LinuxFx is a GNU / Linux distribution produced in Brazil, which based on Ubuntu and with touches of the environment Cinnamon bets on replicate the appearance of Windows 10 in almost all its sections. The goal is to provide the friendliest environment for Windows users who jump to Linux. At least visually.
Some analysts believe that Linux should somehow unify main components such as desktop environments or package formats if it wants to reach the general public and increase a market share on the desktop that despite the rise in recent months is still abnormally low for its great potential and that it has in other market segments, be they mobile, supercomputing, servers or embedded.
Not everyone thinks this way and precisely value the opposite, the ability of Linux to offer a wide variety and great customization. With the aim of facilitating the jump to Linux, some distributions bet on replicating interfaces from other platforms and as an example we can cite the work of Zorin OS with Windows or Elementary with macOS.
LinuxFx takes this strategy to the extreme and is the closest thing to Windows 10 we’ve ever seen outside of Microsoft. So much so, that we are surprised that the Redmond firm has not called its army of lawyers to raise complaints or demands for the use (without permission) of their intellectual property.
The same LinuxFx installation uses Windows 10 visual concepts and a disk verification message very similar to the one Microsoft uses. When you get to the desktop, the illusion of being in Windows is even greater, with a Start menu, a taskbar, a system tray, backgrounds, themes and Windows 10-style desktop.
And beyond. To open the applications menu you have a logo like Windows and the same happens with the task view button to use virtual desktops. And if you want to open the Ubuntu Software Center, you will have to click on the logo of a Microsoft store located in the taskbar.
Those responsible for LinuxFx they don’t cut a hair and to use the LibreOffice office suite they propose the Microsoft Office icon; To launch the Linux Evolution email client they use the Outlook logo and for the games section they use the Xbox logo. We also see that the system management tool (from Ubuntu) has been redesigned to look like the Windows “Settings” application and for the more classic ones, it even offers a pseudo Control Panel.
The distribution preinstalls Wine for run windows applications and the ability to install .exe and .msi packages works correctly. To close the circle they even offer their own “Cortana”, a virtual assistant clone named Helloa with support for English, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese.
For the future, those responsible for this curious GNU / Linux distribution intend to rewrite all the functions and systematically replace Cinnamon components and eventually employ your own custom window manager. They are also working on an ARM version for Raspberry Pi.
Is LinuxFx a convenient gateway to Linux for Windows users, or just a clone of Ubuntu with the Cinnamon desktop and a skin of Windows 10 adapted to the maximum? If you try it, tell us. And while we are here, do you think it’s a good formula to attract Windows users to Linux or would it be better if they opted for one of the many existing solutions on Linux with its own interface?
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