I've discussed what GNU/Linux is (commonly referred to as Linux), what it represents, why people use it and why more should. I've even touched on the subject that you can do almost anything in Linux that you may have taken for granted as being a purely Windows (or Apple) related functionality. For those who took my advice and played around with a Live CD, it must be like being lost in a foreign nation. Where's the Start button? Where's Windows Manager?

You undoubtedly notice that, although the functionality seems to overall be similar (with a few minor exceptions), everything seems to use a different name and/or is in a different place. If you've explored more than one distribution, this may even seem to be the case between Linux distributions. I'll be covering the more mainstream desktop environments, as well as suggested programs to replace the ones you've come to rely on in Windows.

Desktop Environments or GUI (Graphical User Interface)

What is this?

This is what you see when you boot into a graphical operating system and is, essentially, the organization of all of your programs, as well as the overall look and feel. In Windows, by default, you have a Start button on the bottom left, and opened programs will appear along the lower bar. To the right of that is your time and icons for some programs that do not appear in the middle of the bar. It is the crisp, shiny look of Vista, or the bland gray look of Windows 95/98, or the in-between of XP.

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