Twister OS

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Twister OS (Twister for short) is a 32-bit Operating System created by Pi Labs for the Raspberry Pi single board computer originally, with a x86_64 PC version released a few months later. [1] [2] Twister is meant to be a general-purpose OS that is familiar or nostalgic to users. Twister is based on Raspberry Pi OS Lite and uses the XFCE desktop environment. [3] Twister OS also has a version called "Twister OS Armbian" designed for ARM SBCs with the RK3399 CPU. [1] There are four versions of the operating system, TwisterOS Full (for the Raspberry Pi 4), Twister OS Lite (a stripped-down version with only themes), Twister UI (For x86_64 PCs running Linux Mint or Xubuntu) and Twisters OS Armbian (for RK3399 CPUs) . [1]

Contents

Features

TwisterOS has 7 main desktop themes, 5 out of those have dark modes. [4] Twister OS has its own theme called "Twister OS theme". The Twister 95, XP, 7, 10, and 11 themes are similar to the themes on the Windows 95, XP, 7, 10 and 11 operating systems. iTwister and iTwister Sur desktop themes are similar to the themes on macOS. [3]

Box86 is an emulator used to run x86 software and games on ARM systems. [5] [6]

Wine is a compatibility layer that lets the user to run Windows applications on non-Windows systems. [1] [3]

CommanderPi is a system monitoring and configuration tool designed to check system information and overclock the CPU. [7]

Other Twister versions

Twister OS Lite

Twister OS Lite is for the Raspberry Pi as well. The Lite version only comes with the themes in Twister OS, as well as Box86 and Wine. [1]

Twister UI

Twister UI is very similar to Twister OS, the only difference is that Twister UI is used for non-single board computers. [1] [8] Twister UI is designed to be installed by running a setup script on an already running installation of Linux Mint (XFCE) or Xubuntu. [1] [8]

Twister OS Armbian

Twister OS Armbian is a version of Twister OS that can run on SBCs with RK3399 CPUs, like the Rock Pi 4B. [9] Twister OS Armbian also comes preinstalled on emmc chips inside the Rock Pi 4 Plus models. [10] Twister OS Armbian is based on the Armbian Linux operating system.

Related Research Articles

In computing, a desktop environment (DE) is an implementation of the desktop metaphor made of a bundle of programs running on top of a computer operating system that share a common graphical user interface (GUI), sometimes described as a graphical shell. The desktop environment was seen mostly on personal computers until the rise of mobile computing. Desktop GUIs help the user to easily access and edit files, while they usually do not provide access to all of the features found in the underlying operating system. Instead, the traditional command-line interface (CLI) is still used when full control over the operating system is required.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xfce</span> Desktop environment

Xfce or XFCE is a free and open-source desktop environment for Linux and other Unix-like operating systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IceWM</span> X11 window manager

IceWM is a stacking window manager for the X Window System, originally written by Marko Maček. It was written from scratch in C++ and is released under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License. It is customizable, relatively lightweight in terms of memory and CPU usage, and comes with themes that allow it to imitate the GUI of Windows 95, Windows XP, Windows 7, OS/2, Motif, and other graphical user interfaces.

In computing, cross-platform software is computer software that is designed to work in several computing platforms. Some cross-platform software requires a separate build for each platform, but some can be directly run on any platform without special preparation, being written in an interpreted language or compiled to portable bytecode for which the interpreters or run-time packages are common or standard components of all supported platforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Light-weight Linux distribution</span> Operating system with low resource requirements

A light-weight Linux distribution is one that uses lower memory and/or has less processor-speed requirements than a more "feature-rich" Linux distribution. The lower demands on hardware ideally result in a more responsive machine, and/or allow devices with fewer system resources to be used productively. The lower memory and/or processor-speed requirements are achieved by avoiding software bloat, i.e. by leaving out features that are perceived to have little or no practical use or advantage, or for which there is no or low demand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free and open-source graphics device driver</span> Software that controls computer-graphics hardware

A free and open-source graphics device driver is a software stack which controls computer-graphics hardware and supports graphics-rendering application programming interfaces (APIs) and is released under a free and open-source software license. Graphics device drivers are written for specific hardware to work within a specific operating system kernel and to support a range of APIs used by applications to access the graphics hardware. They may also control output to the display if the display driver is part of the graphics hardware. Most free and open-source graphics device drivers are developed by the Mesa project. The driver is made up of a compiler, a rendering API, and software which manages access to the graphics hardware.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xubuntu</span> Linux distribution based on Ubuntu, utilizing the Xfce desktop environment

Xubuntu is a Canonical Ltd.–recognized, community-maintained derivative of the Ubuntu operating system. The name Xubuntu is a portmanteau of Xfce and Ubuntu, as it uses the Xfce desktop environment, instead of Ubuntu's customized GNOME desktop.

A desktop environment is a collection of software designed to give functionality and a certain look and feel to an operating system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LXDE</span> Lightweight desktop environment for Linux and BSD

LXDE is a free desktop environment with comparatively low resource requirements. This makes it especially suitable for use on older or resource-constrained personal computers such as netbooks or system on a chip computers.

The Linutop is a small, light, environmentally friendly nettop computer containing a metal case and no moving parts, that runs the Linutop OS. It is sold by Linutop SAS of Paris, France. Linutop Kiosk software and Linutop Tv server offer a full Digital signage solution. A variety of QT applications oriented towards secure web browsing and digital signage are available in the Operating system. Linutop is multimedia-capable and offers line-out/mic-in for sound. The device can be configured easily into a LTSP thin client. Linutop is suited for use in internet cafés, public libraries and schools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AmiKit</span> Software compilation for Amiga computers

AmiKit is a compilation of 425 pre-installed and pre-configured Amiga program running on Windows, macOS, Linux computer, and on Amiga computer with Vampire V2 card.

The ODROID is a series of single-board computers and tablet computers created by Hardkernel Co., Ltd., located in South Korea. Even though the name ODROID is a portmanteau of open + Android, the hardware is not actually open source because some parts of the design are retained by the company. Many ODROID systems are capable of running not only Android, but also regular Linux distributions.

Arch Linux ARM is a port of Arch Linux for ARM processors. Its design philosophy is "simplicity and full control to the end user," and like its parent operating system Arch Linux, aims to be very Unix-like. This goal of minimalism and complete user control, however, can make it difficult for Linux beginners as it requires more knowledge of and responsibility for the operating system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kali Linux</span> Debian-based Linux distribution for penetration testing

Kali Linux is a Linux distribution designed for digital forensics and penetration testing. It is maintained and funded by Offensive Security. The software is based on the Debian Testing branch: most packages Kali uses are imported from the Debian repositories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xojo</span> Programming environment and programming language

The Xojo programming environment and programming language is developed and commercially marketed by Xojo, Inc. of Austin, Texas for software development targeting macOS, Microsoft Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, the Web and Raspberry Pi. Xojo uses a proprietary object-oriented language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raspberry Pi OS</span> Debian-based operating system for Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi OS is a Unix-like operating system based on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution for the Raspberry Pi family of compact single-board computers. First developed independently in 2012, it has been produced as the primary operating system for these boards since 2013, distributed by the Raspberry Pi Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steam Link</span> Hardware and software product by Valve

Steam Link is a hardware and software product developed by Valve Corporation for streaming Steam content from a personal computer or Steam Machine wirelessly to a mobile device or other monitor. Steam Link was originally released as a hardware device alongside the debut of Steam Machines in November 2015. Valve discontinued the Steam Link hardware device in November 2018, in favor of supporting its software-based Steam Link application for mobile devices and smart televisions, as well as providing Steam Link as a software package for the Raspberry Pi microcomputer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zorin OS</span> Linux distribution based on Ubuntu LTS

Zorin OS is a Linux distribution based on Ubuntu. It uses a GNOME 3 and XFCE 4 desktop environment by default, although the desktop is heavily customized in order to help users transition from Windows and macOS easily. Wine and PlayOnLinux are supported, allowing users to run compatible Windows software, like Microsoft Office. Its creators maintain three free editions of the operating system, and sell a professional edition.

Pine Store Limited, known by its trade name Pine64, is a Hong Kong-based organization that designs, manufactures, and sells single-board computers, notebook computers, as well as smartwatch/smartphones. Its name was inspired by the mathematical constants pi and e with a reference to 64-bit computing power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mousepad (software)</span> Text editing software

Mousepad is a graphical text editor written for Xfce, a Linux desktop environment. The program has a small footprint, similar to Leafpad, but has additional features such as plugins, search history and automatic reloading. The name Mousepad is derived from the mouse in Xfce's logo.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Twister OS". twisteros.com. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
  2. Raspberry Pi Twister OS: Windows Themes & Apps on a Pi!
  3. 1 2 3 Fromaget, Patrick (7 November 2020). "Looking for the Best Raspberry Pi System? Try Twister OS". Raspberry tips. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
  4. TwisterOS 2.0 Raspberry Pi 4. My favourite OS on the Pi. , retrieved 2021-05-03 Windows 11 Theme on the Raspberry Pi! Twister OS 2.1.0 Review
  5. "Box86 Continues Quest For Running x86 Linux Programs On ARM, Other Archs - Phoronix". www.phoronix.com. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
  6. Schaaf, Tobias. "Linux Gaming: Box86- A New x86 Emulator for ODROIDs". ODROID Magazine. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
  7. "Commander Pi | Single-Board Computers" . Retrieved 2021-05-03.
  8. 1 2 Twister UI. How to install on your Laptop or PC. Linux XFCE 20.10. , retrieved 2021-05-03
  9. How to install en set up Armbian Reforged on your RK3399 / Twister OS , retrieved 2021-05-03
  10. "Rock Pi SBCs move to 2GHz RK3399 and toss in free eMMC". LinuxGizmos.com. 2021-05-22. Retrieved 2021-07-19.