Microsoft has embraced Linux and open source software in recent years. The company acquired github, turned its Calculator app into an open source project, added an optional Linux terminal to Windows 10, and even developed its own Linux kernel.

But you know what the company’s probably not going to do? Release anew operating system called Windows 12 that’s based on Linux.

That hasn’t stopped some independent developers with lousy website design skills from doing just that though. Redditor hexsayeed spotted a GNU/Linux distribution called Windows 12 Lite at a computer fair recently.

Windows 12 Lite

The operating system appears to be a slightly modified version of the Ubuntu-based Linux Lite with an xfce desktop environment and a Windows 10 theme to make the OS look more familiar for folks migrating from Microsoft’s operating system.

While the folks behind the project pitch it as an alternative to Windows which is more secure, faster to boot, and able to run alongside Windows 10 on the same computer, those things are true of most Linux-based operating systems.

What’s different here are the potentially trademark/copyright-violating name, desktop wallpaper, and other elements which could give Windows 12 Lite a limited lifespan.

Also, the website is truly, hideously bad. Not only does it use 1990s-style web design, but if there’s a way to actually purchase this operating system, I can’t find it anywhere.

Meanwhile if you’re looking for a Linux-based operating system that looks just like Windows 10, may I suggest Kali Linux. It’s a free and open source distro that last year introduced a “Kali Undercover” mode that lets you change the look of the operating system so that folks who don’t look too closely could easily mistake it for Windows 10.

via Softpedia

 

Support Liliputing

Liliputing's primary sources of revenue are advertising and affiliate links (if you click the "Shop" button at the top of the page and buy something on Amazon, for example, we'll get a small commission).

But there are several ways you can support the site directly even if you're using an ad blocker* and hate online shopping.

Contribute to our Patreon campaign

or...

Contribute via PayPal

* If you are using an ad blocker like uBlock Origin and seeing a pop-up message at the bottom of the screen, we have a guide that may help you disable it.

Subscribe to Liliputing via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 9,547 other subscribers

12 replies on ““Windows 12 Lite” is not what you think (unless you’re thinking Linux-based Windows 10 knockoff)”

  1. If you are facing any hardware issue on your pc then change the BIOS setting. First, you have to turn off the window then again turn on and hold the F12 button to go to the BIOS settings and choose the boot option. To go up to the last clickerror 0x8007045d and follow the steps.

  2. The more Linux related news and commentary I read the more it becomes obvious that the biggest obstacle to linux becoming more mainstream is/are Linux users themselves.

    1. People don’t use GNU/Linux because they’re all about being mainstream. In fact quite a lot of them genuinely don’t want it to become mainstream. And with good reasoning, if a bit elitist in some respects. For as the GNU/Linux moves into the mainstream, the mainstream also moves into the GNU/Linux, and the mainstream is pretty terrible.

  3. Look people, if you want the look and feel of Windows, stick to Windows. It’s there for the simplicity, ease of use, and acts as a catch all for basic personal computing. Yes, it is virus friendly, but that is only because the majority of viruses are written for Windows (the overwhelming market share). If you do any research on cyber-security, you’ll find that the biggest vulnerability, be it (Windows, Linux, or Mac), is the end user. Yes, you; You are the problem.

    If you’re curious about Linux as a Windows replacement, start with a distribution like Ubuntu, Mint Cinnamon, or Elementary. You can actually get away with never seeing a command line in those distributions. Probably the most user friendly distributions I can think of at this time.

    To the Author:
    Your recommendation for a first Linux operating system is Kali? As a Windows replacement? Seriously?That distribution is specifically designed for ethical hacking. Why not just recommend Tails, Whonix, or Black Arch? They all fall in the same category. Please modify, I deal with plenty of script kitties as it is. Other than that, good article.

      1. Wow, I totally wrote kittie as opposed to kiddie. I feel so ashamed….as I should. I will now go and hang my head in shame. Or worse yet…..I might rejoin the Windows crowd. Sorry, went a little overboard there.

        # sudo yum install -y shame && hanghead
        #sudo systemctl start shame
        #sudo systemctl enable shame
        #sudo systemctl status shame
        Active: active (running) since Tue 2020-02-11 21:48:24 UTC; 1min ago
        Docs: none
        Main PID: 13657 (shame)

        #sudo systemctl start hanghead
        #sudo systemctl enable hanghead
        #sudo systemctl status hanghead
        Active: active (running) since Tue 2020-02-11 21:49:24 UTC; 1min ago
        Docs: none
        Main PID: 13658 (hanghead)

        #print ( ” 🙁 “)

  4. Pish.
    It has default xfce taskbar, I think the old school window list should be consigned to the past and it should be an iconised window list by default on xfce.

Comments are closed.