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GeckoLinux Editions
This is the first and most tested edition of GeckoLinux. It is the edition that the GeckoLinux creator personally uses on most of his machines for daily usage. The Cinnamon desktop environment is an intuitive and polished environment that is highly suitable for beginners and experienced Linux users alike. The principal disadvantage of Cinnamon is that it is developed first and foremost with Linux Mint in mind. While it does run very well on openSUSE, Cinnamon is not an official part of the main openSUSE Leap repositories, and as such is not subject to the same quality control process. Therefore occasionally minor bugs or issues with package upgrades could occur. Such issues are generally minor and quickly resolved. The Cinnamon desktop runs well on old and new computers and is not especially resource intensive. However it does work best with accelerated graphics, and may feel sluggish without them. Notable Cinnamon features include a searchable start menu, and slick dynamic management of virtual desktops with an "Expo" mode that is similar to the exposé mode in Mac OSX.
Another very polished and versatile variation of GeckoLinux is the Xfce edition. The Xfce desktop environment is an official part of openSUSE Leap, and as such it has passed through rigorous quality controls. The Xfce desktop is fast and lightweight on both old and new hardware. It is highly configurable, albeit lacking in flashy features. A notable feature in Xfce is the searchable Whisker menu, which should make Windows 7 users feel right at home. A disadvantage of Xfce is the lack of an integrated screen-blanking and screen-locking program. Third party applications such as light-locker are used in GeckoLinux to offset this deficiency.
The Plasma 5 edition of GeckoLinux harks back to openSUSE's roots in KDE support first and foremost. The GeckoLinux configuration of Plasma 5 tries to be very traditional and yet modern. It is configured to render Qt4 and Qt5 applications using the Numix GTK2/GTK3 theme. Application choices in this edition give preference to some of the powerful KDE options that exist, but they are not preferred in detriment to functionality if a superior GTK option exists. A lot of work has been done to provide unified theming and consistent font rendering across the board. Plasma 5 is not recommended for new Linux users, as its plethora of options and occasional instabilities and glitches can prove frustrating for many. A known bug in the Plasma 5 edition is its tendency to revert back to the default "Breeze" color scheme. If this happens, simply search for "color" in the start menu and set it back to "Numix".
The Gnome Shell environment is a highly polarizing desktop that generally provokes either strong negative or strong positive reactions in users. It is not recommended for most new Linux users. However, some Apple users and others with a strong preference for clean, slick interfaces may find it attractive. The Gnome Shell environment is fast and polished, albeit extremely limited in customization options. The Gnome Tweak tool has been provided out of the box to allow for configuration of certain options. Selective use of extensions can significantly improve the Gnome desktop experience, but none have been included by default.
The Mate desktop is a continuation of the now defunct Gnome 2 codebase. It features a clean, fast, traditional desktop paradigm with generally excellent interface design. Mate is also very configurable without offering overwhelming choices. Disadvantages include the user panel that sometimes gets jumbled after screen resolution changes, and the lack of a search feature in the application menu.
The LXQt desktop environment is a lightweight project based on the Qt framework. The GeckoLinux configuration includes Qt and GTK applications that offer the best functionality. There are no KDE applications included, since this would add a lot of additional dependencies. The design of LXQt is traditional, simple, and very fast, while at the same time offering fairly good customizability. A negative aspect of LXQt is that its session type is not recognized by the XDG utilities, resulting in programs that need root privileges opening an ugly X terminal for authentication instead of an aesthetic root password field popup. In its current state, LXQt would probably not be a good option for a new Linux user.
The Budgie desktop was created for the Solus Linux project, but it was also designed with portability in mind. It uses some Gnome libraries, but is still a completely independent project. Is does not have many flashy features, but it does sport a searchable application menu and a clean design.
GeckoLinux "BareBones" is NOT intended for the normal end-user. It contains an uncustomized IceWM desktop, the Firefox web browser, the YaST configuration tools, and not much else that is visible to the user. All of the "hard" stuff is already configured under the surface for normal desktop functionality, so an experienced user can simply install his/her desktop environment of choice and any other desired applications for a customized experience.