MATE (/ˈmɑːteɪ/)[4] is a desktop environment composed of free and open-source software that runs on Linux, and other Unix-like operating systems such as BSD, and illumos.
[4] The name is stylized in all capital letters to follow the nomenclature of other Free Software desktop environments like KDE and LXDE.
MATE aims to maintain and continue the latest GNOME 2 code base, frameworks, and core applications.
The project is supported by Ubuntu MATE lead developer Martin Wimpress and by the Linux Mint development team: We consider MATE yet another desktop, just like KDE, Gnome 3, Xfce etc... and based on the popularity of Gnome 2 in previous releases of Linux Mint, we are dedicated to support it and to help it improve.
One of the aims of the MATE developers is to provide a traditional user experience while using the newest technologies.