[Intro]
Hello!
I have already said in some videos about Linux distributions that they are very numerous because of the openness of the GNU/Linux kernel and its components.
There are distributions for beginners, for network engineers, and for experienced users and everyone else - the choice is enormous.
And just because of this, to adequate distributions by the law of life appear strange, and in some ways even cringe GNU/Linux distributions.
And in this video we will review several such distributions.
The first Linux distribution in this review is Hannah Montana Linux.
Yes, that's right, this distribution is dedicated to Hannah Montana, the American TV series produced by Disney, about a teenage girl who lives a double life.
By day she is an ordinary schoolgirl, and by night she is a famous star.
I can not understand whether this distribution is made purely for fun or someone really made it with the serious purpose that it will be used.
Well, the ISO image is bootable and the boot disk menu looks like this.
Um, wait, is that supposed to be?
Okay...
We choose to install the system, wait for it to start completely, and after a long black screen we are greeted by an installer with a beautiful color scheme.
The distribution itself is based on Kubuntu 9.04, which was released in April 2009.
Although, if you think about it, the name Kubuntu is essentially everywhere, except for the boot screen and desktop background.
But... who knows...
The installation steps here are absolutely standard: language selection, time zone, keyboard layout, disk partitioning and so on.
So, after installation we are greeted by the boot screen of the system and later we see the desktop itself.
Stop-stop-stop.. Why is the greeting sound from the original KDE? I... demand the music from the opening splash screen of the show! I even downloaded the image for that...
On the desktop we see a small "Desktop Folder" window and inside it a hard disk icon named Hanna Montana Linux, which opens the Dolphin file manager and gives us access to the file system.
The icons, the theme and the design are stylized in purple and the logo of the TV series of the same name. The main character is shown on the desktop background and in the corner there is also a Torvalds penguin (or the Linux kernel logo) with a photoshoped version of the series logo.
It all runs on the KDE 4 desktop environment and the Linux kernel version 2.6, dated April 2010.
The standard applications here are only the KDE suite, such as a torrent client, browser, email client, etc. The third-party applications are Dolphin file manager, Kopete messenger, Okular document viewer, Akregator RSS reader and Amarok player.
All in all, for me this is the strangest Linux distribution (or build) I have ever seen in my life.
While you're at it, why don't you also create Justin Bieber Linux.
Ah, there's even that already, okay...
Or maybe there's also Among Us Linux?
You've got to be kidding me...
The next distribution is more interesting than the previous one.
It is based on Fedora, was created in Russia and was completely available... conditionally shareware.
Yes, this distribution only had a trial period of 30 days and after the end of a license key, which, depending on the edition (and there were quite a few editions of this system) cost from 1200 to 7000 RUB.
And the license was not given forever, but only for one year.
This distribution has been boycotted by much of the Russian Linux systems community for its deviation from Open Source principles, license violations, charging for the use and distribution of free software as part of a Fedora-based distribution.
And this system is called Linux XP.
Previously, this distribution had its own official website, but it is not available now, which is not surprising, since the last version was released in 2010.
But in this video here we will look at the version from 2006, since this is the most popular version of this distribution.
Versions from the 2008s and 2010s are almost impossible to find: some sites are unavailable, DistroWatch and ArchiveOS.org give the 2006 version as a download.
I even found a torrent file with Linux XP 2008, but it simply does not work.
And why is that?
Because...
Because nobody needed this project.
Let's get down to reviewing it after all.
At boot time we are greeted with a picture of Linux XP with some inscriptions, but for some reason they are blurred and it's almost impossible to read anything except the word Linux XP Desktop 2006 and the word boot, I guess you have to pay here too.... :D
The console is passed, and after it we are greeted by the system installer.
And... I will say that the installer is quite a nice design: it shows hints on the left, keyboard shortcuts and an explanation of what will happen in this step.
The buttons design of course parodies the Windows system, but from the name of the distribution itself, it is clear that it is trying to parody, then a resounding success, the Windows XP operating system.
But in general, the installation steps are quite standard and focus on them, I think, makes no sense.
After installation and reboot, we are greeted by the desktop. Again, almost a complete parody of Windows XP, which is fun.
Although, if you think about it, a lot of people have tried to replicate Windows in interface before. The same green "Start" button, the color scheme of the windows and its own design theme, a Luna-style icons, and in general the whole system style tries to be completely similar to Windows.
On the one hand it is not bad, because for a beginner it was easier to switch to Linux from Windows, but on the other hand why make such a parody?
Well, okay, that's not for me to decide after all.
The default desktop environment here is GNOME 2.8 and the Linux kernel version 2.6.15.
During the installation we were not asked to create an account and we are now running as root.
And as far as I know, that's not a good idea.
Superuser has full rights to perform any and all operations and full administrative access to your system.
Careless use of superuser rights can trivially break your system and that's not very cool.
Some programs even refuse to run if you are logged in as root.
But, let's move on.
Also in the distribution comes Java - and it is here for a reason: it is necessary for the operation of proprietary applications such as "System Properties", "Network Connection Manager" and "System Activation".
Once again, it all parodies Windows XP, even the connection window is the same :D
Linux XP has its own control panel: all applets are sorted into groups like "Interface", "Devices", "Users", "Applications" and so on.
It also has its own program for updating and downloading applications.
The standard applications here include the GNOME suite of standard applications, the Nautilus and GNOME Commander file managers, the Firefox browser, the GIMP graphics editor, and Evolution.
I did not find an office suite here.
I can not say anything more about this distribution, because I did not find anything so specific here either. So, let's move on.
The next distribution has caused quite a stir in the Russian segment of the Internet, and the Department of Education of Nizhny Tagil decided to put a "new" OS in all schools of the city instead of Windows.
A reporter of a local TV channel filmed a report about the new OS, where it was presented as a free alternative to Windows and demonstrated the benefits of the OS.
Can you guess which OS I'm talking about?
Yes, I'm talking about BolgenOS, the Linux distribution created by the then schoolboy Denis Popov in 2009.
How many discussions it generated on the Internet, in just one Habr (russian site) article about the system gathered more than 700 comments.
If anyone does not know, Habr is a Russian-language site in the format of thematic collective blogs, created to publish news and analytical articles on the Internet and IT.
So, actually about the distribution: it is based on Ubuntu, runs on a GNOME desktop environment with a stretched theme, which is a bit like the old versions of Mac OS, there are almost no programs.
Also, many have said that copyrights have been replaced in almost many places, which is a flagrant violation of the GPL license.
Yes, this does violate the GPL license, but at the end of the installer and in the "uname" terminal command nothing has changed: we are calmly told that we are looking at Ubuntu 10.04 of 2010.
There is a "non-boring wallpapers", but in the amount of 1 piece
...
It makes no sense to look further into this distribution, because apart from a remade Ubuntu with a macOS theme, and rewritten copyrights of the ClaimAV antivirus (called Popov Antivirus in BolgenOS), it does not contain anything else.
It's time for another distribution.
This distribution comes from Brazil and again repeats Windows, but for what Windows and how...
All this creation calls itself LinuxFX (or WindowsFX).
The distribution has two versions: a version that replicates the Windows 10 interface, and a version that replicates the recently released Windows 11.
From the information on their official site, each version is divided into two editions: free and professional.
Free can be downloaded from the official site, if that would be possible.. I click the "Download" button and I am redirected to the home page
Okay.
The professional version must be purchased and costs $45. The paid version, again based on the information from the official site, contains support for running Android applications and games, Active Directory support, voice assistant and OneDrive.
The free version can only be used for 30 days and then it must be activated by buying a key.
I think someone says hello!
All right, let's get on with the testing.
Just plugged the image into the virtual machine and already see the boot screen of the system.
It almost looks like the Windows 11 boot screen, except for the boot wheel animation.
Although, come on, he doesn't look like him at all.
After booting up, we get to the desktop and it... really looks like Windows 11.
Really, I just thought for a few seconds that this really was the original Windows 11. However, after I started to look closely at the interface, I already realized that it didn't look a bit like Windows.
The system is now loaded in Live mode and the task before us is to install it.
The minimum requirements to install this system is 2 GB of RAM and 30 GB of HDD.
And here are the recommended above: 4 GB RAM and 64 GB SSD.
If your computer doesn't meet the requirements, you're on your way out, not continuing the installation.
That's what's so heavy in there that you need at least 30 GB of free space...?
Okay, well, the installer is of course made beautifully, I liked its design, quite stylish. However, the role of the system installer is played by Calamares.
The installation steps are, as with all Linux distributions, quite standard: language, keyboard, time zone, name, password, etc.
After the installation and all the setup, we can now take a pretty good look at this system.
This is the KDE lock screen, which they have tried hard to change to the Windows style. The desktop environment in this distribution is actually KDE.
After entering the password, we see the desktop of the already installed system, and on the side there is a notice that "we are using the trial and free version of the system, please buy a license".
As I said before, the design of this system tries to replicate the Windows 11 design. And to me, at first glance, it looks good, but if you look closer, you'll see that it's a bit of a KDE theme.
And now let's move on to the most interesting part - included programs.
It comes with the standard KDE applications, OnlyOffice (with a theme reminiscent of MS Office) and shortcuts to the Internet versions of Microsoft Office,...
...Google Chrome и Microsoft Edge, TeamViewer и Anydesk, Microsoft Teams и Skype,...
...Ark Archivtor, Kodi, VLC, Zoom, GIMP, Steam, Spotify,...
..OBS Studio, AntiMicro и Wine.
And many, many other programs.
But why? Is it hard to go to Discover on KDE and download the applications you need from there? Not for me personally, no.
I like the Q4OS approach better - after installation it prompts you to choose the installation configuration.
But I already told you about this in the video about this distribution, it is on the channel.
And anyway, who in their right mind would keep several programs that perform the same task?
Ah, well, it makes sense in principle.
The so-called Start menu is also done in the style of Windows 11 and is quite believable.
But not without a bug of course :/
The file manager here is Dolphin and the console here is Microsoft Powershell, but inside it is the Konsole application from KDE.
As a voice assistant here is some kind of Helloa, to be honest, I see it for the first time at all, so I can't say anything about it.
There are also proprietary applications from this distribution on the type of system settings - they just replaced the KDE control panel,...
...update Center, an activation window, and a shutdown window.
And all of them, as it is easy to guess, repeat Windows 11.
What can I say about this distribution?
For some reason it makes me cringe and laugh a little. In general, some mixed impressions.
On that note, we move on and take a look at the last distribution in this video.
And finally, the last thing we will look at in this video is pearOS
It's like macOS, but only pearOS.
It's like an apple, but it is a pear.
Yes, this distribution parodies macOS, and as badly as possible.
It also lags, although the amount of RAM is set quite decent - 4 GB.
It's all based on KDE Neon, with a stretched theme similar to macOS, it's just crawling with glitches and other cranky stuff.
Network is not working, apt-get update command is blocked.
And as I said before, it's slow even with 4GB of RAM.
This distribution appeared in 2011 and was based on Ubuntu with a GNOME desktop environment and a stretched macOS theme.
The distribution was later sold to an unknown company in 2014 and soon closed down.
However, in 2020 a new version of the distribution suddenly came out, which was completely different from previous versions: the based is no longer Ubuntu, but KDE Neon.
Although KDE Neon is also based on Ubuntu, so essentially nothing changes - even in terms of stability at all.
That's all I can say about this distribution, because it's just a nightmare and a total nightmare
That's the kind of great distributions we had.
The distributions were very productive, beautiful and stunning.
However, it so happened that I do not have enough space on my computer and I decided to delete all the images of these distributions from my computer.
So that's it. I think that's enough cringe for today, I can't take it anymore.
And that's all, if you liked this video - leave a like. You can also subscribe to my channel, if you want to support my channel. Thanks for watching, see you soon!