If there is one thing that characterizes Linux distributions, it is their customization. When creating a new distro, developers unleash their imagination so that their distro can be clearly differentiated from the others. We have minimalist Linux distributions, others similar to Windows that seek to reduce the difficulty curve by offering a familiar and familiar environment, and others that seek to imitate the appearance of macOS for those users who cannot invest in an Apple computer. And within the latter, one of the ones that best mimic its appearance is Deepin.
Deepin has been one of the Linux distributions that, like Elementary OS, has focused its development on imitating the appearance of macOS, Apple’s operating system. In recent years, this distro has managed to become an almost exact copy of Apple’s operating system, copying (even improving) many of its features and functions.
However, with the announcement of the arrival of macOS 11 , Deepin has marked a before and after. And it seems that this time it has been Apple who has copied Linux instead of the other way around.
As we can see, the appearance and elements of the latest versions of Deepin have managed to go further and almost perfectly mimic the Apple operating system. Both have a similar launcher, rounded corners, similar interfaces … Obviously there are differences, but surely more than one will not know if these differences make Deepin or macOS more worthwhile.
characteristics
The first of the characteristics of this distro is that it is based on Debian . This will allow us to have the same support that this general distro has, in addition to being compatible with all the packages and all the programs that are available to it. Even the entire Debian community , which is one of the largest on the entire Internet, will be able to help us in case you have problems using this software.
This distro has a custom desktop, DDE ( Deepin Desktop Environment ), based on Qt5. In addition, it comes standard with a series of own programs that users can start using from the first moment. As for the software sources, the repositories, this distro uses the Debian ones. But it also has a software center (similar to the macOS App Store) from which we can easily download and install any program on the distro.
This distro has a complete configuration panel from which we can configure all aspects of the distro, both in terms of performance and operation and appearance. The icons, the background and all the decorative elements are customizable.
It has different modes of operation that will allow us, for example, to choose whether we want to prioritize the effects and animations or make it work faster by deactivating these options.
It also has a light, dark theme or an automatic change mode.
And the bottom bar can also be switched sides. If we prefer to have it on top, we can place it. Or on the left side, in true Ubuntu style with GNOME or Unity.
Default installed programs
This distro brings with it ” Deepin Applications “, a series of applications created with its own DTK (Deepin Tool Kit) to satisfy the most basic needs of users. Among them we will find the file explorer, photo viewer, multimedia player, calendar, calculator … all the basic applications of the operating system.
In addition, this distro comes by default with a series of programs that allow us to start working with it from the first moment, such as Chromium, web browser, Thunderbird, email client, or Cheese, for the webcam.
It does not have many more programs installed by default, but we can install the ones we want from its software center or terminal through APT. For example, with a simple command in the terminal we can install the famous VLC player. Or we can also download it from your own App Store.
Download Deepin
Deepin is a totally free Linux distribution. Any user interested in it can download the latest version from its website without having to pay anything, without registration and without personal data. However, the web defaults to Chinese, and the option to change the language to English did not work well at all.
Therefore, instead of downloading this distro from its website, we recommend you download it from its official repository at SourceForge . Here we can find all the versions of this Linux distro, including the latest beta so that we can try all the features that this distro offers us.
To update
In addition to being able to download the new versions, Deepin can be updated very easily. Within the configuration we can find a section dedicated precisely to the search and download of new packages.
This simple wizard will tell us when there are new updates and will allow us to quickly download them and update our operating system without having to complicate ourselves or having to execute commands. In addition, from the ” update settings ” tab we can choose whether we want packages to be automatically deleted, whether we want updates to be downloaded when they are available and whether we want to see a notification when updating.
Of course, if we are purist Linux users, we will also be able to update it from the terminal using the same commands that we would use to update Debian.
Minimum and recommended requirements
Deepin is not a very demanding Linux distro. Despite its huge layer of customization, it can work without performance problems on any more or less modern computer, even a low-end one. In order to install the distro on our PC it is necessary to meet the following requirements:
- 64-bit processor. Any Pentium 4 or higher can serve.
- 1 GB of RAM.
- 20 GB of hard disk space.
- Graphics and screen compatible with 800 × 600 resolution.
And if we really want to get the most out of this Linux distro and enjoy it in true macOS style, we must meet the following requirements:
- 4-core or more 64-bit processor.
- 4 GB of RAM.
- 64 GB of storage space.
- Graphics and monitor compatible with HD or FullHD resolution.
As a bootloader, this distro installs GRUB by default . If we have Windows installed on another hard disk or partition, we can use it in Dual-Boot with this bootloader.