4 Linux Distros Which Look Like Mac OS X

Linux Docks: 5 Mac OS X Docks for Ubuntu and Other Linux Distros
Why is the Dock becoming more and more popular? It’s probably got something to do with clever window management, doesn’t it? Well, in my opinion it’s just the eye candy, though I’m sure that people appreciate the psychological trick; every tried to open 2 instances of a program with a Dock?
Now here’s a list of 5 different Docks you can use on Linux. They have different system requirements. Rock out!
5. SimDock

I’ll start off with a little low.end dock. Just enough to get you started. While SimDock isn’t extremely advanced, it offers a full-fledged dock, all in one little .deb package and no window compositing effects required, which means you’ll be able t run it on low-end machines without any problems.
4. Ksmoothdock

Smooth zooming, low requirements. I like SimDock, but many users tell me Ksmoothdock looks and works better with their KDE DE.
3. Kiba Dock

Small, nice, free. What more could you ask for? Kiba-dock was originally a project meant to demo the Akamaru physics engine, but it ended up being a separate project.
2. Engage Dock (for Enlightenment)

Ever wondered how the gOS dudes made a smooth little dock for the gPC? Well, here’s your answer. It’s cool even without the Green theme I heard it can run without Enlightenment, too. Dreamlinux uses it with XFCE, for instance.
1. Avant Window Navigator

The big guy. This is the Dock with the bad-ass themes, icons and plugins. Everyone who has compositing turned on uses AWN these days. Why? It’s powerful, customizable and pretty. I use it sometimes, although it affects Ubuntu’s loading time. (it’s Compiz’ fault, really). If you got the power, go for it!  Also, check out the AWN wiki.
Update:
0.5 Cairo Dock
Another cool dock, which also requires compositing effects.

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August 18, 2008, by Greg, under Linux.

What a week! I’ve been working on my podcast so I’m a bit behind on posting. Here’s an interesting compilation of Linux distribution which resemble Apple’s Mac OS 10. They might not be identical, but you guys who like Apple’s design might appreciate the fact yu can get something like it, with the nice-on-the-inside GNU/Linux kernel, out-of-the-box. For free.

These are only short descriptions, with screen grabs. You will find a lot more info and full screenshots on the official web pages of each distro.

Dream Linux

A Brazilian distribution, full of multimedia tools, oriented at people who like to create. The XFCE Desktop with Rocket Dock makes a nice desktop environment with Mac-like traits. The installer is pretty sleek, because you only have one configuration page. Another good point of Dreamlinux is the Debian base, which is a bit lighter than Ubuntu.

gOS

gOS’ user base sky-rocketed because of Walmart’s  phenomenally well-accepted gPC. Although it doesn’t have the ’smart blue’ look (the developers went for a greenish look), gOS still feels pretty sleek (apart from the boot time). I’m not sure  the new gOS Gadgets uses Rocket Dock or AWN, but with LXDE, gOS may become a good choice for net-books. Software-wise, the distro relies heavily on Google Apps.

Elive

Enlightenment’s official distro is based on Debian Linux. Even though its mission is showcasing the latest E17 Desktop Environment modules, this OS X-like distro has a lot of regular users (at least according to Distrowatch). You can find some cool Enlightenment DR17 goodies, including the ibar dock.

MacPup

Puppy Linux is an awesome distro for old computers. A person from the community decided the default desktop isn’t sleek enough and created this genius OS X mod. This modified Puppy gives you speed, simplicity and a tasty Apple, with those cool little Puppy Apps.

More: If you have time and wish to change your own Linux distro’s theme to something more Mac OS X-like, you can maybe take a look at my list of Linux Docks.