The desktop is what you see after you log in to your computer and what you use to manage and run applications. The default desktop environment for Ubuntu is GNOME, a leading UNIX and Linux desktop suite and development platform.

You can optionally install the KDE and Xfce desktop environments, which have their own distinctive look and feel. KDE and Xfce are made available in Ubuntu by the Kubuntu and Xubuntu projects respectively. You can even install a KDE-only or Xfce-only version of Ubuntu if you wish.