[Intro]
Hello!
This video will again be about GNU/Linux and its distributions.
GNU/Linux (hereinafter referred to simply as Linux, to make it easier) is an open source system and everyone can build their own distribution.
There are variety of popular distributions, maybe hundreds.
Each distribution contains a different number of packages and may differ in appearance. Some distribution may use KDE or GNOME, and some Cinnamon or LXDE.
Someone makes a distribution kit whose goal is to parody any system as much as possible, and someone makes a distribution kit specifically for the comfortable operation of servers. Each distribution is made for different tasks and different purposes - the choice, in general, is huge.
But in this video we will look at a distribution called Q4OS, which since 2013 has been trying to replicate the Windows in terms of its interface,...
...find out how it appeared, what it is and test this creation on a real computer. A kind of Windows, but on the Linux kernel
Well, let's get started.
This distribution is based on Debian.
The official website of Q4OS says that it is...
"fast and friendly, desktop oriented operating system based on Debian Linux. Providing a set of dedicated utilities and specific optimizations, combined with a focus on getting a productive system easily. This makes it ideal for people who want to get a working environment tailored to individual needs and preferences. From this perspective, Q4OS is suitable for both newcomers as well as experienced computer users."
And next lists the advantages and capabilities of this distribution.
At the time of this video, the latest version is 4.6, released on September 27, 2021, based on Debian 11, released in August 2021.
The distribution comes with two desktop environments: KDE Plasma and Trinity, which is a fork of KDE 3.
This distribution kit supports the ability to install other desktop shells.
The system requirements of this OS are small for our time: if you choose the version with Trinity, then it requires a 300 MHz CPU, 256 MB of RAM and 3 GB HDD.
But with KDE Plasma, everything is very serious here: a 1 GHz CPU, 1 GB of RAM and 5 GB HDD.
The distribution available for devices based on the x86, x64, ARM processor, a single-board computer Raspberry Pi, and it is also possible to install this system from under Windows.
Well, now you can write it down to a USB flash drive and start installing this on a real computer.
I will not say the characteristics of the computer for the hundredth time, they will simply be written in the corner of the screen.
The system installer here is pseudo-graphic, completely standard from the Debian distribution. This is understandable - Q4OS is based on Debian, which has already been said several times.
And after 40 minutes of installation, finally a reboot, but that's not all.
If you choose a system language other than English (in my case, I chose Russian), then before starting Desktop Profiler you will be prompted to download the language pack.
And later this same Desktop Profiler is launched. This utility offers the user ready-made profiles for installing a set of applications with one click.
There are three default profiles available: "Full featured Desktop", "The Basic Desktop", and "Keep installed operating system". If you choose the first option, then a huge number of programs are also installed with the desktop shell, the list of which you see on the screen.
This works well for beginners to me.
The second option contains only a minimal set of utilities and libraries for the system to work. And the third contains only the Trinity Environment installation, a minimal set of KDE programs, and nothing else.
You install everything you need yourself using the APT package manager and a application from Q4OS called Software Utility.
Personally, I chose the first option and it all took another hour.
After installation, it finally meets the desktop with the shortcuts of the installed programs.
Another reason why I like Linux is that almost all devices are ready and configured out of the box. Either I'm so lucky with the hardware, or it really tunes everything up, and that's great.
As I said, the desktop environment is Trinity, which is a fork of KDE 3.5.
And, perhaps, this is the only distribution where I have come across such a shell according to the standard. The shell itself is made in the style of Windows XP, and, in principle, KDE itself is made so that the Windows user on Linux is as comfortable as possible.
Even the so-called Konqueror Explorer is made in the style of old Windows. Konqueror acts not only as a conductor, but also as a standard Internet browser, a kind of local Internet Explorer.
This browser loads modern sites with varying success, alas. There is also Chromium, but it works very hard on a computer with 512 MB of RAM.
It also has its own control panel, in which the settings are sorted into categories. It is possible to radically change the style of the system using the Look Switcher program, several themes are already preinstalled there.
As mentioned earlier, the system has its own software installation utility called Software Utility.
When you open it, it simply opens a list with a certain number of necessary and often used by many users programs.
We will install the GParted disk editor as an example. We double-click on it, the program is downloaded and the installer of this program in the style of Windows XP opens in front of us. It's funny.
And the installation process itself, on my opinion, is based on the work of the APT package manager.
Also in this directory is Wine. Since this distribution parodies the Windows interface, then where can we go without it!
Along with Wine, in Q4OS comes with the PlayOnLinux program, which makes it easier to work with Wine and thus has its own catalog of Windows applications and games that can be run with different versions of Wine.
However, keep in mind that Wine is developed by the community and not all Windows programs can work through it, so you should not count on 100% compatibility.
Enthusiasts, for Q4OS have made a package that, in terms of design, turns into Windows XP as much as possible. And you know, it even looks good, rather a little funny.
Among the bugs, I noticed the complete inconvenience of switching keyboard layouts. However, this is corrected by manipulations in the console, but still this is Linux and the console is here as part of the work, since not everything here can be corrected using a beautiful UI.
Who wants to try it on their old computer or virtual machine - go to the official website of the project, download and test on your own, the link to it is in the description.
As a result, I can say that this is a very good attempt to make a Linux distribution based on the design principles of Windows.
And at the same time, it is quite responsive, fast and productive in work.
Personally, I would put this on some old PC or laptop.
In general, something like that...
And that's all, thank you all for watching! Subscribe to the channel if you don't want to miss new videos. Until next time!