A new Plasma-based custom KDE desktop shell is designed to deliver a better user experience on netbooks and other devices with small screens. Ars takes a look at the prototype to see how it compares to the conventional KDE desktop environment.

At times I’ve felt like KDE 4 is a little bit on the sluggish side on my desktop PCs. On a netbook’s Atom processor? I wouldn’t even have considered switching from Gnome if I hadn’t seen this video on YouTube.

The latest K Desktop Environment, KDE, features two modes of interacting with the desktop – the classic Desktop interface and the Netbook interface. On recent KDE-based distributions that I have reviewed for this website, the default is the classic Desktop, but switching to the Netbook interface is an easy, few seconds process.

Linux distributions designed specifically for use on netbooks is nothing new. Canonical produces the Ubuntu Netbook Remix version of Ubuntu for these small-sized devices, Intel has their Moblin distribution that is very fast and offers an attractive interface, gOS has their own netbook distribution, Linpus has QuickOS, and the list goes on.

Desktop developers are starting to understand that netbooks need different interfaces than workstations -- or even notebooks. A case in point is KDE's Plasma Netbook interface.

Ubuntu Netbook Remix is not the only game in town for users looking for an Ubuntu interface that caters to the small screens (and, in some cases, touchscreens) of netbooks. Lubuntu also offers its own version of the “netbook remix.” Read on for a look.

Ubuntu Netbook Remix is not the only game in town for users looking for an Ubuntu interface that caters to the small screens (and, in some cases, touchscreens) of netbooks.  Lubuntu also offers its own version of the "netbook remix."  Read on for a look.

Desktop developers are starting to understand that netbooks need different interfaces than workstations -- or even notebooks. The smaller screens on netbooks are a usability challenge, comparable to designing a business card when you're used to creating full-page ads. A case in point is KDE's Plasma Netbook interface, now available in a preview in Kubuntu 9.10.

Ubuntu Netbook Remix is optimised to run on a new category of affordable Internet-centric devices called netbooks. It includes a new consumer-friendly interface that allows users to quickly and easily get on-line and use their favourite applications. This interface is optimised for a retail sales environment.