im looking for a desktop environment (or a DE and the necessary applications and configuratons) to work something like a dual mode type of environment not too dissimilar from windows 8, reason is for a gaming PC connected to a living room television...

id like a good, solid, yet not overbloated compositing desktop environment for the desktop mode that can show off how great linux can look and feel, but id also like to configure my PS3 controller (bluetooth connected)to bring up something like a metro-style full screen app launcher that can be fully navigated with the controller for launching games, full-screen or kiosk mode applications (preferably those that can be configured to navigate with a controller) as well as emulators

id also like android app integration, perhaps getting twerk to work with chrome/chromium to launch fullscreen apps through linux, or even just install something like genymotion in a VM (though its preferable there was a way to load the applications without loading the entire android UI.. can genymotion be configured to power on and launch a specified fullscreen app from a launcher through linux and automatically power off when the app is closed?.. if so thats how id want the multimedia apps to run (since android has better MM apps than linux and they can be operated with a gamepad)

kodi may work, perhaps have this pre-loaded in the background and launched at the push of a button, or configured to be loaded on another desktop and just map a desktop switcher to the controllers home/guide button.. but kodis application launching abilities seems somewhat hit and miss

another idea ive had was to actually load android through an emulator and let that be my app-launcher as well, android can be navigated with a controller, at least some of the emulators ive used could be, its netflix/hulu/spotify apps can be fully controlled with a controller so it fits what im going for, but could application launchers be installed inside the android UI to launch outside linux applications? and how much will running an android emulator in the background bog-down my system?

i hope you guys get the idea of what im trying to go for here, the ability to have a clean, modern looking compositing desktop when i need it, and the ability to easily navigate applications and software, launch and play games or emulators from a gamepad controlled fullscreen application launcher with some kind of integration of android applications (like netflix, hulu, spotify, kik, etc) through some sort of emulation

any ideas or suggestions?

no ones ever considered such a concept? is it even possible to do using an android emulator or kodi pre-loaded to a second desktop to switch between with the "windows" button on the keyboard?

I'm sure many people have considered it. Just not too many of us. I personally think the win8 look was the worst desktop I'd ever touched in 25 years of computer use. Id rather have no graphics at all than be stuck in such an awful environment as that was. But give it some time, not everyone is on here every day. Had you not replied, your thread would have been auto-upped for several days for being a zero reply. But I'm sure someone has done something like that. I imagine there's De's that can be configured to do it, although obviously I have never tried.

windows 8 is also a complete failure in my mind, if they wanted it to look like an xbox they should have made it so you can navigate it with a controller and for full size apps to be controlled by a controller as well, so it failed, im really considering using an android virtual machine to launch full-screen controller operable apps for when i want to sit back on a sofa and play something.. i wonder though if an android emulator running in the background would hog too much RAM, and if launchers could be installed in it to launch linux apps from that menu

my goal here is to have a desktop i can use with a mouse and keyboard when i need it, or have the option of using a gaming controller and going fullscreen and controlling it like a console

I've never used it, have no idea if it has a traditional desktop, but you might want to look at Steam-OS.

ive considered steam os, but not sure how i like their integration into which applications i have installed, not sure i trust them to not copy information about launched applications for their own use

i think if i use a window manager like openbox with no panel, i could set a program to manage the desktop in a way thats easier to see from a distance and can be navigated with a controller, set the functions of the window manager (switching windows, desktops, closing applications, launching new ones, etc) to controller presses or keystrokes mapped to a controller

however i need to find applications capable of being operated with by a controller, so to start out let me ask this, is there a web browser that is fullscreen, can be configured to control with a controller, uses dropdown menus (or can be configured with a keypress to open a textbox) for the purpose of typing into the address bar, be able to navigate clickable links with the controller, and of course, it would need a good onscreen keyboard that gives focus back once youre done using it

do these applications exist to do these things?