What is the deal with WINux? information sought!

[Kojack]

Hey people.

I am thinking of moving my son to Linux on his gaming laptop. he has autism and is very very resistant to change. I was looking at WinUX as an option to get around his reluctance.

I searched on YouTube, and there's a bunch of videos stating DO NOT USE. Is this for security reasons are just because it's copying windows?

thanks for the information.

 

[kc1di]

I don't know much about Winux but I too have seen may reviews that say it's not worth it. Perhaps Zorin would be a better choice.

Zorin OS - Make your computer better.

Discover the alternative to Windows and macOS designed to make your computer faster, more powerful, secure, and privacy-respecting.

zorin.com

 

[KGIII]

If not, you may try to convince him that the laptop broke, or Windows broke, or Windows has ended, and you had no other choice but to install Linux.

I can't advocate lying to your children.

I'd make a Ventoy USB installer and put a handful of distros on it - with different DEs being largely the point. I'd then sit them down and ask them if they'd like to try using a new system. You can load the live systems until they might find one interesting enough to try. Sit down with them and explain the differences. Show them the basics. Encourage them to use it for a little while to see if they enjoy the experience.

 

[Kojack]

I can't advocate lying to your children.

I'd make a Ventoy USB installer and put a handful of distros on it - with different DEs being largely the point. I'd then sit them down and ask them if they'd like to try using a new system. You can load the live systems until they might find one interesting enough to try. Sit down with them and explain the differences. Show them the basics. Encourage them to use it for a little while to see if they enjoy the experience.

I was just going to say the same thing. If WInux is safe I will use that so it's exactly the same look etc of windows 11. As long as it looks and works the same. He will be fine. If it's different it will throw him off.

 

[KGIII]

If it's different it will throw him off.

You know them better than any of us. I'd default to 'yes' when assuming that it's safe. As far as I know, those things are mostly just themes built on another DE and are meant to look like Windows.

 

[MikeWalsh]

@Kojack :-

From the looks of things, it's basically Ubuntu 24.04 LTS "Noble Numbat" with the KDE Plasma DE.....heavily-customized via a ton of special theme packs to look identical to Win 11. According to the WINux website, this has been primarily put together to ease the transition for enterprise users....

If your son does any amount of gaming under Winblows, he'll probably notice the difference sooner than you might hope for.....or there again, he may not. Depends on how well GPU detection / driver installation has been integrated, I guess.

I'm going to take a look at this myself, out of pure curiosity. Seems to be a 'pain-free' way of checking out "Windows 11" from an external drive!

Might get issues with my GPUs, though - both of which are now "unsupported", though still perfectly functional (one's almost brand-new) - and will NOT work with the latest drivers. We'll see...

I'll report back, as & when.


Mike.

 

[Brickwizard]

if you're wanting a windows' lookalike , there is also Anduinos to consider

​

 

[wildman]

Show him where all the major computer manufacturers are ditching Microsoft and switching to Linux. YouTube has videos about this.
Always,
Wildman

 

[Kojack]

@Kojack :-

From the looks of things, it's basically Ubuntu 24.04 LTS "Noble Numbat" with the KDE Plasma DE.....heavily-customized via a ton of special theme packs to look identical to Win 11. According to the WINux website, this has been primarily put together to ease the transition for enterprise users....

If your son does any amount of gaming under Winblows, he'll probably notice the difference sooner than you might hope for.....or there again, he may not. Depends on how well GPU detection / driver installation has been integrated, I guess.

I'm going to take a look at this myself, out of pure curiosity. Seems to be a 'pain-free' way of checking out "Windows 11" from an external drive!

Might get issues with my GPUs, though - both of which are now "unsupported", though still perfectly functional (one's almost brand-new) - and will NOT work with the latest drivers. We'll see...

I'll report back, as & when.


Mike.

Thanks. he has a 2060 in his system. Hopfully the mature graphics cards are supported.

 

[MikeWalsh]

@Kojack :-

Umm.....yeah. O-kayyy....

Well, their devs have done a reasonable job of approximating Win 11 (from what I've seen of it online. Haven't run "The Beast of Redmond" for well over a decade, and have zero interest in ever doing so.)

But I rather think that as soon as your son tries to do anything, he'll know straight away that this is NOT Windows.

As for GPU / driver detection, etc, is concerned, I couldn't say. The system insisted it couldn't even SEE my GeForce GT 1030, so didn't offer me anything.....and God above knows what it thought it WAS running on.

Worth a look, certainly, but.....you'll have to make up your own mind on this one. Do be aware, the WINux site doesn't even provide any installation instructions. I ended up using UNetbootin, 'cos Balena Etcher will not work with 'Puppy'.

Not a very good review, I'll own. As with Windows, I haven't run a mainstream Linux distro for around 10 years or so. They just don't really excite me, y'see. 'Puppy' has supplied me with everything I've needed, or even thought of needing, for at least that long.....and she does a LOT of stuff in rather unique ways, which even Linux veterans have a job wrapping their heads around.

Sorry an' all that!

(shrug...)


Mike.