LS Cotton For Linux

LS Cotton is a free, open source, modern, secure, flexible and up-to-date desktop-oriented operating system derived from the well-known Xubuntu Linux distribution, but themed with an Windows 8 layout.

The LS Cotton Linux distribution is available for download for free on Softpedia, distributed as a single, hybrid Live DVD ISO image that has approximately 2.5 GB in size and supports only 64-bit (x86_64) hardware platforms. The user can write the ISO image onto a DVD disc or a USB thumb drive of 4GB or higher capacity in order to boot the operating system.

When booting the ISO image from the BIOS of a computer, the user will encounter the Live DVD boot menu, which includes a single option, entitled “Boot Windows 8 Recovery,” designed to start the live system with normal configuration. Unfortunately, users will be dropped to a shell prompt, where they must type the “startx” command (without quotes) to start the graphical session.

Windows 8 aficionados who don’t have the cash to buy an Windows 8 license and love the Linux platform, will now be able to combine both, thanks to LS Cotton, which offers a Windows 8 desktop layout on top of a stable and reliable Xubuntu base.

A wide range of open-source applications are pre-installed in the LS Cotton Linux distribution. Among some of the most important ones, we can mention the Mozilla Thunderbird email and news client, TeamViewer remote access/control tool, PlayOnLinux Wine front-end, BleachBit system cleaner, Pidgin multi-protocol instant messenger and digiKam image viewer/organizer.

The GIMP image editor, Inkscape vector graphics editor, Mozilla Firefox web browser, Transmission torrent downloader, XChat IRC client, Parole Media Player, Xfburn CD/DVD burning software, AbiWord word processor, Gnumeric spreadsheet editor, and Wine applications are also installed.