Troubles trying to install Deepin Desktop Environment

I have been positively impressed after my latest test of Deepin Linux, especially of its desktop environment (Deepin DE). I so decided to try to install, separately, Deepin DE on my desktop computer.

The beginning

Instructions I found around the 'net, here, there and other similar pages, are roughly all the same: add Deepin sources to “/etc/apt/sources.list” file

deb http://packages.linuxdeepin.com/deepin raring main non-free universe
deb-src http://packages.linuxdeepin.com/deepin raring main non-free universe

Then I imported GPG key for such sources

wget http://packages.linuxdeepin.com/deepin/project/deepin-keyring.gpg
gpg --import deepin-keyring.gpg
sudo gpg --export --armor 209088E7 | sudo apt-key add -

at last I launched the apt-get command as usual

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install dde-meta-core.

Things start going wrong …

Just after the installation process ended nothing happened, I logged out but I didn't find the option to log back with Deepin desktop. I continued working and, after some time, I got a incomplete update error message from Ubuntu update software. The error message suggested to “Upgrade” the distribution. At this point the system was completely wrecked: I rebooted and I got a system who identified itself, using the lsb_release command, as “Deepin Linux”. Unity was barely working while Gnome shell didn't start at all. Looking on the 'net I then discovered Deepin desktop uses its own patched versions of fundamental software like Compiz so installing it on an existing system is definitively a risky business.

Test Drive : Linux Deepin 12.12 on the EEEPC

Some time ago, while looking for some Linux related new on the 'net, I read this review about a Linux distribution I never heard before: Deepin.

Deepin is a Linux Distribution, based on Ubuntu, originally created for the Chinese users pool but also available in English language. Apart from positive reviews what really interested me has been the fact Deepin comes with its own desktop environment (Deepin DE) based on Gnome Shell.

I so decided to test how it works on the EEEPC.

First impressions

I prepared a bootable USB disk with Deepin with the usual process: download the ISO image from Deepin download page then write to the flash disk using Unetbootin.

Here is how Deepin looks like just after boot:

I must say Deepin default theme and wallpaper appear aesthetically well refined. This means nothing on the long run but might be dramatically important to give a good first impression to new users.