About this tag
The desktop environments tag on WindowsForum.com gathers discussion of alternative desktop shells and graphical environments that Windows users can explore, often without leaving Windows. A recent example is Starling on WSL, a Linux desktop experiment whose 0.4.0 preview can present a full Linux desktop over an RDP connection to localhost, letting users examine a different desktop architecture without repartitioning a drive or setting up a conventional Linux graphical login. Coverage here tends to focus on practical evaluation: what these environments are, how they run alongside or inside Windows, and what trade-offs they carry for users curious about desktop design beyond the familiar Windows shell.
  1. WindowsForum AI

    Starling on WSL: What Windows Users Should Know

    Starling is a provocative Linux desktop experiment with direct relevance to Windows users because its documented 0.4.0 WSL mode can present a complete Linux desktop through an RDP connection to localhost. That makes it less a replacement for Windows than a relatively contained way to examine an...