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This article is about what the Linux operating system has. The editor thinks it is very practical, so share it with you as a reference and follow the editor to have a look.

Switching to Linux opens the door to new tools and technologies that make your experience of the computing environment easier. But depending on the Linux operating system you choose, sometimes even browsing the desktop environment can be challenging, so objectively there is a learning curve. The purpose of this article is to make your new journey easier to start.

Distribution and Desktop

Desktop options for distributions are one of the main ways to attract you to become their users.

You might ask, "wait a minute, you mean desktop options?" Yes, Linux offers a variety of desktop environments, or graphical shell, ranging from very "cool" to extremely clean and minimalist. Unlike operating systems that normally only provide a single graphical shell, if not the only option, Linux allows you to install one or more different options to suit your taste.

Almost all desktop-centric distributions will use this as their "main" option, and some of them will be configured to look and feel like other operating systems. If you have used one of these Linux, it will be very easy and convenient for you to learn basic kernel upgrades and command-line arguments to achieve your goals after you switch to another version.

Options for the desktop

Although this article focuses on which Linux desktop you should choose to use out of the box, you will probably install them manually on other distributions of the Linux operating system. You can load any component into your system as long as you like. For example: a minimum window manager for playing games, a medium complexity desktop for a production environment, and a special flash collection for you to use when browsing the Internet.

Next, we'll show you some examples of Linux distributions with the theme of "out of the box", as well as some tips on how to make them look more like an existing Ubuntu installation. Tip: for other distributions, you can start by looking for the theme name in the app store or package manager.

First, convert from Windows 10

Out-of-the-box distribution: Zorin OS 12

ZorinOS is a desktop distribution that focuses on enterprise productivity. It provides a powerful set of out-of-the-box business applications and provides advanced business support. In order to make its components familiar to a variety of enterprise users, the default desktop layout of Zorin OS 12 mimics Windows10.

The toolbar at the bottom of the Zorin OS 12 screen also mimics the latest version of Windows, laying out icons for various applications into the start menu.

Windows theme options for existing desktops

If you have installed a Linux but lack the appearance of "Metro" (or "Neon", or some other code name used by Microsoft this week), pay attention to the following themes for your favorite desktop:

If it's KDE, try the K10ne theme, which looks like Windows 10.

If it's a GTK-based desktop (such as Unity, Cinnamon, MATE, etc.), then the "Windows 10 conversion package" is all you need, and it includes a convenient installation script.

Second, convert from macOS

Out-of-the-box distribution: Elementary OS

The developers of Elementary OS have written their own environment, called "Pantheon", which has complete control over the look and feel. They created a theme (especially icon sets and window boundaries) to make users who have converted from Mac feel at home, not to mention the dock bar at the bottom and center of the desktop. The names of the various applications are also given here, which will help new users to easily identify them (for example, the name displayed is "mail" rather than "Geary").

MacOS theme options for existing desktops

Like most computer layouts, you can simply create and place the application's launcher / dock at the bottom of the screen and place a small toolbar at the top of the screen. But if you really want to evoke the "feeling of Mac", please pay attention to the following topics:

If it's KDE, the Mac OS X Yosemite theme makes no secret of the way it imitates Apple's operating system.

If it is based on the GTK desktop, the "macBuntu conversion package" has various versions that can accurately return to the Apple interface.

Third, convert from Chrome OS

Out-of-the-box distribution: Cub Linux

Because Chrome OS is based on a Linux, starting to use Linux is only a quick "upgrade". The release of Cub Linux is designed to provide an experience of mirroring to Chrome OS, placing a transparent task manager at the bottom of the screen.

Out-of-the-box distribution: Gallium OS

It is worth considering if you want to completely replace the Chrome OS,Gallium OS installed on your Chromebook. Its interface is also very similar on Chromebook, including an icon-based app launcher and a "search style" application launcher.

4. Convert from Amiga: Icaros Desktop

The difference between the Icaros desktop and the above desktops is that it is not even a theme or a desktop environment. It is an operating system, and when you download its ISO file, you can burn it to a DVD or USB drive and use it to boot your computer. However, it can also provide a "Linux host" mode where you can install desktop shell on existing Linux machines. Let's take a look at the latter option.

Here are two tips for using the Icaros desktop to bring to your attention:

Most importantly: Icaros runs on 32-bit systems, not on 64-bit machines that are now ubiquitous. This means to you that it is a good choice for old hardware. But it also means that you need to find a 32-bit copy for your beloved Linux distribution.

In fact, the desktop is run in isolation from your Linux system (no different from the fs-uae with the workbench installed). It runs in a separate window (shown in the following figure), and it starts its own kernel and driver. So you also need to set aside memory for it. You can think of it as a small, independent virtual machine.

Install Icaros Desktop

Once you unpack its ISO file, you can use a terminal to open it and run the installation script inside. Please ignore the newline characters "\ n", although it will reduce the possibility of errors in the run.

Then, based on the information at the end of the installer, run the bootstrap program to start the Icaros desktop:

Icaros will provide you with some options the first time you run it.

Finally, it will unpack and install some additional programs. You will be prompted to choose the default installation, full installation, or manually select the installation package.

After that, you finally arrived at the desktop environment of Icaros. What's touching: the developer mounts your home directory directly to the desktop, so you can access all your files right away.

Although you can't run Amiga and Linux applications exactly in parallel, because Icaros has access to files in your host Linux, you can still "collaborate" with them. Of course, you may have forgotten this a long time ago and just played games.

Mixing and matching

All of the above provides you with a familiar and unified experience by imitating "other" operating systems. But don't forget that one of the greatest things about Linux is that you have the ability to pick out certain elements you like (except for Icaros, of course) and to build your own Frankenstein desktop!

Please pick up a Ubuntu and install it, add elementary icon themes to their PPA, mix Windows style and wallpaper with "Windows 10 conversion Pack", and then change your desktop to mimic the layout of Gallium OS. You can do whatever you want!

Thank you for reading! This is the end of this article on "what is the Linux operating system?". I hope the above content can be of some help to you, so that you can learn more knowledge. if you think the article is good, you can share it out for more people to see!

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