Windows, Linux and Strings

  2026/03/22

I started using Microsoft Windows at version 3.1, I stopped at version 10.

Following version 10 came 11 and that only amplified my reasons for leaving Windows for Linux. It all started with me installing various Linux distributions in a virtual machines on Windows 10 using VirtualBox.

I finally settled on Linux Mint and wiped my computer of Windows 10 installing it. Eventually the Ubuntu it was running on updated and my computer periodically would crash. This time using VirtualBox on Linux I installed Arch Linux in a virtual machine. It was a long case of coping and pasting batch commands in terminal to install Arch Linux. But one thing I had discovered was that Linux Mint posts the Cinnamon desktop I liked on GitHub. Below are the commands I used to install icons:

sudo git clone https://github.com/linuxmint/mint-y-icons.git
sudo git clone https://github.com/linuxmint/mint-x-icons.git
sudo cp -r mint-x-icons/usr/share/icons/* /usr/share/icons
sudo cp -r mint-y-icons/usr/share/icons/* /usr/share/icons
sudo rm -r mint-x-icons
sudo rm -r mint-y-icons

Below is the command in Arch Linux to install Linux Mint themes.

yay -S mint-themes-git

Below is an image of my resulting desktop that looks like Linux Mint but is running on Arch Linux.

This is within a present qeum/kvm virtual machine I created it using my bash script I named Strings. Long story short I got tired of all the copy and paste for installations so I wrote bash script for installation the way I like my desktop. Yes I wiped Linux Mint and installed Arch Linux with the Cinnamon desktop. Honestly I have never looked back since doing it. And now with Windows 11 and all the things Microsoft is doing sabotaging their own business. People and particularly businesses, are abandoning Windows 11 for a distribution of Linux. Forcing a Microsoft account at installation and forcing all the AI on people. This is all a security risk for businesses. Microsoft is doing this to themselves. People want a operating system, not what they are selling. Microsoft apparently can't see what they are doing.

My bash script Strings installs my version of a distribution with a Linux Mint themed Cinnamon desktop on Arch Linux. No there is no software application for you to use to install Arch Linux such as Calamares . As far as applications you will need to use terminal with pacman or yay. If you are interested in an application I do not install with my script just type Arch Linux and the name of the application in a search engine. Arch Linux has it curated and is maintained by them or they are in a user curated. I use yay for the latter. My point is you will need to learn to use Linux. I am sorry but Strings is not for a beginner unless you want a challenge.

Within Strings I prompt you for user name, user and root passwords, host name. if you want to install my home computer applications or not and if you want auto login. I use Home for the applications I want for my home computer and not for quick virtual machines. I also removed the need for a configuration file. But there is a pause between the prompt for user name and password due to how the script functions. You will also need to enter the user password multiple times when and after installing yay due to the need for root access.

But if you want my applications and my version of a distribution my all means try it. I will not know if you do but then again I do not care to.