Many Linux users actually enjoy the way Windows OSes look

Jun 18, 2014 08:05 GMT  ·  By

Linux operating systems have access to numerous desktop environments and this variety is actually one of their strong suits, but some users take this freedom to its full extent and choose to imitate other OSes, like Windows.

Themes that are capable of replicating the look and feel of a Windows operating system have been around for a long time. They shouldn't be a surprise, but that is not the case. In fact, there are a lot of users out there that scorn people who choose this kind of themes and are constantly saying that it's wrong to do it.

On the other hand, many Linux adopters are using these themes and they are not ashamed, although the reasons for doing so can be very different. It would be easy to say that the main reason users choose to adopt a Windows theme is because people are ditching the operating system made by Microsoft, but they still want some sort of familiarity. That could be true now, but it doesn't explain the fact that complete transformation tools have been available for download long before that.

So, where is this fascination with Windows coming from? There can be only two motives, satisfaction or necessity. It's possible that some users enjoy the way Microsoft designs its operating system and it's in everybody's right to choose what they want.

Most Linux users will deny this, but Microsoft has actually taken a big step forward in desktop design. It may be wrong or hideous, as many of you might think already, but the company had a sort of courage that many Linux projects lack.

The only two recent examples in the Linux ecosystem for this kind of determination, in changing the status quo of a desktop environment, were from the GNOME and Ubuntu teams. Developers made some really hard choices when they ditched GNOME 2 and did something very different.

Both teams were hated for the decision to adopt modern-looking desktops and it took the Linux communities years to finally accept what was happening.

If we draw a comparison with Windows 8 and Unity, for example, from the community point of view, you will see that things are evolving in the same manner. Basically, almost everyone hated the way the new desktop looked, but after numerous updates and improvements, the respective communities learned to embrace it.

It's not a surprise that some Linux users actually love the way Windows 8 looks like, so they are trying to import that concept. It's likely that a lot of Windows users would do the same, if they only could.

The other reason for wanting your Linux distribution to look like Windows is necessity. I for one have used this tactic to make my parents switch to Linux. They were unwilling to start learning something all over again, so now they are running an Ubuntu that looks very Windows-like. They are happy that little has changed and I don't have to disinfect the system every six months.

The fact that some Linux systems might look like Windows doesn't have to upset anyone, because this is the result of total freedom, which is something that needs to be celebrated and not condemned.