Cutefish is an adorable Linux desktop environment that could make serious waves

3 years ago 528

A caller Linux desktop situation is successful the works, and Jack Wallen believes it could marque a large splash erstwhile it lands.

I emotion a bully desktop environment. And I truly emotion immoderate desktop situation that not lone attempts to marque enactment with PCs idiosyncratic affable with a modern motion to design. This is 1 of the main reasons I spent truthful galore years with elementaryOS arsenic my go-to Linux distribution. Eventually, I moved connected from that desktop and landed connected Pop!_OS (partially owed to the acquisition of a System76 Thelio desktop). Pop!_OS and the COSMIC desktop offers conscionable the close premix of performance, ratio and modern design.

SEE: 5 Linux server distributions you should beryllium using (TechRepublic Premium)

But each truthful often, I get that aged itch to see a antithetic desktop environment. So, erstwhile I happened upon a marque caller (as successful "still precise overmuch successful beta") desktop environment, named Cutefish, I had to instrumentality a look.

At archetypal glance, I knew this interface had the makings of thing special. Although it's acold from acceptable for the masses, Cutefish is already showing it could beryllium thing the contention should beryllium acrophobic about.

This is 1 beauteous desktop ... like, "Deepin what?" beautiful.

Cutefish is built with Qt Quick and is simply a straight-up reminder of macOS—which, from my perspective, is not a atrocious thing. Apple has done respective things right, 1 of which is the macOS desktop. And though Cutefish isn't a clone of Apple's vaunted interface, it's inactive reminiscent. But past again, immoderate desktop that offers a dock (as opposed to a taskbar), smacks of macOS (it's the crushed truthful galore comparison elementaryOS to macOS).

Of course, arsenic I mentioned, Cutefish is not acceptable for the masses. In fact, the developers haven't adjacent created their ain distribution. At the moment, Cutefish is disposable arsenic an instal for either Arch Linux oregon Manjaro, oregon you tin download a investigating mentation of Manjaro that includes Cutefish pre-installed. I archetypal installed Cutefish connected Manjaro and recovered it an implicit slogfest to get it to enactment properly. This mentation was ridiculously dilatory and often unresponsive.

But for those with a moving lawsuit of Manjaro, you tin ever instal Cutefish and spot if you person a antithetic experience. The instal bid is:

sudo pacman -S cutefish

I wouldn't urge going that route, however. Instead, download the pre-built version and rotation up a virtual machine. This mode you get the full-on Cutefish experience, without the slogfest.

Even erstwhile you spell the way of the full-blown Manjaro release, remember, this desktop is precise aboriginal successful the improvement process. So, everything should beryllium viewed done the lens of knowing … arsenic in, recognize that things astir apt won't enactment arsenic expected. That said, I'm truly loving this desktop. Yes, it's lacking immoderate features, but what Cutefish does is beryllium that a Linux desktop tin beryllium perfectly spot connected with what users privation and need. Out of the box, Cutefish includes a floating dock and a apical panel. You tin easy adhd applications to the dock by opening the app, right-clicking the icon successful the dock and selecting Pin. This is arsenic user-friendly a desktop arsenic I've ever used. It's fast, and it's elemental (Figure A).

Figure A

As for the apical panel, it doesn't bash overmuch (yet), but connected clicking the strategy tray opens a popup that allows you to power sound, wireless, Bluetooth, acheronian mode and the powerfulness options (Figure B).

Figure B

Very overmuch similar elementaryOS, Cutefish doesn't person overmuch successful the mode of included software. You'll find the Firefox web browser, Kate substance editor, Konsole terminal window, a PDF viewer, a Bluetooth manager, a settings instrumentality and a bundle center. All of these apps tin beryllium recovered from wrong a alternatively GNOME-like Application Overview (Figure C).

Figure C

Unfortunately, the Manjaro Cutefish variation doesn't play good with VirtualBox resizing, truthful everything is jammed into a alternatively tiny show (which is wherefore everything looks larger than it should). Even with this caveat, Cutefish is arsenic adorable arsenic the sanction implies.

Although Cutefish is successful dense aboriginal development, this desktop interface has caught my attention. If the developers proceed with their existent trajectory, they'll person thing precise peculiar connected their hands. I bash hope, however, they volition opt to connection this desktop connected much distributions than conscionable Arch and Manjaro. It would beryllium a shame for new-to-Linux users to miss retired connected this outstanding desktop, simply due to the fact that the underlying organisation is simply a spot excessively challenging for the less-than-skilled. And though Manjaro does marque Arch a spot much accessible to those without years of Linux nether their belt, it's nary Ubuntu oregon Mint.

I would highly urge you support your eyes retired for this desktop. The 2nd that Cutefish is yet released for the masses, it could marque superior waves.