Desktop - Definition and Overview

A desktop is the horizontal surface of a desk. It can support various objects, including:

• Pen holders
• Computer monitors
• Computer peripherals
• The top of a desk is easy to write on
• Calendars
• Misc. objects (including coffee cups, Kleenex and computer mice)
• Models of ships, airplanes, human skulls, etc. etc; often referred to as desktop model(s)

Computing

In computing, the term is used figuratively. Each GUI operating system has a desktop. This consists of the screen contents "below" any windows, hence what is on the screen before any windows are opened, and what reappears when windows are closed. It shows icons and possibly an image. The icons represent various shortcuts or files for easy access by the user; these are stored in a special folder.

Some examples of operating systems that include desktops are:

• Some versions of Linux
• Windows operating systems
• Macintosh operating systems

When talking about computer hardware, a desktop computer is a personal computer that is too large to carry and designed to remain in the same place.

See also

• Desktop computer
• Desktop environment
• Desktop metaphor
• Portable object desktops