My picks for best Desktop Environments

Linux Desktop Environments


For users who aren't familiar with "Linux Operating Systems", you can customise the desktop experience however you like meaning that you aren't stuck with the look that came installed. There are many Desktop Environments (known as DE) that are commonly used in many distributions available today, and here are my top picks.

GNOME 3 
GNOME 3 is a highly configurable desktop environment that is clean and elegant to use. Its strengths is having wide support for themes, extensions, touch-friendly and lastly for having mixed-DPI support. However, it is known to be quite heavy on resources and overly-simplistic. Choose this desktop environment for a stable and clean desktop experience that will work for most workflows.

KDE Plasma 
Where KDE Plasma shines is in the applications that are a part of KDE applications. While most would argue that it is more suited for power users, the interface has improved dramatically over recent updates. Like GNOME 3, KDE Plasma can be slightly heavy on resources, however I have found it to use much less RAM.

Unity
The default desktop of Ubuntu 16.04 and is set to be replaced by GNOME 3. Some unique differences that set Unity apart from its competitors is the use of a global menu and easy to use side bar. It is known to be quite touch friendly. As mentioned at the start, Unity is set to be replaced as it has been abandoned by its developers.   

XFCE
A traditional desktop experience similar to Windows. It is known to be quite resource friendly without sacrificing customisation options. XFCE is extremely popular in the Linux community exactly for these points, however it hasn't been updated recently. 

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