Common Desktop Environment available now as open-source

The announcement of CDE’s availability drew a correction from commenters who noted that it had been open-sourced in 2012, making the title seem misleading. Another commenter suggested the recent SourceForge upload may simply have been a newly uploaded copy. SourceForge itself prompted skepticism: one commenter associated the site with intrusive ads and old, poorly maintained projects. These reactions framed CDE less as a newly liberated desktop than as a piece of Unix history resurfacing in a familiar venue.

Other commenters focused on its look and feel, recalling its distinctive colors with affection and likening them to gelato on a beach. One observed that CDE was once regarded as resource-heavy but now seems lightweight. Nostalgia also surfaced in a recovered parody song mocking SunOS, while affectionately treating CDE as an essential part of the old Sun workstation experience. A separate commenter preferred Tk’s “bisque” palette, describing its own slogan and fan culture. Together, these views show a divide between suspicion toward the announcement and fondness for the software’s period-specific design: some see dated systems and an untrustworthy distribution site, while others value CDE’s visual character and its place in computing culture.