I’ve always wanted to comment on your tag line. Funny.
Try getting Slackware to do what you need...flippin' nightmare.
I agree with that, but when lies are posted.....
If you want to use linux use it. If you don’t want to or somehow can’t then don’t.
But all the whining about how “it’s not like windows” - well that’s by design and nobody really cares if you don’t use it to be brutally honest about it.
Thanks! I’ll give those instructions to Grandma- she’ll be up and running in no time.
Look, how hard is it to understand? In this day and asge NO ONE wants to fiddle with the operating system. Except you Linux geeks.
I have been WRITING SOFTWARE FOR A LIVING for over THREE DECADES.
I have been using both Windows and Linux (mostly for embedded medical devices and military hardware) and I understand it is clearly a superior operating system FOR SOME THINGS, but being user-friendly is NOT one of them.
And that is why Microsoft owns the world even though UNIX/Linux has been around much longer, and many parts of windows bites the big one.
But when the Y38 problem comes around, what are you guys going to do? (hint: running out of clock ‘ticks’)
Buy grandma a PC/Laptop that already has Linux installed.
She’ll never have to worry about 30 minute restarts after an update or forced upgrades to a new version of the OS.
Great post! I would like to make a note and add to it. Rufus now has an option to make that stick “Portable” as they call it. This makes it a full removable portable system stick or external drive that you can indeed save to or make and keep custom changes.
Just like as if it was the main drive and hard installed. Plug it in and you have a fully usable linux system, unplug it and you are back to windows or MAC and it makes no changes to your existing system or hard drive. :)
I have been making these and sending them out to friends.
+1
But when the Y38 problem comes around, what are you guys going to do? (hint: running out of clock ‘ticks’)Problem #5: The myth of "user-friendly"
This is a big one. It's a very big term in the computing world, "user-friendly". It's even the name of a particularly good webcomic. But it's a bad term.
The basic concept is good: That software be designed with the needs of the user in mind. But it's always addressed as a single concept, which it isn't. If you spend your entire life processing text files, your ideal software will be fast and powerful, enabling you to do the maximum amount of work for the minimum amount of effort. Simple keyboard shortcuts and mouseless operation will be of vital importance.
But if you very rarely edit text files, and you just want to write an occasional letter, the last thing you want is to struggle with learning keyboard shortcuts. Well-organized menus and clear icons in toolbars will be your ideal.
Clearly, software designed around the needs of the first user will not be suitable for the second, and vice versa. So how can any software be called "user-friendly", if we all have different needs?
The simple answer: User-friendly is a misnomer, and one that makes a complex situation seem simple.
What does "user-friendly" really mean? Well, in the context in which it is used, "user friendly" software means "Software that can be used to a reasonable level of competence by a user with no previous experience of the software." This has the unfortunate effect of making lousy-but-familiar interfaces fall into the category of "user-friendly".
This question betrays your motive. Y38 will be an obsolete issue by the time it comes around, and if you spent any time at all in the linux sphere, you would know this.
Frankly, if all you are gonna do is criticize and complain about Linux, feel free to ignore these threads.
They call that Live Persistent(changes are persistent) and Rufus was the only one that worked for me even though others had that feature. I did a basic test, boot up, create folder on the desktop, restart. It wasn’t until I used Rufus that the folder still existed after a restart. I tried different distros, different USB burning apps on Linux and ended up using Rufus on Windows.
Runs pretty slow on a USB port but that’s all I have. I was making a homebrew crypto hardware wallet but I cashed out of crypto.
"Frankly, if all you are gonna do is criticize and complain about Linux, feel free to ignore these threads."
Like your last paragraph
Left for Linux
“are easier to do from the command line”
there’s absolutely NOTHING that an ordinary Windows user HAS to do from the command line ...
.
I disagree as I use Windows for work, and so I'll simply echo your statement back to you re: Linux.
LibreOffice works great on windows too ...
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