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A classic desktop, made new

The amadeOS desktop follows the Common Desktop Environment of the 1990s: a Front Panel with drawers, four named workspaces, Motif window frames and one place for all settings. Its display manager, window manager, panel and settings are new programs in Java.

The Front Panel with the Text & Office drawer open — The Front Panel: clock, calendar, workspaces and drawers that fill themselves with the installed programs.

The workspace menu on the desktop — Four workspaces with names and backdrops of their own; a click on the desktop opens the workspace menu.

A window with its window menu open — Motif window frames with the window menu: move, resize, minimise to an icon, close.

The Alt+Tab switcher with small pictures of the open windows — Alt+Tab switches between the open windows, with a small picture of each, as on Windows.

The Settings window with its sidebar — Settings: colour palettes, backdrops, fonts, keyboard, mouse, display, passwords, updates and language in one window.

The colour palettes in Settings — Colour palettes from CDE and new ones; windows, panel and applications change together.

The backdrops in Settings — The original CDE pattern backdrops, in the shades of the chosen palette, or your own pictures.

The amadeOS login screen — The login screen, where you also choose the language of the session: English, Deutsch, Français, Español or Italiano.

The Software program with the catalogue of programs — Software: updates and thousands of Debian programs, installed with one click.

The installer choosing a disk — Install amadeOS: language, keyboard, time zone, disk and first user, on its own or next to Windows.

The Display page in Settings — Screen resolution and refresh rate, with a safe "Keep these settings?" countdown.

Under the hood

The desktop consists of a few Debian packages: the display manager with the login screen, the session with screen lock and screen saver, a reparenting X11 window manager, the Front Panel and Settings. The window manager speaks the ICCCM and EWMH standards, so programs that are not written in Java work as well. Part VII of the User's Handbook explains how it all fits together, and What amadeOS adds to Debian gives an overview.