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PIXEL (which is a clunky backronym for Pi Improved Xwindows Environment, Lightweight) is an extensively modified version of the LXDE X11 desktop environment. It was originally released in September for use with Raspberry Pi single-board computers, but now it has also been packaged up for x86 PCs. You can boot your Windows or Mac PC into the PIXEL desktop environment right now, if you so wish.

In the words of Eben Upton, founder of the foundation, PIXEL is "our best guess as to what the majority of users are looking for in a desktop environment [...] Put simply, it’s the GNU/Linux we would want to use." To that end, PIXEL is both clean and modern-looking, but more importantly it is useful, with a wide range of productivity software and programming tools pre-installed. PIXEL doesn't eschew proprietary software, either; it even comes with the Adobe Flash browser plug-in.

The PIXEL ISO, which is a 1.3GB download, is essentially a "live" version of Debian 8.6 (Jessie) with PIXEL on top. You burn the ISO to a USB stick or DVD, pop it into your PC's USB socket, and viola: the PIXEL desktop. If you use a DVD, any changes you make to the system will be lost when you power off; if you use some kind of memory stick, you'll have the option of creating a "persistence partition" that lets you keep stuff between sessions. Raspberry Pi suggests you use Etcher if you want to burn the ISO to a USB stick.

While it's unlikely that Debian+PIXEL would nuke your Windows or Mac installation, it's probably worth backing up any important files before you proceed. Another option if you just want to check PIXEL out is to grab the ISO and load it up in VirtualBox or your preferred virtualisation tool.

Simon Long, an engineer at the foundation, says they plan to make an installable version of x86 PIXEL+Debian in the future if there's enough interest.

If you want to download PIXEL+Debian for your PC, I'd suggest using the torrent for now; it looks like the Raspberry Pi download server is being hammered. Another option is buying this month's edition of the MagPi magazine, in stores this morning, which has a bootable DVD on the cover.