Windows users have always worked hard to arrange for widgets for Windows which are like Mac systems. These widgets are very soothing to the eyes and kind of very trendy too. But I never stumbled on any kind of widget for Linux which helps Linux users enjoy that graphical interface which Windows and Mac users usually are used to.

Recently I got the chance to wet my hands on aDesklets, which lets you have weather forecasts, calendars, and even system monitors on your desktop exactly like Windows/Mac boasts of!

adesklets is an interactive Imlib2 console for the X Window System. It provides to scripted languages a clean and simple way to write great looking, mildly interactive desktop integrated graphic applets (aka “desklets”).

Download aDesklets

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The costly Windows Vista has an “open source” alternative for the Linux lovers. The Fedora-based Linux OS is very user friendly (even for the non-technical user) and extremely eye catchy considering it is a non Microsoft OS.

Vixta is:

• Absolutely free, in every sense.
• ABN - Absolutely No Configuration required.
• User-Friendly.
• Eye-catching.
• Familiar look and Feel.

It is truly the best product to spread Linux to the masses.

Check there website here.

[via makeuseof]

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As of me Ubuntu gets the edge. The CD cover design on the left is just one of the many variations that are centered on the same idea. Ubuntu has the courage to associate human faces to a software product. Faces repeating different versions and interpretations of the Ubuntu logo. “Ubuntu is an African word meaning ‘Humanity to others’, or ‘I am what I am because of who we all are’. The Ubuntu distribution brings the spirit of Ubuntu to the software world,” is the company’s official explanation for their distribution of the Linux operating system. I am a Windows man myself, and a Windows Vista hard-core user, but I simply fell in love with Ubuntu due to its ease of use.

When it comes down to the actual design of the box, Microsoft’s Windows Vista is hands down the winner. The unique box however has as main practical purpose the company’s need to differentiate genuine Windows Vista copies from pirated versions, sold as legitimate software. While the packaging is not impossible to counterfeit, Microsoft has come to the conclusion that bootleggers did not even try, and instead sold Vista as pirated. By comparison, the boxes for Ubuntu and Tiger are not spectacular. Not for their shape, but what about style? Vista gets second place in my list. It is obvious that Microsoft’s user experience team has done a great job with the design of the overall style of Windows Vista. It is Aero from one end to the other, and the boxes are clear illustrations.

Windows Vista’s packing’s suffer from impersonality; well, the Tiger box says nothing to me. The designers that have looked endlessly for the best CRT monitor, just to enjoy the largest gamut possible in Photoshop know what I am talking about. Tiger’s box is too simple and primitive for my taste, and in this sense it is just the antonym of Ubuntu’s design. Position 3 to Mac OS X.

Related:
Mac OS X vs Vista

Technorati Tags: design of vista ubuntu Mac OS X

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Grafpup 2.00 final was released yesterday around the world and it brings bleeding edge features such as:

• Linux kernel 2.6.20.2
• A revamped package management with dependency resolution
• The Gimp 2.3.14
• Cinepaint 0.22 with the cvs Ufraw plug-in
• A brand new control panel
• cdrkit replaces cdrtools
• Openbox replaces IceWM

I think the most exciting feature in this release, is the Openbox WM, which is a standards compliant, fast, light-weight, extensible window manager. Openbox works with your applications, and makes your desktop easier to manage. It is fully functional as a stand-alone working environment, or can be used as a drop-in replacement for the default window manager in the GNOME or KDE desktop environments.

The Grafpup team setup a very nice repository, with more than 1100 applications, from which you can install very easily other desktop environments like XFCE4 or KDE. This version of Grafpup comes in three editions: with Opera, with SeaMonkey and with Dillo web browsers.

Grafpup Linux is a desktop operating system which provides a complete and stable workflow for digital imaging professionals and graphic artists in a very compact package.

Grafpup Linux runs very well as a Live CD, but with persistent storage for your data, and a nice package management system to add on the software. When running the Live CD, you can also install extra packages that will remain after reboot.

Of course, Grafpup Linux can also be installed quite easily onto a USB thumbdrive or your hard disk, and it will run equally well. Grafpup Linux is based on the structure of Puppy Linux, which is an amazing distribution created from scratch by Barry Kauler. The total size of the Grafpup Linux Live CD is around 100 MB, and the whole operating system loads into RAM for amazing performance.

Download Grafpup Linux now from Softpedia.

[via softpedia news]

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40 millions of Windows Vista sold licenses later, Mac OS X and Linux bite the dust, and the latest Microsoft operating system is directly responsible. At the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) 2007 in Los Angeles in mid May 2007, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates revealed that in the first 100 days of availability the company had shipped approximately 40 million Vista licenses.

Must Read:
Mac OS X vs Vista. The Fight Goes On

With an impressive rate of adoption Windows Vista is right on track to “become the standard version of Windows” as Gates put it. Microsoft’s Chairman and Co-founder also took a swing at rivals by claiming that just in the first five weeks on the market Windows Vista has surpassed the installed base of all other alternative operating systems.

Recent data made available by Market Share by Net Applications comes to confirm Gates’ claims for Vista. According to the Market Share statistics, Vista now controls no less than 3.74% of the operating system market. In this context, Linux was the first road-kill produced by Vista in the very first month on the shelves. However, in May, Linux’s market share dropped to 0.70% from 0.80% in April 2007.

Market Share by Net Applications separated in its statistics Apple’s market share according to platform. In this regard, both MacIntel and MacOS have experienced minuscule growth from April to May. MacOS jumped from 3.89% to 3.95%, just 0.06%, and MacIntel managed an un-spectacular growth from 2.32% to 2.51%.

The superb market performance delivered by Windows Vista has already led to an adoption rate superior to both Mac OS X and Linux put together. Before Vista was launched to consumers at the end of January, there had been voices forecasting the fact that Microsoft was alienating users with the operating system and that Apple and Linux would rip the benefits. Nothing could be further from the truth judging by what Vista has showed so far.

[thanks softpedia for the great article]

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