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#REDIRECT [[Linux range of use#Desktop]]
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'''Desktop Linux''', also '''Linux on the desktop (LOTD)''' is the application of the [[GNU/Linux]] [[operating system]] on a [[desktop computer]].
== History ==
Historically, [[UNIX]] and other [[Unix-like]] operating systems have been utilized on [[Server (computing)|servers]], [[Mainframe computer|mainframes]], and [[workstation]]s in corporate or scientific environments.
Beginning in the latter 90's, a few [[Linux distribution]] companies, such as [[Mandriva|MandrakeSoft]], began to advertise their systems for low-end desktop computers. However, it was not until Apple released the first version of [[Mac OS X]], a UNIX-like system, that Linux began to be seen as a serious alternative to [[Microsoft]]'s [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] operating system on desktop computers, in both corporate and home environments.
Since the turn of the 21st century, a growing number of Linux, and even [[Berkeley Software Distribution|BSD-based]], distributions have originated with a dedication to the desktop market. Perhaps the most famous/popular of these distributions, as of 2007, is [[Canonical]]'s [[Ubuntu (Linux distribution)|Ubuntu]] distribution.
== Advantages ==
Desktop Linux has long been touted by its users, vendors, and advocates as a more security-conscious, stable OS for the desktop computer {{Fact|date=May 2007}}, compared to Microsoft Windows, which has been criticized throughout its history for its security and stability problems. {{Fact|date=May 2007}}
=== Applications ===
Most Desktop Linux distributions are developed and deployed with an assortment of applications developed by third-party projects, such as [[KDE]], [[GNOME]], [[GIMP]], [[Mozilla Firefox]], and [[OpenOffice.org]]. This is to make sure that the user will be less prone to looking for basic applications which he/she may be lacking.
=== 3D user interfaces ===
In addition, with the development of [[Xgl]] and other hardware-accelerated user interface architectures, 3D environments have experienced greater demand from both potential and veteran Desktop Linux users.
==Disadvantages==
=== Applications ===
Desktop Linux has also been maligned for its lack of name-brand applications in comparison to its [[proprietary software|proprietary]] and [[closed source software|closed source]] counterparts, [[Microsoft Windows]] and [[Mac OS X]]. In response, Desktop Linux advocates have blamed the more recognized application vendors, such as [[Adobe Systems]], for their alleged shunning of Desktop Linux systems and users in favor of users of either Windows or Mac OS X.
=== Drivers ===
The aforementioned 3D user interface environments also have come under scrutiny because of the usage of proprietary and closed-source drivers for the [[graphic card]]s, from [[Nvidia]] or [[ATI]] upon which the environments are dependent. In response, independent developers have reverse-engineered the drivers to write new free and open source drivers.
In addition, in 2006, [[freedesktop.org]] began a project called "Nouveau" in order to create free and open-source drivers for Nvidia cards.
=== Installation ===
{{main|Criticism of Linux}}
The experience of installing a Linux distribution on a desktop computer varies from person to person as well as from distribution to distribution. While a number of ways to use a Desktop Linux distribution exist, the barriers of entry remain high for many speculative users.
== See also ==
* [[Desktop Linux Consortium]]
* [[Desktop Linux Summit]]
* [[KDE]]
* [[GNOME]]
* [[Beryl (window manager)]]
* [[Xgl]]
* [[Cairo (graphics)|cairo]]
* [[Desktop wars]]
== External links ==
* [http://www.desktoplinux.com/ DesktopLinux.com]
* [http://www.psychocats.net/essays/linuxdesktopmyth ''The Linux Desktop Myth'']
[[Category:Linux]]
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