Planned Content for the "Get Started" top-level page:
Get Started
Trying the GNOME Desktop
If you're ready to try the GNOME desktop, the fastest and least intrusive way is to download a fully functional demo in the form of a <a href="livecd">GNOME LiveCD or image</a>. These allow you to boot GNOME from a compact disc (LiveCD) or from a virtual machine platform (such as VMware) without removing or changing your existing operating system.
Exploring GNOME
The GNOME desktop and hundreds of applications are available by default in the most popular Linux Distributions. Installing any of the following distributions is the most complete way to experience GNOME:
- Other Linux distributions
- The complete GNOME Desktop is also available for a number of other platforms including FreeBSD and Solaris.
GNOME Applications without the GNOME Desktop
There are many GNOME applications that you can download for your current operating system environment before actually running the GNOME Desktop. A wide array of GNOME-based applications are available, including office suites, media players, Internet Messaging clients, and web browsers, for <a href="ms-windows-compatible">Microsoft Windows</a> and <a href="on-mac">Apple MacOS</a>.
Developing with GNOME
GNOME is also an extensive developer platform against which powerful software applications can be written. There is a wealth of developer documentation available to help new and experienced developers with GNOME engineering. Read more about the <a href="new-developers">GNOME developer platform</a>.