Winux

I played with Winux

Winux is like the name suggest a Linux operating system that looks like Windows. It is meant to make it easier to get into Linux after Windows 10 is not supported anymore.

When it is installed it asks for your Microsoft account and that gets connected to the program. Automatically you get icons for 365 Office and the Windows browser Edge. You feel home immediately. You can choose for the lay-out like Windows 10 or like Windows 11. The background is that of Windows 11.

I am using Linux already for a longer time, so I did not go all the way, cause I did not want to get “into the arms” of Windows again. It looks very much the same, but…. It is Linux, so you cannot use all the Windows programs you are used to. Linux has a way to get some of the Windows programs to work. That way is called Wine, but….. you cannot use that. It is in ‘Power Tools’ for which you have to pay € 35 if you want to use it. Every time you start up the program, you are reminded of that.

Although you cannot use Wine, you can install it. I did. You see the genuine Windows window when it installs parts of Windows. In the background you see the terminal. (that little black window with white letters, that you now and then see in Windows too. They gave it a nice blue background in Winux. The text in it showed that parts could not be installed and also showed some other errors. When everything was done, the Windows window said that the installation might fail. So, I won’t count on it, that it will work and run many Windows programs. Even when you get the same feel and look as Windows, you still will have to learn to use real Linux programs. If you use the 365 Office programs you will be good for a lot you do. And you also can use Edge if you were used to that. But….. you have to pay € 35 to get ‘power tools’ that are available for free in other Linux distributions. You will have to look for them and they may have other names, but they ARE there, and for free.

To be honest I would rather use Zorin OS or Linux Mint. Both are based on Ubuntu (like also Winex) so we are talking about the same family here.

I have Linux Mint on my regular computers and type this now in Zorin OS, which I like a lot since it is (almost) the same as Mint, but looks a bit more like Windows. And I just like the look of Windows.

If you need to say goodbye to Windows, try Zorin or Mint. They have a program called ‘software’ and it shows you hundreds of programs to replace the ones you used on Windows. When you made your choice you just click ‘install’ and there it is! You find it in the software you go to when you click the ‘start’ button.

Furthermore there is so much information on the internet. Type in what you need to know, and you’ll find it. Give it a week or two and you know your way around. Like when you get a new keyboard: you need to get used to it. You can ask around who is using Linux and might help you. There are more people than you think. And look for the Repair Cafe. They might have a computer guy who will make your computer in order to work with Linux.

Happy computing!