Linux

10819 readers

485 users here now

A community for everything relating to the GNU/Linux operating system (except the memes!)

Also, check out:

Original icon base courtesy of lewing@isc.tamu.edu and The GIMP

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

Ategon@programming.dev

anzo@programming.dev

dwraf_of_ignorance@programming.dev

116

Winux Tries to Mimic Windows While Staying Fully Linux (linuxiac.com)

submitted 2 days ago by cm0002@toast.ooo to c/linux@programming.dev

37 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Over the years, I’ve often thought that, despite how fast-moving the desktop Linux ecosystem is, there’s not much left that could truly surprise me. Yet I keep being proven wrong, and that’s a good thing. Winux, one of the newest additions to the scene, is a clear example.

Whether I like it or not, this distribution brings back memories of about 20 years ago, when Lindows, later renamed Linspire under legal (and fully justified) pressure from Microsoft, first tried to take the path of a Linux distribution built entirely to be as close as possible to the Windows experience.

Today, several Linux distributions aim to position themselves as an easy starting point, and even a replacement for Windows users looking to switch without friction. Zorin OS is a well-known example. Even so, these projects keep their own Linux identity, with similarities to Windows being more indirect than literal.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] salacious_coaster@feddit.online 21 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Debian KDE was close enough for me to make the jump without much trouble.

[–] BlameTheAntifa@lemmy.world 27 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (3 children)

KDE is the secret to winning over Windows users. Plasma 6 is everything most people want Windows to be. It’s also why I am very unpopular with Mint acolytes — I am always trying to steer new users away from Cinnamon, which means away from Mint.

[–] woelkchen@lemmy.world 3 points 11 hours ago

I am always trying to steer new users away from Cinnamon, which means away from Mint.

I'm not a fan of Ubuntu and its derivates in general (short version of the reason: Ubuntu continues to enshittify, its derivatives fight an increasingly harder battle to apply plasters to fix Ubuntu) and the reality since a few years is that an increasing number of people become familiar with SteamOS, its immutability and Flatpak use, so the old battle ground of .deb vs .rpm, where system config files are stored, etc. has just outlived itself. "A Ubuntu variant is the best because that's what online tutorials are about" is no longer relevant for the vast majority of people.

[–] PoopingCough@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Newbie to Linux here; can you not just install KDE with Mint?

[–] sbeak@sopuli.xyz 3 points 1 day ago

You are able to install a new desktop environment (or "DE"), I used to use Fedora Workstation, which is GNOME, and I was able to install KDE and had the option of switch to it from the login screen. Technically, you are able to run with two, or more, DEs at once and switch between them on restart, which is fun, but the downside is that there are extra default apps from each DE (e.g. file managers, media viewers) which can make things confusing, and if you want to replace a DE, like I did when I switched to KDE, I was advised to be a bit careful to install the new DE before uninstalling the old one, as otherwise I would be stuck with no DE at all. You don't want to pull a Linus and accidentally uninstall your desktop environment and blame Linux for your troubles!

Generally, it's better to just install a distro with your preferred DE (Fedora Workstation for vanilla GNOME, Ubuntu for their flavour of GNOME, Fedora KDE/Kubuntu/Bazzite for KDE, Mint for Cinnamon, etc. Some distros like Debian and EndeavourOS let you pick whatever DE you want on install which is nice) and learn to get comfortable with using Linux and hopefully the "scary" terminal (it's not scary at all, it's just another tool in the toolbox!)

[–] RickyRigatoni@retrolemmy.com 5 points 1 day ago

You can. But since mint no longer comes with a KDE-default version it's not ideal for onboarding new linux disciples.

[–] SaneMartigan@aussie.zone 1 points 1 day ago

If you game at all and are familiar with the windows interface, bazzite-kde has been great for me.

[–] cristian64@reddthat.com 4 points 2 days ago

Linux Mint has been so great and stable that is really hard to get people to move to something else.