Re: MS Windows Linux Distribution?

Charlie Gibbs wrote:
In article <1156435144.66413.4@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, a@xxx
(The Natural Philosopher) writes:

Michael James wrote:

It's been my experience that the average user is reluctant to try
Linux because they are used to MS Windows, and Windows nomenclature.
My question for the group is: Is there a Linux distribution
that mimics MS Windows to the point that the average MS simpleton
would have no problem using the computer on which it was loaded?
Mind you, I've been using linux for well over 12 years, and have
recommend it to most everyone I meet. Those who do try it, struggle
with how the graphical managers (KDE, Gnome, etc) work or the program
names are unfamiliar to them. My belief is if there were a Linux
distribution that mimicked Windows behavior, and the program
nomenclature was consistent with Windows, it would be easier
for the average user to use immediately.

Thoughts, comments?
SUSE allegedly comes close, especially in look and feel.

I have an old laptop still running Slackware 7 (kernel 2.2.13)
because it's not big enough to run newer versions. However, it
does run fvwm95, which looks fairly Windowish.

However there is no way that you can e.g. make a ferrari look like
a ford model T underneath, without it becoming a ford anyway..

Maybe you could put in a few patches - for instance, one that makes
scroll bars snap back to their original position if your mouse
wanders too far from the scroll bar while you hold the button
down. I don't know why M$ decided it's a Good Thing that scroll
bars should "slip out of your grasp", but if you want a good
emulation I suppose you really should try to duplicate all of
their little Broken As Designed tricks.

Of course, to be truly accurate you'll have to make your file
system's performance degrade over time by simulating fragmentation,
necessitating the occasional reformat and reinstall. And you
should have a little daemon that sits there and causes kernel
panics at random intervals. Last but not least, introduce a
bit of spyware that reports your activities to Microsoft on a
regular basis. If they care, that is - maybe you could report
to Linus Torvalds instead.

On the other hand, maybe instead you could just point out to
prospective users that if they wholeheartedly switch to Linux
they can leave all of that nonsense behind.

As I said..."there is no way that you can e.g. make a ferrari look like
a ford model T underneath, without it becoming a ford anyway.."

My friend who actually LIKES windows, liked SUSE because he said it comes up looking like windows, most of the buttons and so on do similar things, and it installed pretty much without a hitch. HE uses it because it crashes less than XP..and runs faster..BUT he has to dual boot because a lot of stuff he uses simply isn't available for Linux.

I myself have yet to come up with a graphics package that will match Corel Draw...at a sensible price, let alone free..or CAD..plus one or two programs of a very specialised nature that are only available for windows..

Which is why for now, the Win98 desktop stays, and the linux is simply doing what its really good at, acting as a rock solid server..yes, in time I will delve into X-windows and desktops and the like, and attempt to get *most* of what I need onto it..but for now, windows stays..
.

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