Jack Wallen / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET
Over the past year, several Windows-like Linux distributions have been given the spotlight. A couple of those distributions were nothing more than malware in disguise, which has made me a bit squirrely about trying others, but to let a couple of bad apples spoil the entire bushel isn't fair, in my opinion. So when I came across yet another, I decided to give it a try.
That distribution is AnduinOS, which is a custom Ubuntu-based Linux distribution to help users transition from Windows to Linux. AnduinOS is open-source, uses GNOME to create a UI that's familiar and simple, collects no telemetry, is containerized via Flatpak, and is ready to use without complicated installations or configurations.
Also: When Windows 10 support runs out, you have 5 options but only 2 are worth considering
After spinning up an AnduinOS virtual machine (via VirtualBox), it was time to check out what this Linux distribution has to offer.
There are two versions you can download:
1.1 - based on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS with kernel 6.11 and support until April 2029
1.3 - based on Ubuntu 25.05 with kernel 6.14 and support until Jan 2026
I opted to go with version 1.3 because I wanted the newest of the new for my test.
Initial impressions
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