Yeah, although that's just "window dressing". A Windows-like theme for Linux is visually appealing, but what you need is actual support for the bazillions of Windows programs that call the incredibly complex Windows/NT/NTFS APIs. Microsoft's been doing the proprietary vendor lock-in schtick since the early days of MS-DOS, and they're still in that same mindset.
To successfully blend Windows and Linux, they'll have to develop an API shim over the Linux kernel, so that traditional Windows-only programs can call it. It couldn't possibly cover every single system call, much less mimic all the undocumented behaviors. So a lot of Windows-only programs will have to adapt themselves.
The current Linux integration in Windows is in the other direction -- making the Linux kernel run over the Windows system calls. That's a necessary desperation move, because MS watched in horror as the software development world embraced Linux as the development platform of choice.
I understand. And the unfortunate thing is that we are down to just a few programs folks feel they “just can’t live without” that cannot be replaced by a Linux alternative. Other than games...
There are only a very few hold outs who have not ported to Linux yet. MS is probably paying them not to. The main thing though is user laziness. No one wants to take the time and effort to learn how to use a similar alternative.
My thought with the Win 7 window dressing was that it would be easier for first time users to feel comfortable with Linux from the get go. Most do not care how the engine works, they just care about the looks and feel of it being different.
Had one user on here say they didn’t like Mint because of the log in chime. So they threw the baby out with the bathwater over something that petty. But that is the common pickiness. :)