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Making Ubuntu Look Like Windows 7

Posted by timothy on from the ok-fine-click-on-the-blue-e dept.

DeviceGuru writes "Although it won't help Linux run Windows-specific software applications, this easy hack produces an Ubuntu desktop that looks and feels a lot like Windows 7. It's particularly suitable for reviving older PCs or laptops on which the main activities will be web-browsing, email, document writing, and streaming music and videos from from the web. The process installs a Windows 7-like GNOME theme on an otherwise standard Ubuntu 10.04 installation, although it might work on other Linux distros with GNOME and appropriate other packages installed. Naturally all this begs the question: why would anybody want to do this? Why indeed!" People have been doing this sort of look-and-feel swap-out for years; it seems best to me as a practical joke.

3 of 473 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Well... by techcodie · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Actually, I sort of like it. My friend, and her 4 year old can now both use her windows 7 machine, or my linux machine equally as easy. Win - win.

    --
    last minute desperate solutions to impossible problems created by other fucking people.
  2. Dock by steveha · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The basic idea of a theme isn't new. A friend of mine had an XP theme on his desktop, and had a guest at his home using his computer for over half an hour without noticing anything. He asked "Do you find my Linux computer easy to use?" and the guest hadn't even realized it wasn't Windows XP.

    That sort of thing is mainly useful as evidence to counter the idea that a Linux desktop is "hard to use".

    The major new thing with Windows 7 is its dock. I have never much been interested in docks but it seems like they are popular. Do you use a dock in Linux? If so, could you please answer these questions:

    0) Which dock do you use?

    1) Why do you prefer your dock to others you have tried?

    2) Is your dock similar to the one in Windows 7?

    I know someone who uses Gnome Do and Docky, so I'm interested in those, but I know there are others around.

    steveha

    --
    lf(1): it's like ls(1) but sorts filenames by extension, tersely
  3. I am amazed that this was approved as an article. by ourcraft · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Move to linux if you like freedom and privacy, don't if you don't. But "it looks like windows" ???? sheesh, how 1995 can you get.