2026-09-03 16:35 UTC
Replies (13)
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@schnurrito@discuss.tchncs.de 2026-09-03 16:45
??????
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@LeapSecond@lemmy.zip 2026-09-03 16:59
Isn’t this more of a DE thing? Like Mac -> Gnome, Windows -> KDE, Linux -> ??? (XFCE maybe?)
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@Azazel@lemmy.ml 2026-09-03 17:08
This is a question about desktop environments not distros. Many distros ship a default desktop environment but you can always change it. Among the desktop environments it’s typically said: Gnome ~ Mac KDE ~ Windows As for a Linux flavored one I think the most distinctly linux desktops are the tiling and scrolling compositors (hyprland, niri etc)
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@undrwater@lemmy.world 2026-09-03 18:09
The problem with visual similarities is that eventually the user will have to interface with, at least; the file system, download and install protocol, and deeper hardware tools (drivers, etc). It’s one thing to do it for nostalgia, or “because it’s there”, quite another because you’re looking for a familiar interface. If it’s the latter; I recommend buckling down, allowing yourself to become a noob again, and get familiar with the new thing. It’s not harder, it’s just different. If it’s the former; KDE seems to provide the greatest flexibility in changing how the environment looks.
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@OhmeHose@feddit.org 2026-09-03 18:51
You can also make gnome look like windows or kde look like Mac OSX. There really isn’t a limit to customization for Linux. F.e. I use kde but have it look like/close to osx, because I prefer how kde manages multiple displays. I do like gnome, but I cannot stand it’s stubbornes (or maybe my stubbornes?) with multi screen setups. There’s many ways and you can choose the one you like most, that’s the beauty of Linux :).
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@SolarPunker@slrpnk.net 2026-09-03 18:59
I understand your aesthetically question who take care of the history of user interface design: many DE you’ll find on Linux are inspired by Windows and Mac OSs, and so typically Gnome is more near to mac while KDE to windows; keep in mind both are completely customizable. There are also other original Linux interfaces who brings something more exotic (old Ubuntu Unity or window managers like i3-wm) but most of these are used by few since UI’s comfort tend to unify everything.
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@vortexal@lemmy.ml 2026-09-03 19:28
I know you’ve already been told, but it really depends on how the DE is currently configured. Linux Mint, regardless of version, normally looks like Windows but you can make it look like MacOS by, for example, installing Gnome and not customizing it. Obviously, if you’re not looking to manually customize the look of the DE that the distro uses, then the way your installation will look is based on the distro or version of the distro you use. I haven’t used that many distros but I know that, by default, Linux Mint and Q4OS look like Windows while Ubuntu is very close to MacOS.
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@FauxLiving@lemmy.world 2026-09-03 23:15
OP, a term you may find useful is ricing. This is the sub-community of Linux users who focus on customizing their desktops. You can look at the unixporn subreddit to see examples of how much a DE can be customized. Ex: This is KDE Plasma This is also KDE Plasma This is also a, very customized, KDE Plasma (video)www.reddit.com/r/…/kde_my_2nd_ever_linux_rice/ Another is dotfiles or dots, ricers will sometimes make their .config files available for other users. (Be careful here, this can include hidden malicious scripts and such uglies. Use your best judgement).
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@ATS1312@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2026-09-04 05:34
Thanks for editing to make that new understanding clear. Take my upvote for it.
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@eugenia@lemmy.ml 2026-09-04 06:03
KDE and XFce DEs are the most customizable to look like MacOS (nothing to do with distros, you can use any distro and then use these DEs to make them look like MacOS). Here’s my XFce: mastodon.social/@eugenialoli/114653608461737248
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@yxc999@lemmy.ml 2026-09-04 06:41
I will never get why Mint is regarded as looking similar to Windows, I guess it just became a thing for people to parrot when it looks nothing like it. Any vanilla KDE Plasma install looks instantly more recognizable to a Windows user.
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@oopsgodisdeadmybad@lemmy.zip 2026-09-04 17:06
I was just having a discussion about theming in a different chat where a friend of mine was reminiscing about the win95/98 look and getting xfce to look like it. I get it and appreciate the nostalgia, but I’m my opinion, I feel the same way I do about when I lost religion. I do have nostalgia for the period when I was learning computers in the beginning, but I don’t want my current computer to resemble Windows at all, much like I don’t decorate my place with crucifixes or pictures of white Jesus. My hatred of the “before times” is much stronger than a theme preference, but I treat the two visual preferences similarly. I hate apple just as much as I hate windows, but I do like having the stoplight colored buttons for close/maximize/minimize. But nothing else is precious OS-flavored.
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@BartyDeCanter@piefed.social 2026-09-04 20:22
Hi! I’ve been seeing you questions here and I think some basic terminology and background will help you out. I’m going to try and avoid too much “whell acktully”, but there will probably be some. A kernel is the core of any operating system, it usually provides basic hardware support for programs to use, and in the case of Linux, hardware drivers, filesystems, low level networking protocols and other very close to the hardware support. But a kernel can’t really do anything by itself, so we run programs on top of it. Some of these are also very low level and most people don’t deal with them or know they are there, while others are things like web browsers, video games, and whatever else you directly use every day. For Linux, there are often multiple programs that provide the same or similar functionality, with different features and tradeoffs. With Windows or Mac, there is often only one version of the low level programs that they provide and you never know is there. Because of all the options, different groups have put together different sets of these programs together, along with configuration files, and installer programs. These are called distros, short for distributions. Different distros make different choices for at least as many reasons as there are distros. Also in Linux, a program plus whatever files it needs are often called packages. Since even a small distro may contain thousands of packages, management of them is very important. Most distros have a package manager program to help deal with that and the package manager is how you will install most packages, though as always there are other options. A package manager is similar in some way to an app store from Mac or windows, only not shitty. Some distros make a lot of package choices for you, others make you make basically every choice. Most are somewhere in between. So-called beginner distros are usually ones that have made all the choices for you, and aimed those choices at being easy to use for people that have only experienced Windows or Mac. A desktop environment is an integrated graphical interface that has a bunch of programs that all work together and have a similar look and feel. You may also hear about a window manager, which is like a very minimal desktop environment that doesn’t come with a lot of features by itself. Different distros provide different desktop environments by default, or maybe none at all! Some make it very easy to switch from one to another, but some don’t. Most DEs try to look like either Windows or Mac in order to feel friendlier to new users. Window managers generally don’t, as they are assumed to by used by people with a lot of experience who want something very specific and will take the time to make it happen. Some common DEs and what they sorta look like are: Gnome - Looks a lot like Mac, not particularly customizable, good keyboard only support KDE - Looks a lot like windows by default, but quite customizable. Cinnamon - Also looks like Windows, but forked off of an old version on Gnome a long time ago LXDE - Also looks like windows by default, often used on very low end hardware Cosmic - Looks like Mac but very customizable And here are some common distros and their default DEs Fedora - KDE Mint - Cinnamon Debian - Offers a choice, but defaults to Gnome Ubuntu - A custom version of Gnome, but also comes in a KDE and LXDE version PopOS - Cosmic I hope this helps!