Early days but I'm already very happy with this distro; V.1.1.
It installed cleanly after trying it out live and has been very quickly configured to how I want it.
I have all the main programs I want installed and all the ones I don't removed, with one minor exception.
Up and running in 3 hours of painless tinkering.
A bright, clean, fuss-free desktop.
A possible rival to MX and Mint when more people get to know about it, I think.
Icing on the cake would be a desktop/icons like Garuda's, but that isn't important. :)
Version: 1.0 Rating: 10 Date: 2024-04-07 Votes: 1
tried kummander 1.1. The distro is a fantastic effort to look like windows 7. The attention to detail is very good: from login screen to icons, everything reminds of win 7.
The default apps are cool:
* for devs:
"insomnia" is the coolest replacement for postman
dbeaver & vscodium are nice too
* for audio/video:
ardour
audacity
vlc
* for drawing
blender
drawio
so 10 of 10 for effort
but the project still needs work.
1st of all it doesn't support keyboards layouts: so if you add 2-3 keyboard layouts, there is no way to switch to them, cause
1) the keyboard combination which is set in XFCE settings, simply doesn't work:
tried "win+space", "left alt + left shift", "right ctrl + right shift"
NOTHING WORKS (even after restart
2) there is no keyboard layout item for xfce panel, so there is no way to switch to another layout using mouse.
3) there are no other layout switching apps installed.
SO the only option is to use a single default layout, which is inconvenient.
2nd is that the distro doesn't care about fn key and controls accessible with it.
the biggest problem is dimming the brightness of laptop screen.
since xfce doesn't have controls for that, and there are no other tools for that installed, there is no way to decrease screen brightness from ui, it sucks
also sound controls don't work, decrease/increase of sound is possible only from UI.
other than those 2 problems the distro is fantastic for those win 7 nostalgic people
Version: 1.0 Rating: 10 Date: 2024-03-27 Votes: 1
I am trying out Kumander v1.1 on a VirtualBox VM on a Linux host.
The distro looks VERY clean and smooth, has a footprint of only 470MB and has all the software I need for a desktop installation on a dated laptop -- plus is obviously has VirtualBox guest additions since I can resize and full-screen the window without needing to reset it's desktop settings.
XFCE is setup just the way I like it, it’s very snappy – windows pop up very fast for running in live mode -- and I really like Thunar's theme as well as it is clean ans easy to see.
From a newbie/user/distrohopper who has tried quite a few distros (which may or may not be a good thing…) I have to say that this is the one I will be using at the next reformat.
Version: 1.0 Rating: 10 Date: 2023-11-30 Votes: 3
I love it! xfce is always my first choice when it comes to de's, that's why I gave Kumander a try. zero probs with installation. runs fast and stable. better hardware support - at least for my touchscreen - than f.e. Mint, almost nothing negative to say. and this is for a v.1 ! that's a big wow.
cons: time and language settings have to be adjusted manually after installation. and the softwarecenter needs to be organized better (anyways you'll find everything you need using the search field).
To me Kumander has been so convincing that I even decided to install it on my over 80 y.o. mothers desktop; I changed the design a bit to make it look almost exactly like her old windows-desktop to make her feel more comfortable et voila ... with over 80 she has absolutely no problems switching to Kumander.
I do hope this distro finds a lot of fans and many supporters.
Version: 1.0 Rating: 10 Date: 2023-10-24 Votes: 1
This is by far my favorite Debian w/XFCE distro that I have tried, and I think I have tried most.
It is beautifully themed, fast, contains a decent assortment of app's, and everything works.
I did install Synaptic for package management & NTP for network time sync.
For x-windows users out there, like me, I think they will find Kumander to be to their liking.
I know that Kumander is really a "one man show" distro so I hope that Roy gets some help to keep it going as it is one of the best distro's out there.
Version: 1.0 Rating: 9 Date: 2023-09-14 Votes: 2
Surprisingly 'snappy' in feel, it can be modified to look like many other distros but I made mine look like a mongrel with a Windows father but operating like mother, Linux Mint. Like many Linux versions it has its quirks but nothing as yet have I found insurmountable, and I am not an expert by any means. It uses its own graphic driver instead of an Nvidia driver as did Mint, but there have been no problems with any graphics I have seen. After several days of use I cannot think of any reason to revert to Mint yet.
Version: 1.0 Rating: 9 Date: 2023-07-09 Votes: 2
A distro that nails it target audience fully.
Essentially Kumander fulfills the promise of Linux Lite by creating a out of the box completely intuitive and functional desktop for non-technical Windows refugees, Not only is this distro perfect for Windows users but comes in on the low end of the middle weight distros, running Live at 485 MB of RAM (wit wifi running) on old hardware .The shock to me was how fast Kumander is, running circles around the heavier MX Linux.
I have some reservations about this as potentially being a one man sop distro,one that just missed being able to come out wit 5 years of support (Debian 12) vs the 3 years remaining on Debian 11.
I also could not apply the updates, I am not sure if that ad to do wit Live mode or not, but given i could download other apps and run them I tend to think it may be a bug.
For Windows users transitioning to Linux this is The Distro. My only caveat is I would use TAILS or Porteus for sensitive financial transactions until this distro demonstrates appropriate updating.
This is a job well done. Light on resources, fast as can be. and totally intuitive for Windows users. Kumander nails its target, a perfect bullseye.
Version: 1.0 Rating: 8 Date: 2023-07-05 Votes: 2
I tried it before the 1st release came out and it looks very nice.
It is (mostly, or completely?) done by 1 person and I hope this project will get some more help or joins up with another distro, taking all the good things with it.
Perhaps ZorinOS ? Or some other distro that caters to the same crowd.
There are lots of people that still run Windows 7 and a distro to bring them into the realm of Linux could be of great use for them. Mostly also because their Hardware is not so new either.
Early days but I'm already very happy with this distro; V.1.1.
It installed cleanly after trying it out live and has been very quickly configured to how I want it.
I have all the main programs I want installed and all the ones I don't removed, with one minor exception.
Up and running in 3 hours of painless tinkering.
A bright, clean, fuss-free desktop.
A possible rival to MX and Mint when more people get to know about it, I think.
Icing on the cake would be a desktop/icons like Garuda's, but that isn't important. :)
tried kummander 1.1. The distro is a fantastic effort to look like windows 7. The attention to detail is very good: from login screen to icons, everything reminds of win 7.
The default apps are cool:
* for devs:
"insomnia" is the coolest replacement for postman
dbeaver & vscodium are nice too
* for audio/video:
ardour
audacity
vlc
* for drawing
blender
drawio
so 10 of 10 for effort
but the project still needs work.
1st of all it doesn't support keyboards layouts: so if you add 2-3 keyboard layouts, there is no way to switch to them, cause
1) the keyboard combination which is set in XFCE settings, simply doesn't work:
tried "win+space", "left alt + left shift", "right ctrl + right shift"
NOTHING WORKS (even after restart
2) there is no keyboard layout item for xfce panel, so there is no way to switch to another layout using mouse.
3) there are no other layout switching apps installed.
SO the only option is to use a single default layout, which is inconvenient.
2nd is that the distro doesn't care about fn key and controls accessible with it.
the biggest problem is dimming the brightness of laptop screen.
since xfce doesn't have controls for that, and there are no other tools for that installed, there is no way to decrease screen brightness from ui, it sucks
also sound controls don't work, decrease/increase of sound is possible only from UI.
other than those 2 problems the distro is fantastic for those win 7 nostalgic people
I am trying out Kumander v1.1 on a VirtualBox VM on a Linux host.
The distro looks VERY clean and smooth, has a footprint of only 470MB and has all the software I need for a desktop installation on a dated laptop -- plus is obviously has VirtualBox guest additions since I can resize and full-screen the window without needing to reset it's desktop settings.
XFCE is setup just the way I like it, it’s very snappy – windows pop up very fast for running in live mode -- and I really like Thunar's theme as well as it is clean ans easy to see.
From a newbie/user/distrohopper who has tried quite a few distros (which may or may not be a good thing…) I have to say that this is the one I will be using at the next reformat.
I love it! xfce is always my first choice when it comes to de's, that's why I gave Kumander a try. zero probs with installation. runs fast and stable. better hardware support - at least for my touchscreen - than f.e. Mint, almost nothing negative to say. and this is for a v.1 ! that's a big wow.
cons: time and language settings have to be adjusted manually after installation. and the softwarecenter needs to be organized better (anyways you'll find everything you need using the search field).
To me Kumander has been so convincing that I even decided to install it on my over 80 y.o. mothers desktop; I changed the design a bit to make it look almost exactly like her old windows-desktop to make her feel more comfortable et voila ... with over 80 she has absolutely no problems switching to Kumander.
I do hope this distro finds a lot of fans and many supporters.
This is by far my favorite Debian w/XFCE distro that I have tried, and I think I have tried most.
It is beautifully themed, fast, contains a decent assortment of app's, and everything works.
I did install Synaptic for package management & NTP for network time sync.
For x-windows users out there, like me, I think they will find Kumander to be to their liking.
I know that Kumander is really a "one man show" distro so I hope that Roy gets some help to keep it going as it is one of the best distro's out there.
Surprisingly 'snappy' in feel, it can be modified to look like many other distros but I made mine look like a mongrel with a Windows father but operating like mother, Linux Mint. Like many Linux versions it has its quirks but nothing as yet have I found insurmountable, and I am not an expert by any means. It uses its own graphic driver instead of an Nvidia driver as did Mint, but there have been no problems with any graphics I have seen. After several days of use I cannot think of any reason to revert to Mint yet.
Essentially Kumander fulfills the promise of Linux Lite by creating a out of the box completely intuitive and functional desktop for non-technical Windows refugees, Not only is this distro perfect for Windows users but comes in on the low end of the middle weight distros, running Live at 485 MB of RAM (wit wifi running) on old hardware .The shock to me was how fast Kumander is, running circles around the heavier MX Linux.
I have some reservations about this as potentially being a one man sop distro,one that just missed being able to come out wit 5 years of support (Debian 12) vs the 3 years remaining on Debian 11.
I also could not apply the updates, I am not sure if that ad to do wit Live mode or not, but given i could download other apps and run them I tend to think it may be a bug.
For Windows users transitioning to Linux this is The Distro. My only caveat is I would use TAILS or Porteus for sensitive financial transactions until this distro demonstrates appropriate updating.
This is a job well done. Light on resources, fast as can be. and totally intuitive for Windows users. Kumander nails its target, a perfect bullseye.
I tried it before the 1st release came out and it looks very nice.
It is (mostly, or completely?) done by 1 person and I hope this project will get some more help or joins up with another distro, taking all the good things with it.
Perhaps ZorinOS ? Or some other distro that caters to the same crowd.
There are lots of people that still run Windows 7 and a distro to bring them into the realm of Linux could be of great use for them. Mostly also because their Hardware is not so new either.
I hope it will have a bright future.
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