Linux desktop environments: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 02:10, 31 August 2007

Revision as of 13:01, 4 September 2007

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'''Desktop Linux''', also '''Linux on the desktop''', is the application of the [[GNU/Linux]] [[operating system]] on a [[desktop computer]].

== History ==

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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's90s, 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.

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In addition, in 2006, [[freedesktop.org]] began a project called "Nouveau" in order to create free and open-source drivers for Nvidia cards.

=== InstallationYear of Desktop Linux ===

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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 seem to remain rather high for many speculative users.

== Year of Desktop Linux ==

Since at least 2001, a [[meme]] known as ''"(year) will be the year of Linux on the Desktop"'' has been published by a number of tech-related magazines, referring to the prior year's experiences of supposed "gains" for [[Linux adoption]] by [[business corporation]]s; these gains can vary in reason, such as the installation of a Linux distribution onto the desktops of workers for organizations or companies who may not be immediately or otherwise involved in the computing industry, or the acceleration of development for specific applications which find their greatest usages on desktop Linux distributions, or the pre-installation of specific Linux distributions onto [[personal computer]]s being sold by PC manufacturers such as [[Dell]], [[Hewlett-Packard]], or other corporations. The meme, which is used on an annual basis, has been roundly criticized as redundant and overreaching.