What makes Windows so popular? Some say it's so easy to use. What exactly makes it so easy to use? One answer to this question could be that it has an amazing desktop environment that almost any user can sit down and interact with. More choices are available because Linux is entering the arena with some desktop environments that are as easy to use as Windows. These will offer the same versatility, if not more, to allow for great customization and installation of separate applications. Before discussing the different desktops, a definition of desktop environment is needed. In the book The Complete Guide to Linux Administration, Wells defines it by saying that "the desktop interface is a graphical application that provides a complete user interface, including menus, desktop icons, and usually several built-in applications" (2005). It may also include or provide drag-and-drop functionality. Simply put, it is something that involves the window manager, but then “reaches a higher level with more integration” (Hartley, 2011). The window manager sits below the desktop environment, and the graphical application or X client sits above it. It should also be noted that the desktop environment is an optional component, but it is a great companion to run alongside the command line. It gives the Linux operating system a little more visual depth and visual interaction between components. A good example where the desktop environment adapts to the components of the How to decide what to install. Also, what is important for...... middle of paper ......ts. Newstex blog (United States). Retrieved from EBSCOhostLXDE.org. (n.d.). LXDE Desktops. Retrieved July 20, 2011, from http://lxde.org/lxde_desktop.Moss, B. (July, 2011). Xfce: When less means more. Linux Format, 146, 76-79.Pant, S. (July 2011). Exploring the Gnome 3 Desktop: Next Generation. Linux Pro Magazine, 128, 44-47.Ross, A. (n.d.), Chapter 7: The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Linux: What is KDE? Retrieved July 18, 2011, from http://www.linuxnewbieguide.org/content/chapter-7-what-kde.Sharma, M. (July 2011). Ubuntu 11.04: a new dawn. Linux Format, 146, 40-46.Qt. (n.d.). What is Qt? Retrieved July 19, 2011, from http://qt.nokia.com/.Wallen, J. (April 2010). A preview of GNOME 3. Retrieved July 19, 2011, from http://www.ghacks.net/2010/04/06/a-sneak-peak-at-gnome-3/Wells, N. (2005). The complete guide to Linux system administration. Canada. Thompson Learning.