Best Newbie distro that is similar to Windows 7 in look and feel
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I wish I could find something with the look and feel of DOS 6.22.
Do I detect just a teeny hint of sarcasm? Actually, some years ago (!) I developed a suite of database and accounting programs using QuickBasic that ran on DOS for years in a very busy business. Never a hint of a virus or bug!
Best Newbie distro that is similar to Windows 7 in look and feel
I would suggest you try out a few of the available live cd systems distributed. Go to distrowatch.com and look for yourself. Having us guess and provide suggestions that will send you in the wrong direction is counterproductive for anyone reading this thread. Your requirements are a bit confusing anyway. Visual Basic 6 is a Microsoft product and isn't meant for Linux. Sure it might run in wine, who knows? Why bother when most Linux distributions come installed with Perl, Python, and Ruby. Not to mention C, C++, and Java.
I have been Windows free on my own systems for roughly 5 years now. The only thing I miss is Direct X for the newer Windows developed video games. Everything else I used to use in Windows has a Linux equivalent.
A "look and feel" like Windows depends much more on the desktop environment ("DE") than it does on the distro. You can make Linux look like Windows, but you cannot make it, at the nuts and bolts level (by which I mean configuration, file system, etc.), act like Windows.
I second mralk3's suggestion to try some distros in Live Mode; then you can pick one that feels most comfortable to you, but don't expect it to act like Windows once you burrow beneath the DE. Once you pick one, whether you install it to bare metal or use it in a VM, stick with it for a while until you have a feel for how it works before you succumb to the temptation to "distro-hop."
I've been musing about this issue for the past few days, independent of your post, and I've come to think that the notion that having a GUI that looks like Windows is a red herring. GUIs have menus and you start programs from menus; once the program is started, the "look and feel like Windows" issue becomes moot.
As for desktop environments, KDE, MATE, and Cinnamon are probably most Windows-like in how their menus are arranged; XFCE has both a "click-here" menu and a right-click menu (and an annoying "dock" that I always make go away). Gnome 3 and Unity are probably least-Windows like.
I usually recommend following distros for new users: OpenSUSE and Mageia (I've come to quite like Mageia), which both default to the KDE desktop environment, or Mint with MATE, as I prefer MATE over Cinnamon. Me, I started with Slackware and I'm glad I did; 11 years later Slack is still my go-to distro.
There is nothing quite like Windows's kludgey Control Panel in Linux distros (praise Bob!), but Mageia's Control Center and OpenSUSE's YAST ("Yet Another Software Tool") might be considered analogous, except that they are done right. (A number of DEs provide their own setting managers or control centers, but Mageia's Control Center and OpenSUSE's YAST are designed to control the OS, not just control the DE.)
Embrace the fact that, even though you can make it look like Windows, Linux is not Windows. Expect it to be different and be ready to learn, and you will do very nicely.
This one is right over my head. What's it all about? BTW, Mint seemed to be the preference.... or have I opened a can of worms?
That was from the poster's Signature section (check back - the line of underscores was the dividing line between the comment itself and the signature). You'll get used to it. You'll also have noticed that we're an eclectic bunch. Getting information on here, especially for a non specifically technical question such as this, can be like fossicking for opals at times, but be reassured that there is a real wealth of knowledge at hand for when you come across issues.
I feel a little guilty when I recommend Mint as it is the easy choice and I also use it myself (Linux Mint 18.1 MATE flavour). It kind of detracts from all the wonderful and various distros out there. But it is a good first choice, so what I say is give it a go, see what you think and use it as your first distro. Then, if you feel the desire later on, use it as the springboard to other distros and environments. But you need to start somewhere, and it is usually a safe starting point.
Even though I use MATE, I would recommend you start with Mint's default Cinnamon flavour - it's a lovely desktop environment.
http://linux.oneandoneis2.org/LNW.htm
I'm afraid, it is not a good approach. Linux may behave more or less similar way, but would be much better to learn how linux really works instead of trying to mimic Ms Windows.
Best Newbie distro that is similar to Windows 7 in look and feel
Whatever you choose, you should use a mainstream distribution so you can have a decent community and lots of documentation to figure out any issues that arise.
I used to like it when KDE would let you change the theme to mac or windows. I could put it on my desktop and no one would know I was using linux. Wonder if you still can change the theme? Suspect you can even if a third party theme download.
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