xfce, kde, gnome

[karl]

Hello again

I saw, with interest, the announcement of Daryna. It seems to be available in different, erm, "things". What is the difference between xfce, kde and gnome, please?

How does one decide which to download?

Fear ye not! I wouldn't know a bug from my own lack of knowledge, so I won't be downloading it. I'm interested a) from an academic point of view and b) for the future.

Many thanks

[andyvr4]

These are 3 different GUI's for linux.

xfce is mainly for older machines that lack the performance and memory required by the fancier GUI's like gnome and kde, however there are some people that still prefer it for it's simplicity.

Gnome and KDE both target generally the same audience, you've really got to just try the two different GUI's and decide which one you like better because they are both good GUI's.

The following are a few links that you might want to take a look at. These are the main websites for each of the 3 GUI's that you mentioned.
http://www.gnome.org/
[url]KDE[/url]
http://www.xfce.org/

Underneath Linuxmint is going to be the same regardless of which GUI you're using so you've just got to find the one that looks the best and has the features that you want.

[clem]

Gnome, KDE and XFCE are the three most popular "desktops" under Linux. In Windows there's only one desktop (explorer) and you can't really change it, so it's hard to explain...

Basically the operating system is made of different layers...

- the kernel (deals with memory and hardware access)
- the core (I'm vulgarizing a bit here.. everything which makes the OS run under the hood)
- the X server (manages the mouse, and the screen display)
- the window manager (manages the location of windows and the focus)
- the desktop (manages the look and feel of the windows and the panel, and extra tools that go with the desktop... the file browser for instance.).

More information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNOME
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KDE
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XFCE

Basically Linux Mint is using Gnome by default. But we also have two community editions, one coming with KDE and one coming with XFCE... and because some applications are better suited under KDE or under Gnome, these editions come with different software selections.

Clem

[karl]

Thank you both.

I may try them all out

[andyvr4]

Thank you both.

I may try them all out

That's really the best way to learn about them. There's only so much we can tell you. You really half to just play with them and decide which one fits your personal taste the best.