Ubuntu 14.04 will, for the first time, allow users to install the MATE desktop environment straight from the Ubuntu Software Centre.
Version 1.6 of the GNOME 2 fork, which preserves the traditional ‘two panel’ desktop layout used in pre-Unity Ubuntu, has been uploaded to the Trusty Proposed repository for testing. Should no conflicts arise it will be made available to all Trusty testers through the Main repo soon after.
As of writing none of the project’s renamed GNOME 2-era applications, like Caja (based on Nautilus file manager), have been uploaded, though the MATE desktop icon theme has.
Other similarly-styled desktop environments available within Ubuntu include Cinnamon and GNOME 3’s ‘fallback session’.