Ubuntu MATE For Linux

Ubuntu MATE is an open source, community-derived operating system based on Ubuntu and features MATE, a fork of the GNOME Classic desktop environment, as its default and only graphical interface.

Ubuntu MATE is not just another Linux kernel-based operating system built around the MATE desktop environment, as it beautifully integrates this GNOME Classic fork, making it look very attractive, while at the same time being very lightweight. It uses a classic two-panel layout.

How to use it? Simple, use the Applications menu item to browser and open apps, the Places menu item to access the local filesystem or network shares and the System menu item to configure and tweak the OS. From the bottom panel you can easily interact with opened programs, as well as to cycle between the four virtual workspaces.

Default applications include the LibreOffice office suite, Mozilla Thunderbird email and news client, Mozilla Firefox web browser, Rhythmbox audio player, Totem video player, Transmission torrent downloader, Pidgin multi-protocol instant messenger, Cheese webcam viewer, HexChat IRC client and Shotwell image viewer and organizer.

The distribution is available for download as two Live DVD ISO images of approximately 1GB in size each, designed to support both 32-bit (i386) and 64-bit (amd64) hardware platfroms.

On Linux, you can write the ISO images to USB thumb drives of 1GB or higher capacity using a bootable USB disk creator like UNetbootin or GNOME Disk Utility (Disks). Optionally, if you don’t have a spare USB stick, you can burn them to blank or RW DVD discs.

It appears that the distribution uses Ubuntu’s default bootloader on the Live DVDs, which has been instructed to start the live system in about seven seconds from the moment the user boots the OS from the BIOS of a computer.

Default boot options include the ability to start the try Ubuntu MATE without installing, start the installer directly, run a memory test, boot an existing operating system from the local drive or check the bootable medium for defects (only if using a DVD media).