DEEPIN: is the MOST BEAUTIFUL Linux desktop GOOD?

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#linux #deepin #desktop

00:00 Intro
00:43 Get 25% off your private and secure file and photo storage
01:53 The Desktop Shell: beautiful, but not very open
05:39 Look & Feel: that’s a really beautiful theme
08:48 Window Management: a step behind other desktops
10:47 Default Applications: a large, good selection
14:46 App Store: Good ideas, bad execution
16:50 Is Deepin a good desktop?
18:22 Get a laptop or desktop running Linux out of the box
19:40 Support the channel

Both layouts are more Windows like. The default one, “Fashion mode”, is more WIndows 11 inspired, with a floating panel, centered task list and app shortcuts, indicators on the right, but keeping the menu in the bottom left corner.

The other mode, called “Efficient” mode, is basically the previous windows layout, with the panel stuck to the bottom, and the task list aligned to the left.

The main Deepin menu lets you open apps. You can turn this menu into a full screen grid of apps.

Apps in the grid can be rearranged, but you can’t create your own folders, unfortunately.

Grand Search is basically spotlight from macOS. You can open it by hitting shift + space , and it lets you search through files, folders, documents, apps, settings, or even web searches.

Now, let’s talk looks, because Deepin is, in my opinion, the most beautiful desktop you can get on Linux. Not only because it’s nice, and modern, and a bit flashy, but also because that design actually seems well thought out.

The desktop itself isn’t super heavy on effects and transitions. The apps have a solid, white or black background, with good contrast: very dark grey text and buttons, with blue highlights by default. The default theme Deepin apps use is also used on other apps you decide to install, GTK or KDE apps.

Of course, you can tweak all of that, with a dark mode, or an auto light/dark switch, and accent colors.

Window management on Deepin DE is pretty basic. It has edge tiling, and drag up to maximize, as you’d expect, although corner tiling isn’t there. It also has a multitasking view that combines virtual desktops and an exposé view of all your currently open apps.

This view is pretty laggy and doesn’t feel very smooth, with choppy animations, even on a relatively good integrated AMD GPU in high performance mode. It looks good, but it’s not very fluid.

There are touchpad gestures as well to switch between desktops and activate the multitasking view, but these aren’t really good.

There is also no holding SUPER to drag a window from anywhere, which is weird.

Deepin Desktop comes with a LOT of apps and utilities.

The file manager looks good, on the same level as Nautilus in terms of feature set. The web browser is a chromium derivative, based on an old chromium version.

The terminal emulator is also simple, with tabs, a few visual options, keyboard shortcuts, but no profiles or customizable colors.

Then you have a basic calendar app, and a good email client with integrations with a few chinese providers, as well as gmail or yahoo, but that works with generic IMAP.

And then there’s the Deepin App Store. It’s a beautiful looking piece of software. It handles app updates but not system updates, which are located in the settings, and it lets you search through all apps you’ve installed, or want to install.

On the Deepin distro, though, it’s a mess. The App Store isn’t well stocked at all, and most apps you’ll find are outdated.