Wean yourself off of Windows with Linuxfx — I've tried many Linux distros designed to look and feel like Windows, and this is the best one yet

The hunt for Linux-based alternatives is ongoing, and I've tried quite a few. One of my latest tests involves Linuxfx Winux (abbreviated to Linuxfx for brevity), which is based on the latest Ubuntu LTS. Linuxfx closely resembles the Windows 11 user interface, and for good reason; this is a distro for those who want the Windows experience as they move from Windows 10 or 11 to the world of Linux.

As many of us already know, Windows 10 will go End-of-Life on October 14, 2025, and yes, you can purchase a support package to keep your Windows 10 install going. But if you don’t pony up the cash, then you don’t get the support. Updates will end, and your once precious OS will soon fall foul of nefarious users. So your options are to pay up, switch to Windows 11, or perhaps give Linux a try. After all, many of us spend 90% of our working day in a browser, so the underlying OS doesn’t really matter.

I took the latest version of Linuxfx (11.25.07.1 LTS) for a spin on both real and virtual hardware, and here is what I experienced.

What is Linuxfx based on?

The core OS is based on Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS, released in 2024. This release of Ubuntu has Long Term Support (LTS) until April 2029 and legacy support until 2036. It comes with Linux Kernel 6.14 and KDE Plasma 5.27, but you won't see much of it, as the Windows 11 theme is quite convincing.

Who is Linuxfx for?

Linuxfx is aimed squarely at those who want to move from Windows to Linux, but they’re worried about the massive change that comes with swapping operating systems. With Linuxfx, there isn’t a need to “relearn” how to use an operating system. Linuxfx looks and behaves like Windows.

When I moved from Windows to Linux (back in the late 90s/ early 2000s), the change was chasmic. The user interface was a little different, and I was used to downloading .exe files, not installing software from a central repository. I was also confused about what KDE and GNOME meant. It took a while, but I got there. It seems that over the years, other people have hit these challenges, and their experiences have become lessons that have been learned and applied to modern distributions.

The other potential users for Linuxfx are those who just want a lightweight Linux distribution for their older hardware. As someone who still cherishes his Lenovo X220, a lightweight Linux distro is always a welcome sight. The hardware requirements are low. All you really need is a dual-core CPU, a minimum of 2GB RAM, and 20GB of storage. The ISO image can be used on real hardware and in a virtual machine. I tried both. My virtual machine was configured via VirtualBox, and I gave it 8GB of RAM. It worked well, but it felt better on real hardware.

How will I test Linuxfx?

I’m going to use the exact same criteria as my alternative Linux for Windows users live blog.

The criteria being

• Ease of installation
  • Creating the USB stick.
  • Installation process.
• Hardware compatibility
  • Does Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Webcam, and Sound work?
• Ease of use
  • I don’t want to use the terminal; everything has to be in a GUI.
• Can I install these applications?
  • Google Chrome.
  • Slack.
  • GIMP.
  • Inkscape.

Installing Linuxfx

The USB flash drive, easily created in Rufus, booted my Lenovo X390 with 8GB of LPDDR4 and a Core i5 CPU. I started testing my hardware using the Live USB before committing to an install. Everything worked, so I started the installation.

The installation process was extremely simple, probably one of the simplest installs that I have ever done. Everything flowed; nothing tripped me up. In fact, the installation process reminded me of Corel Linux, albeit with a much more modern interface.

A quick reboot and I was in Windows 11, I mean Linuxfx. It even has the Windows 11 splash screen when the system is booting!

Hardware Support

Because it is based on Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS, Linuxfx has excellent hardware support. Everything just worked. Bluetooth file transfers, webcam, sound, Wi-Fi all just worked with no hassle.

Windows 11 Doppelgänger?

Yes, it does look just like Windows. I shared a screenshot with my colleagues in our team's Slack channel, and many said that it looks just like Windows 11. You could drop this into an office, coffee shop, or school, and everyone would think you were using Windows 11. The menu, notifications, weather details, and even the login screen are identical to Windows 11. Seriously, they are. Even the look and feel of the main menu will make diehard Windows fans happy.

Linuxfx even displays the UAC dialog when we attempt to perform actions that only an administrator or someone with that level of access should be able to do.

If you miss the Windows 10 user interface, Linuxfx has the option to switch via the Customization menu. For Windows 10 and 11, we have light, dark, and twilight themes. But it is the Redsand themes that offer a familiar Windows feel, but with a little more color and some rather lovely icons.

To the bottom left, just next to the weather app, are widgets. These are KDE mini-apps that reside on your desktop and provide useful features such as clocks, disk status, battery status, and many other handy tools. I’m not a huge fan of them, but I have used them in the past, and there is a selection that I would consider to be useful.

The most useful widget for me is the System Monitor Sensor widget. Here, I can configure the widget to display the current CPU temperature, speed, and other relevant information. This is handy for benchmarking and for keeping an eye on your system as a whole.

While we have a Windows 11 / 10 doppelgänger, underneath it all, there is a competent Ubuntu Linux distribution using the well-established KDE desktop environment.

Android Integration

Not only do we get a Linux distro pretending to be Windows, but we also get an Android virtual machine, which we can use with Android apps. I like the Powertools Android integration addition, but it was rather flaky on my test system. Even opening Google Chrome took an age, and then it crashed.

Rather than use Waydroid (like Bazzite and AnduinOS), Linuxfx uses QEMU to run an emulated system on your host machine. QEMU is a great choice, but the steps to get things working can be a bit confusing. When you get things working, Android is an interesting addition, but I’m still not sure how others will use it.

App Selection

In the app menu, there are entries for Microsoft Office 365. Clicking on any of these, I chose Excel, will open the Microsoft Edge browser to the chosen application. A pretty neat solution for those tied to Microsoft Office. If you prefer LibreOffice, fear not, as the LibreOffice suite is also included.

Software can be installed via the Discover software center, similar to the Microsoft Store, but the apps are more Linux-centric. The Discover software center is very easy to use, and newcomers will have no trouble installing applications. Software can also be installed via Flatpak or Ubuntu’s Snap software sources. I installed my test applications, GIMP, Inkscape, Google Chrome, and Slack, all without needing the terminal.

If you really want or need to install a Windows application, then you can use exe and msi files with Linuxfx, but don’t expect stellar performance. I installed GIMP using the Windows installer, but the app never opened. No errors occurred; it just launched the splash screen, checked all its requirements, but never opened. I’d consider using exe and msi files as a last resort. If the application that you need to install doesn’t have a Linux version, then you have no choice. But your mileage may vary.

If you want to use AI, then fear not, as Microsoft Copilot is also present. The icon is in the bottom right corner of the screen, and clicking on it will open a browser window to the Copilot page. From there, we can type or ask a question to Microsoft’s AI. It worked as expected, but AI is still not for me.

Can I play games?

Linux gaming has come on leaps and bounds thanks to the Wine and Proton communities, along with a large amount of support from Valve’s Steam Deck. There are now many games that can run natively on Linux, but for those that can’t the aforementioned Wine and Proton will do all the heavy lifting.

Installed as standard on Linuxfx, there is Steam and Heroic Game Launcher, which are the same launchers as I used in my recent Bazzite Linux gaming PC project. Set up your Steam, Epic, GoG, and Amazon gaming accounts, and then select a game. The launcher will do the work and in a short while you will have your game ready to play.

I wasn’t able to fully test a game on this test hardware, it is far too old (six years) to play many games from my Steam library. I know this because I tried to play Hades on the same laptop using AnduinOS, and the results were awful. If you’ve got a gaming rig, then you will have the spec to game. That said, while Linuxfx does offer the tools with which to play your game, personally I would plump for Bazzite as it has a much better selection of gamer-centric features. Linuxfx is more of a desktop OS for getting work done than a gaming OS.

There's a pro version?

I’m using the free version of Linuxfx, but for a $35 donation there is a pro version which offers a few more features.

I didn’t appreciate the pop-up notification or the full-screen browser window that asked me to purchase a serial key. Ok, this is a lifetime key, so $35 isn’t a bad price, but the confusion between purchase and donation leaves a sour taste.

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In all honesty, the free version is more than enough for most users. It fulfilled every test that I threw at it, and never left me wanting to spend money. Unless you really need the extra features or want to donate to the project, keep that $35 in your wallet.

Bottom Line

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Linuxfx isn’t alone in trying to put users at ease. I’ve recently tried out Bazzite, ZorinOS, and AnduinOS, all of which offer an easier introduction to Linux. From a purely aesthetic point of view, Linuxfx wins. For the best of both worlds, AnduinOS would be a good choice. If you crave speed and performance, with a little Windows familiarity, go for ZorinOS.

Linuxfx looks just like Windows, and for many, this will be their entry into the world of Linux. It is simple to install, and mimicking the Windows workflow means that users will not get confused or lost as they learn. Underneath it all, there's a solid Ubuntu base, and that means access to a myriad of apps and support. Linux purists may not like the merging of Windows with Linux, but we all have to start somewhere. If Linuxfx helps users make the switch, I am all for it.