"After it gets installed, JDS will boot in full graphical mode and load Gnome. JDS comes with a mix of Gnome packages, some are 2.2.1, some are 2.2.2, others are even 2.4.0 (gnome-panel). The final version of JDS has a different Launch icon than the betas had, a different background image and the UI is a bit more polished.
"I liked the Launch menu that Sun has put together. It is pretty functional and manageable. If you don't count the 'Extras' menu which has been deprecated by Red Hat and others for being a bad usability decision, other than that, the menu is good: recent items, search for files, log out, applications, preferences on their own placeholder and Star Office 7/Mozilla 1.4/Evolution 1.4.5 are to be found in a 'quick launch' position above the Applications on the same menu..."
" It's debut week for Java Desktop System— a product in which Sun Microsystems Inc. has combined Linux, Mozilla, GNOME and StarOffice—creating a credible challenger to Microsoft Corp.'s Windows and Office on the corporate desktop.
"In eWEEK Labs' tests of the final build, we found Java Desktop System (formerly code-named Mad Hatter) approachable and functional, with design tweaks to make the product match more closely to Windows for the benefit of users unfamiliar with Linux.
