The E17 desktop is the best alternative to the bloated MATE and Gnome desktop environments. These are good, but use a lot of resources. A good alternative is to use E17. This is light and has a lot of very good effects.
Install it on Ubuntu 17 easily.
sudo apt install e17-data e17 |
Then logout and select Enlightenment in the LightDM menu. Then you will be presented with a better desktop workspace. To add downloaded wallpapers to your desktop, put them into the wallpapers directory, this posting explains this process. There are lovely themes available to make your desktop look even better. Here is a very nice one. Copy the edj file into the ~/.e/e/themes/ directory. Then click the desktop and go to the Settings-Theme menu option to select the theme. Enlightenment E16 had some nice themes, there is a folder full of them here, but I do not know how to convert them to E17.
http://themes.effx.us/packages/e16/.
This is a very pretty desktop WM though, well worth installing for the pretty graphics and the clean, simple interface. The bar at the bottom has apps that run in it that show the time as well as CPU temp.
This is very pretty and functional. Battery life is also shown if the user is on a laptop. There are Enlightenment versions up to E20, but I only have E17 installed. It is just fine for me.
Download some quality themes for this desktop environment here: https://www.enlightenment-themes.org/browse/cat/145/ord/top/.