On other occasions we have shown new versions of desktop environments, composers, window managers, launchers, etc. Comparisons and articles have even been published on the best graphical environments for GNU / Linux distributions. In this article you will not find any of that ...
What you will see are strange projects, some already abandoned, others that are active and that wanted to revolutionize the desktop environments for Linux with aspects and functions very different from those of the conventional ones ...
Maze Composer
In this three-dimensional graphic composer for Linux based on Qt 5 graphics libraries and Wayland. As you can see in the video, it looks more like a video game in which you move through different spaces or galleries where you will find the windows on the walls. A rarity that deserves to be on the list ...
More information - Github site
Sugar
Sugar it's another one of the rare desktop environments. It is free and open source, and arises with the idea of serving for interactive learning environments for children. It was developed as part of the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) project. In this case it is based on GTK + and Python (PyGTK), and does not use a conventional desktop, nor does it use folders or windows. Use a full-screen activity mode so users can focus on only one program at a time.
More information - Official site
Project looking glass
Finally, another of the rarities within desktop environments is called Project looking glass And although it is abandoned, it is still surprising. It was written in the Java programming language (using the Java 3D graphical API) and supported Windows, Linux, and Solaris. It is free, under the GPL license, and sponsored by Sun Microsystems (now Oracle). Like the first, it is also a 3D desktop.
More information - Official site
They lacked Synphony OS