“Helix Code aims to take some of the roughness out of tracking
an open source project by providing binary packages they’ve tested
for integration into their GNOME distribution. They’ve made a few
things easier to get at (like a generous collection of themes) by
packaging them up, and their installer adds a level of order to the
confusion a lot of people feel when contemplating which of the 80+
packages that comprise the GNOME environment to download.”
“The most notable difference in the desktop itself is that
they’ve also included a menu panel at the top of the screen that
provides easy access to menus, configuration commands, and (by
clicking on the clock) the GNOME calendar.”
“They’ve also provided an updater program that makes keeping
current simple. Running the updater brings up a list of packages
that have been changed or added to the Helix GNOME distribution,
which it will download and install for you. The updater also allows
access to the preview releases of Evolution, the GNOME mailer.”
“Unless you just like building from source, it pays to follow
the GNOME project’s lead and just go with the Helix Code version of
the GNOME environment. I’ve seen it in action on Debian, Red Hat,
Mandrake, SuSE, and Caldera, and it’s a painless installation
process that provides a stable, comprehensive desktop.”