The latest version of SnowBird Linux can be downloaded from Softpedia

Jun 2, 2014 12:18 GMT  ·  By

SnowBird Linux, a remixed Fedora distribution that wants to convince Windows users that Linux is a good alternative, has advanced to version 20.1.

SnowBird Linux 20.1 has been dubbed Misha and is based on Fedora 20. This distribution is considered to be a respin of Fedora, which means that it shares most of the features, but there are also a few major differences.

“Run any of the Windows Flavours (XP, Vista, 7 or 8) and want to give SnowBird a try but don't know where to start? Run SnowBird Linux directly from the disc. Download the latest version and burn it to a dvd using your favourite burning tool. In case you need a free disc burner, download CDBurnerXP. Keep the disc in the drive and restart your computer to boot from SnowBird Linux without modifying your computer,” reads the website.

The distribution uses the same GNOME 3 desktop environment like Fedora, but the developers have also integrated a number of GNOME extensions that should make users’ lives much easier. On the other hand, GNOME 3 is pretty far from anything done in Windows operating systems, so the potential Windows users will have to be pretty open to new things.

SnowBird Linux 20.1 also integrates a theme with flat icons, the LibreOffice 4.x suite, TrueType fonts along with font management application, a pre-configured Firefox (plugins and extensions), pre-configured RPMFusion, Google, and Adobe repositories, SBL (SnowBird Linux) repository for updating third-party software, and a bootable live DVD with an optional installer.

There are numerous Linux distributions out there that want to be good alternatives for Windows machines, but this is one of the few that don’t really make any compromises. Its makers say that if you really want to jump ship, you must also adapt to the way Linux looks and handles.

The distribution seems to be using the Numix GTK theme, which is a flat one, and the Numix Circle icon theme. This particular combination makes it look very different from other regular GNOME 3 distros and from Fedora itself, although the pedigree has been kept quite visible.

SnowBird Linux should work out of the box with most PC configurations, but users might have some problems with VirtualBox, if they choose to test there first.

You can see more details about this distro on the official website and you can download SnowBird Linux 20.1 right now from Softpedia.