2026-09-03 18:29 UTC
Replies (3)
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@Cryxtalix@programming.dev 2026-09-03 18:41
Like a super theme. Makes the entire interface entirely different, even comes with different default apps, like the default calculator is different too. If you’ve ever used Android phones, you might’ve seen launcher apps on the play store. Something like that.
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@SolarPunker@slrpnk.net 2026-09-03 18:47
Commercial OS tend to unify everything in a single name, Windows is the OS and - for example - the DE may be considered “metrostyle”.
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@Azazel@lemmy.ml 2026-09-03 19:52
No Gnome is a desktop environment which is similar to the Mac desktop environment. Ditto KDE and windows. This distinction is confusing for new Linux users because windows and Mac each only provide one desktop environment so users conflate the desktop and OS. Imagine if you could change your computer from having a windows desktop to a Mac desktop while having all your files and applications stay exactly the same and still work. This is how Linux works. Whether you use Gnome (a Mac like interface) or KDE (a windows like interface) or one of the tiling/scrolling compositors of Linux power users it’s just the UI layer of the OS, it’s a totally independent question from what distro/software you’re running and you can freely mix and match