Gee, kiddies. Doesn't this part sound like fun?

https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/7-things-you-should-know-before-switching-to-linux/

Options to Customize Interface

Although Graphical User Interface (GUI) is not a core component of
Linux, you can still customize your desktop accordingly. Linux offers
multiple desktop environments like GNOME 3, Unity, KDE, XFE.
Therefore, a variety of options are available to customize the user
interface. If you want to go for more than one desktop environment,
then don�t worry. Linux distros have compatibility to install one or
more environments at the same time. Linux also has almost a similar
type of graphical interface, including file manager and application
menus like Windows. However, if you want a Windows-like interface, you
can use Windows-like distributions like Kubuntu, Linux Mint, Solus,
etc.

On 10/15/2022 1:16 PM, Nomen Nescio wrote:
> Gee, kiddies. Doesn't this part sound like fun?
>
> https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/7-things-you-should-know-before-switching-to-linux/
>
> Options to Customize Interface
>
> Although Graphical User Interface (GUI) is not a core component of
> Linux, you can still customize your desktop accordingly. Linux offers
> multiple desktop environments like GNOME 3, Unity, KDE, XFE.
> Therefore, a variety of options are available to customize the user
> interface. If you want to go for more than one desktop environment,
> then don’t worry. Linux distros have compatibility to install one or
> more environments at the same time. Linux also has almost a similar
> type of graphical interface, including file manager and application
> menus like Windows. However, if you want a Windows-like interface, you
> can use Windows-like distributions like Kubuntu, Linux Mint, Solus,
> etc.

There is a specific circumstance, where this is true.

If you install Ubuntu Server (something done in a locked building
and people rent space there), the base installation has no GUI.
You work within a Terminal interface, 24x80 style text.

To change the server to a desktop, you would do

sudo apt install ubuntu-desktop

That may trigger around 1GB of downloads, as it is a meta-package
(a package that calls other packages to be installed all at once).

Once that is done, on the next reboot, you will see a graphical
login prompt, Firefox and Thunderbird and that sort of stuff,
are waiting for you.

Most consumer SKU distros, automatically install the GUI,
so not even that command is necessary. Both the LiveDVD
for evaluation, as well as the installed OS, have a GUI just
like Windows.

Distros where you "compile from source", these were invented
to hone the skills of IT maintenance people. If you cannot
manage to get Gentoo running, then you might not be worth
hiring as a "trained" Linux maintainer.

But for the "granny test case", there are distros that
do everything you would expect of Windows, at least in
the "first blush" department. Are there detailed differences
between Ubuntu and Windows ? Yup. But a lot of the operating
principles are quite similar. Both use Remote Procedure Call
for example. Both have pre-emptive multitasking. Both have
a kernel. both have Ring 0 and Ring 3. Both have networking
stacks for TCP/IP. Both have TAP and TUN. Both have VPNs
from third parties (and otherwise).

*******

This is the Bash shell on Windows 11.

It does not have Ubuntu-Desktop installed. Instead,
you can type Firefox into the Powershell terminal and
Linux Firefox appears.

The picture here, shows Synaptic Package Manager loaded,
and in there, you can see Ubuntu-Desktop is not installed.
Bash shell runs rootless, and so a Ubuntu-Desktop (a
rectangular region) would not be consistent with a rootless
policy.

[Picture]

https://i.postimg.cc/wxkBYCq8/bash-shell.gif

Even WinXP Mode in Windows 7 Pro, supported rootless action,
but in that case, the Host program files menu had a program
listing of the programs in the WinXP Guest, for launch.
This meant you could launch a WinXP version of Notepad, and
even though Notepad was inside a MSFT VirtualPC virtual machine,
it still had access to all the drive letters on the host.
If you had crusty old programs that only ran in WinXP,
you could continue to use them.

Paul