To make your karmic koala look like  lucid lynx is easy. Here are the links to debian files you need to download to make it work ,desktop  items and icons . Download the files and double click on it to install it.Then, to select the themes, select System> Preferences> Appearance and in the flap Subject, For Ambiance or Radiance . Choose your theme and have fun. If you need to try something different take a look at how to make your ubuntu linux look like mac os .

Ok, I am a linux guy and most of you will be thinking that why I am writing this . Let me say , even though many people are agreeing with the statement Ubuntu is always better than Windows , there are a lot of people how think that Ubuntu has too few applications available for use . Ubuntu would be more secure , most faster and more stable , but is it up to par with Windows in doing things , like can we use photoshop cs 4 in linux , or can we play assassins creed 2 in Ubuntu . I am not promising you that you could , but I assure you that you can make your ubuntu linux much more better in doing things . Let me show a handful of essential applications for your linux machine which would transform your ubuntu to a real star performer , doing almost everything you can do in windows . Ok , here is it :

1. WineHQ – If you were a  windows user , you might sometimes need to carry your favourite app to ubuntu. WineHQ is good at running such windows stuff . If you need to know if your favourite app runs on linux you can check this here . To download wine, check out this link .

2. VirtualBox – Most of you might be familiar with VirtualBox , from Sun Microsystems , a nice virtualization software which is available for free . There are many commercial virtualization softwares like vmware , which is much more powerful than virtualbox . To see a list of virtualization softwares have a look at this .

3.Scribus – Scribus is an opensource desktop publishing tool available for free . Scribus offers a modern and easy to use interface .and even supports advanced and professional features like CMYK color, separations, Spot Colors, ICC color management and  PDF creation.What to say more, visit its official website .

4.Gimp – Available by default in your Ubuntu machine . If you are interested in photo-editing  gimp would be a good start .Read more about gimp and how to use gimp .

5.Blender – Blender is an opensource 3-d content creation suite available for free . Blender is as effective as other commercial software like maya , 3-d max etc , without taking you in to complex processes. Blender is definitely worth a look , you can even watch  how powerful is blender viewing the blender, gallery page .

6. Other crazy stuff like vlc player ,firefox, evolution ,pidgin , openoffice , k3b disc burner , songbird , x-chat etc are definitely worth a look . Here are a few tutorials and reviews on getting in touch with various nice free software programs , take a look at them .

7.If you are interested in making your linux an eye-candy , then opt for compiz .Compiz offers a stylish look without sacrificing too much system resources . Oh ! , I know you need to make your linux appear similar to mac os , here it is it mac4lin .

Windows is never equivalent to Linux as both are distinct operating systems . I , here present my personal opinion .

Many people around the world are always fascinated by the way a mac looks . Mactintosh is really an exception from the other competitor like microsoft windows . For those who really need to change the appearance of their Linux to that of Mac , there is a perfect solution for you ,Mac4Lin . Mac4Lin  make your linux look mac , so that you can even fool your friends , with it .Here you can download Mac4Lin .

Here are some screenshots of your linux converted to mac os .

FTP software is a necessory tool for everyone who connects to a server to exchange files .Some servers may provide services for uploading files but it is not par with a software dedicated for file transfer.According my experience the best FTP software is Filezilla .This is an opensource software with GNU licence which makes it really trustworthy .It is also free from all sorts of copyright issues which may be bundled with others.

FileZilla Client is a fast and reliable cross-platform FTP, FTPS and SFTP client with a clean and easy to navigate GNU interface.Some of its features are listed here.

*  Easy to use ,even a beginner can understand how to use it
* It supports FTP, FTP over SSL/TLS (FTPS) and SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) which is great
* This is a Cross-platform software and  Runs on Windows, Linux, *BSD, Mac OS X and more.
* IPv6 support is available and comes to changing internet.
* Available in many languages around the world
* Supports resume and transfer of large files >4GB which is really good
* Powerful Site Manager and transfer queue
*  Supports Bookmarks
* Drag & drop support making easier to work with
* Configurable transfer speed limits and thus suits every connnection
* Filename filters are available
* Directory comparison for checking duplicate files
* Network configuration wizard for easy setup
* Comes with Remote file editing
* Keep-alive
* HTTP/1.1, SOCKS5 and FTP-Proxy support
* Logging to file enabled
* Synchronized directory browsing
* Remote file search for better search
The following are screenshots of filezilla over different platforms .
1.windows
2.linux
3.mac

Cairo-Dock is an  application launch bar for your ubuntu, comparable to the dock in Mac OS X or Rocket Dock (for Windows).it is compatible with Beryl, Compiz, Metacity+xcompmgr and kwin.Even though there are applications like Simdock  and AWN in ubuntu for dock stimulation ,I think this one faster and eye candy.Cairo-Dock can work with  GNOME, KDE and XFCE desktop environments.

Installation

From Repository( for ubuntu 8.04 to 9.10 only )

1.Open the sources.list file to add your Cairo-dock repository

gksudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

2.Add the appropriate repository to the end of the file according to your version of Ubuntu

deb http://repository.cairo-dock.org/ubuntu karmic cairo-dock // For Ubuntu 9.10

deb http://repository.cairo-dock.org/ubuntu jaunty cairo-dock // For Ubuntu 9.04

deb http://repository.cairo-dock.org/ubuntu intrepid cairo-dock // For Ubuntu 8.10

deb http://repository.cairo-dock.org/ubuntu hardy cairo-dock // For ubuntu 8.04

3.Type in

wget -q http://repository.cairo-dock.org/cairo-dock.gpg -O- | sudo apt-key add -

4.Finally to install cairo-dock give this command in Terminal

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install cairo-dock cairo-dock-plug-ins

You are done.Enjoy the dock customising it further.

keywords linux dock cairo dock gnome ubuntu 9.10 compiz beryl kwin

Have you ever dreamed to end the trouble of licensing and copyright of Microsoft Windows ,but also not willing to stop using it, as you were using it for years and you may be missing your favourite applications if you shifted to any other OS  like Mac OS or linux.Then there is a good news for you,ReactOS.ReactOS  is an OS developed on windows NT platform completely written from scratch.It is not related to linux but it is a free software licensed under GNU GPL license. which takes you out of all the bottle necks of copyright.

It can work the same way as your Windows XP or Windows 7 or whatever.Fully loaded ,it supports all windows softwares and drivers.It is also having appearance similar to windows operating systems as people are accustomed to using it.ReactOS project reimplements a state-of-the-art and open NT alike operating system based on the NT architecture-design.It includes the strength and power of NT kernel.Considering the case of security it doesn’t share the common security flaws unlike others.ReactOS  incorporates various design decisions from other operating systems like Unix,MacOS etc.

One of the powerful features of reactOS is that it is a lightweight os that can be run in computers with low performance.It is sure to overtake other bloated os in several ways.Considering portability it is just about 35MB in size as an .iso file.

System Requirements

* x86-compatible processor, Pentium or later
* 24 MB  or above, RAM
* FAT16/FAT32 Boot partition
* Standard keyboard and PS/2 compatible  mouse.
* 2 MB VGA graphics adapter
* IDE hard drive of at least 150 MB in size,it even supports SATA harddisks.

Note:Alpha version of ReactOS 0.3.10 is available and not recommended for daily use.For more details visit official site at : http://www.reactos.org.

Screenshots of ReactOS

top 7 linux distributions

SCREENSHOT

Microsoft proves that seven is indeed a lucky and magical number. It would be too, for a company which decided to skip a version 13 for their Office suite to avoid bad luck.

Despite the criticism and negative publicity, Windows Vista was a significant Windows release, and a step forward in the evolution of the Windows operating system.Windows 7 is a marked improvement over Vista all around, and its new features and improvemnts make it a strong competitor for Windows XP as well.

Ironically, Windows 7, isn’t even Windows 7.0! It runs a slightly improved kernel of Windows Vista with a version number of 6.1 much like Windows XP ran an improved Windows 2000 kernel with a version of 5.1 (Windows 2000 was 5.0). However as Microsoft has painfully pointed out on several occasions, this makes Windows 7 no less significant.

Windows 7 will support both 32-bit and 64-bit systems. The bare minimum requirements for the 32-bit include a 1GHz processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB available hard-disk space, and a DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver. 64-bit systems will require at least a 1 GHz processor, 2GB RAM, 20GB of free space on your hard drive, and a DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver. A touch-screen monitor is required to take advantage of the native touch features. Do note that some users have claimed to have limited success running the Windows 7 beta with less than 1GB of RAM, but that’s not recommended.

What’s Good
Windows 7 is the biggest step forward in usability since Windows 95. In fact, over half of what makes it better than Vista boils down to user interface improvements and enhancements, not so much actual new features.

Its fancy new user interface—the heart of which is Aero Peek, making every open window transparent except the one you’re focusing on at the moment so you can find what you’re looking for—actually changes the way you use Windows. It breaks the instinct to maximize windows as you’re using them; instead, you simply let windows hang out, since it’s much easier to juggle them. In other words, it radically reorients the UI around multitasking. After six months of using Aero Peek and the new launcher taskbar, going back to Vista’s taskbar, digging through collapsed app bars, or even its Peek-less Alt+Tab feels barbaric and primitive. I wouldn’t mind an Mac OS Exposé ripoff to complete the multitasking triumph, though.

Windows 7 brings back a sense of a tightness and control that was sometimes missing in Vista—there’s a techincal reason for this relating in part to the way graphics are handled—moments where I’ve felt like I wasn’t in control of my PC have been few and far between, even during the beta and release candidate periods. The more chaste User Account Control goes to that—the frequency with which it interrupts you was grating in Vista, like standing under a dripping faucet. But it actually works as Microsoft intended now, with more security, since you’re less likely to repeatedly hammer “OK” to anything that pops up, just so it leaves you the hell alone.

Other super welcome improvements are faster, more logical search—in the Music folder for instance, you can narrow by artist, genre or album—and more excellent file previews, though they’re not quite as awesome as what OS X offers up. (And why aren’t they on by default?) There are lots of little things that make you say, “finally” or “that’s great,” like legit codec support baked in to Windows Media Player, Device Stage when you plug in your gadgets, or the retardiculously awesome background images.

In short, Windows 7 is what Windows should feel like in 2009.