Gnome, KDE, Fluxbox, IceWM, XFce, etc. etc. These are desktop environments/window managers that have been around a long time.
I'd love to know about some of the 'cutting edge' desktop environments/window managers out there. Ones that maybe make use of 3D in a useful way. Or ones that make use of other forms of input such as touchscreens, multiple mice or speech.
What are some cutting edge desktop environments out there?
Although KDE itself has been around for a while, KDE 4 was just recently released. KDE 4 has a pretty cutting edge interface, with a new look and desktop widgets.
Although I have not tried it, Enlightenment looks interesting as well.
I found a few during my research for this question: Looking Glass, Compiz and Compiz Fusion
Gnome w/ Compiz. The last thing Linux needs is another cutting-edge desktop. Seriously.
Ok, I take it back. I just watched the demo video and the world needs BumpTop ASAP.
Right now one of the most exciting window managers is Xmonad, which is notable for its easy programmability and "insane stability". They seem to have put a lot of effort into finding windows quickly and switching between windows quickly.
There's also Metisse, which has a few interesting, and perhaps even useful, 3D-ish features.
I've never quite been able to figure out what Croquet is about, but it seems very innovative. Or at least strange. Like something from a virtual world from the 90s. With a creepy rabbit.
Sugar, the UI created for the OLPC is pretty different from anything else.
Then there's Hildon, the mobile GNOME based desktop environment created by Nokia.