KDE Plasma 5
www.kde.org If you want to exert complete control over your desktop then KDE Plasma 5 is the desktop to choose – in some ways it’s more like a framework for building you own custom desktop, although version 5 does ship with sensible defaults that give you something to start from. Note: some distros still offer version 4 by default, so be prepared to source it yourself (eg via kubuntu-ppa/backports).
Once started, the world’s your oyster – you’re presented with a single panel at the bottom of the screen and a handy tool box button in the top right-hand corner.
From this point great things can be made. KDE is largely based around widgets, which can be pinned to panels or left floating on the desktop. A large number are provided, but you can easily download more through the desktop too. KDE also makes use of Activities which resemble virtual desktops, allowing you to customise your desktop for specific purposes, eg when browsing the web or editing images.
KDE is unique among desktops in this mini-roundup in being built on the Qt toolkit rather than GDK – this means it’s a little more resource intensive, particularly when updating; you may also find your existing apps don’t share KDE’s elegant look. As a result, those looking for a fuss-free desktop will be better served looking elsewhere, but if you’re itching to build a desktop from scratch, then KDE should be first on your list.