14.7 Other Desktop Topics

One interesting characteristic of the Linux desktop environment is that you can generally choose which pieces you want to use and stop using the ones that you dislike. For a survey of the many various desktop projects, have a look at the mailing lists and project links at https://www.freedesktop.org/.

Another major development in the Linux desktop is the Chromium OS open source project and its Google Chrome OS counterpart found on Chromebook PCs. This is a Linux system that uses much of the desktop technology described in this chapter but is centered on the Chromium/Chrome web browsers. Much of what’s found on a traditional desktop has been stripped away in Chrome OS.

Though desktop environments can be fun to look at and experiment on, we’ll need to leave the discussion here. However, if this chapter piqued your interest and you think you might like to work on them, you’ll need to know how developer tools work, which is where we’re headed next.