Make Your Ubuntu and Debian Look-like Windows 8 with a Single Click

There is no love between Linux and Windows users, but that doesn't stop Linux users to transform their operating system until it looks like the latest Windows 8. In fact, the WinAte theme is actually perfect for this task.

Getting a Linux OS to look like Windows is not a novelty. It's something done for many years, probably before the launch of Windows XP. Themes and tools that can do this very simple transformation have been round for a long time, although they seem to have diminished in number in the past few years. The WinAte - Windows 7/8 Theme pack is actually one of the few left that still provide an adequate solution, although it's not quite as easy to install as it used to. The developer does provide a script to install it, but it also come with some interesting requirements. “My goal is to provide an easy way to migrate from Windows 7/8 to GNU/Linux, without having a high end pc. Everything is done using the less resource-intensive software available, always trying to keep as much functionality as possible. It is meant to be used in LXDE/Openbox, so don't expect to have neither rounded corners nor exactly the same look and feel as in Windows. That's not even a secondary goal.”

“With this brand-new WinAte - Windows 7/8 Transformation Pack for LXDE - you will be able to get all the icons and overall appearance of Windows to your GNU/Linux box, without spending lots of resources nor having to adapt old Gnome 2 themes,” said the designer, Nicolás Hermosilla. It's very important to know that this pack has been optimized for Debian 8 (Jessie) and it could work with older versions. It's also compatible with Ubuntu, but only if the users get LXDE and the Compton PPA. In order to get the all the pieces in place you will need to have the following dependencies met: LXPanel, LXSession (>= 0.4.9, icons, gtk theme and cursor), PCManFM (wallpaper), Compton, Openbox, and SLiM (for login screen).

Installing the theme shouldn't pose any problems, not even to regular users that haven’t done this before. As a caveat though, users have to know that it this pack will not work with Lubuntu and the developer has no intention to make it work. More details about this release can be found on the gnome.org website and you can download the archive from the same place.

WinAte-master-Win7-Win8 Theme
Image credits to gnome.org

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