- A new Linux distribution concept was recently released
- Loss32 aims to be the Windows desktop installed on top of the Linux kernel
- This will work through WINE, which is a runtime environment for using Windows applications natively on Linux – but there’s still a long way to go.
Some Windows 10 users are already making the jump to Linux – perhaps because their PCs can’t run Windows 11 – and a new project could generate more enthusiasm for the alternative operating system (as SteamOS has certainly already done on the gaming front).
The Register reports that a new Linux distribution has a very bold idea, in that it doesn’t just aim to look like Windows like some distributions do, but to actually be the Windows desktop environment running on top of Linux core.
It’s called Loss32 (a pun on the “Win32” API) and is the brainchild of a Japanese developer, Hikari no Yume, who presented the idea at the 39th Chaos Communication Congress (in Germany late last year).
The core concept is described by the developer as follows: “The dream of a Linux distribution where the entire desktop environment is Win32 software running under WINE. A completely free and open source operating system where you can just download .exe files and run them, for the power user who isn’t necessarily a Unixhead, or just for someone who thinks that sounds fun.”
What you’ll essentially have is a Windows interface running through WINE (not the booze, but a runtime environment for running Windows applications natively on Linux) sitting on top of the Linux kernel.
This is very different from current Linux efforts on the Windows front, which include Linux distributions capable of running Windows applications – this goes much further. Ultimately, Loss32 is the whole kaboodle of Windows – File Explorer, etc. – installed on Linux.
It’s also distinct from ReactOS, although it’s a similar idea in terms of “Windows without Microsoft.” However, the developer notes: “ReactOS is trying to reimplement the Windows NT kernel, and that has always been its Achilles heel, holding it back from a hardware compatibility and stability perspective.”
“The Loss32 concept is to achieve an end result similar to that of ReactOS, but built on a more usable foundation, using components known to work well (the Linux kernel, WINE, everything that ties them together, and a sprinkling of ReactOS userspace niceties).”
The developer has promised that a first proof of concept for the distribution will arrive in January 2026, so in the next few weeks, but there is obviously a long way to go before this project comes to fruition.
Analysis: lossy printing
In short, Loss32 would be like using a Windows PC, except you’d actually be running a Linux distro (underneath, even if you don’t know that – well, I hope, and I’ll get to that in a moment).
In theory, this would mean Windows without any of Microsoft’s nonsense like telemetry (data from your system being sent back to the company’s servers), pester screens, etc. And since Loss32 is still Linux, you can also run Linux apps on that OS if you want.
Of course, it’s not that simple (it never is). The problem is that the actual implementation of Windows elements could be spotty through WINE, and spotty or slow. As the developer acknowledges, it has “a lot of unfortunate rough edges that people only tolerate because they use WINE as a last resort.”
Of course, some people will point out that Microsoft’s native implementation of the interface in Windows 11 is fuzzy anyway, and in some ways they have a very good point (cough, File Explorer, cough).
Either way, there would be a lot to iron out with this project to say the least, and as for the potential timeline for a completed distribution, the developer’s curt comment is: “God only knows.” However, the hope is that the development of Loss32 itself, a “desktop environment where everything works in WINE, will spur the improvement of WINE for everyone, whether they use this project or not.”
Loss32 is more of a distant curiosity than anything else at the moment. But the fundamental idea – and the growing momentum behind Linux, driven recently by SteamOS, Proton and Valve’s Steam Deck (along with other handhelds) and the new Steam Machine – is perhaps another seed being planted for the great Linux uprising.
Discussions about the Linux revolution seem to have gone on forever, which inevitably leads to skepticism about whether we will ever witness such an event. However, given the current hostility towards Windows 11 – and the venomous shots aimed at Microsoft due to its relentless push for more AI, including the “Microslop” trend – it appears that Linux increasingly has the opportunity to mount a significant challenge to the dominant desktop operating system.
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