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Elx - http://www.elxlinux.com/ - Indian Linux Distro

I've tried a number of different distros, and the two I like the best are Ubuntu and ELX. ELX is more Windows-like, it even has wine (windows emulator) already set up so you can run most windows programs, but it's not as popular, so if you run into problems, it'll be rather hard to find to find help for it. I use Ubuntu as my main OS. It's pretty simple to use, and there are some good websites to get you going on it.

As for games, it depends on what kind of games you like to play. If you like puzzle games, you'll find 8 gazillion of them for linux. If you like FPSs, UT2004 runs on linux. Many other games will also run under wine. I'm a gamer too, but I tend to stick to consoles so I haven't tried many games under linux.

Pretty much all files that work with windows will work in linux, as long as you have a program that reads them. MP3s are rather universal, and almost every linux distro comes with an MP3 player, usually XMMS, which is a lot like winamp. The default office program in most distros is Open Office, which also runs under windows and works with MS Office files. As for compression, well, I'm still a little bit of a n00b myself, so I'm not quite sure. I know in Ubuntu I can easily compress stuff to tar.gz format in the file manager, and I can open .rar and .zip files. I'm sure I could install a more elaborate compression program, but I haven't really found a need for that yet.

I'ld recommend you look around at other websites too, and find out more about linux in general. TuXfiles has some pretty good articles and guides, and I;m sure you can google around for more stuff. Or you can just email me. Good luck.

India already has its own Linux Distribution :-) Take a look at ELX Linux. Every couple of months, PCQuest Magazine distributes a CD with the magazine with customized version of Debian on it. The customization is good enough to be called its own distro.

HTH,

Jalil Vaidya

Does anybody know if/when India is thinking (like China) about developping its own linux distro?

Elx, a.k.a. "Everyone's Linux"

I posted another blurb about it in here somewhere.

In other news, it's not like the folks in India are just along for the ride. I remember maybe two years ago when I was struck by how generous those generally poorer folks could be when they came up with Everyone's Linux. It apparently costs US$65 ordered directly. It might make a great birthday gift for your relative if your relative is Bill Gates. With all the extra money you save, maybe add a zero gun and some caffeinated soap as a nice touch.

well....there is some nice work being done out here in India....Elxlinux being one...all of the beta testing was done in our college lab in JNTU, hyderabad... and a lot of the guys in our college....have started using and coding for Linux..."inspired" by this......so 2003 may well turn out to be the year of the Lnux...

If you just want to get familiar with GNU/Linux then try a CD based distro like Knoppix. Just pop in the CD and restart the machine to boot from CD-ROM drive. It works like a charm and comes with ton of software (almost anything you can think of) in every category. Play around with it and see how you like it. I use it (even run Apache, Squid and other stuff) and I love it (no, I don't work for them or anything). Once you are ready to take the next step and install GNU/Linux on your hard drive you can try Debian (Kmoppix is based on Debian), Mandrake, ELX for starters. They have most user friendly installation and configuration.

- Jalil Vaidya

I'm assuming when you say you are a Microsoft user you mean that you have only ever used Microsoft products. At this stage, any Unix-based operating system, be it a Linux distribution, Lindows (I do not personally count Lindows as a true Linux distribution), FreeBSD, or whatever, will be like jumping into a cold swimming pool. That is to say, it will be a shock at first, but if you are reasonably intelligent and you have picked a newbie distribution (Mandrake, Lycoris, Lindows, ELX), you should be able to adjust.

Some things to keep in mind:

1. You will not have perfect compatibility with Windows apps like MSOffice. You can use OpenOffice and most of your docs will look fine, but some will have visible display glitches (although I have never seen one that was unreadable). You can also download browser plugins for Mozilla (the best Linux web browser) which give it virtually all the worthwhile functionality of IE. Ximian Evolution is an excellent replacement for Outlook. OpenOffice, Mozilla, and Evolution all come with most new Linux distributions today. Another solution is Codeweavers Crossover Office and Crossover Plugin, which let you use Windows office apps and browser plugins. However, this option requires a subscription fee.

2. Many/most Windows games will not work at all, or without a good deal of tinkering. If you are a hardcore gamer, check out Transgaming WineX which can let you play some of the most popular Windows games with a minimum of glitches. This option also requires a subscription fee.

3. A Linux installation needs either its own hard drive, a free partition of space on a Windows drive (at least a few gigabytes) or its own machine. If you have only one machine with one partition on one hard drive, and that is for Windows, then you *might* damage your Windows installation installing Linux. Your best bet if you don't know what I am talking about is to ask a friend who knows more for some help in the installation.

4. While most hardware I have ever purchased is supported, some things just don't have support yet. One example is the "winmodem". Most modems sold today are sneakily designed to work only with Microsoft Windows. Yes, this is a conspiracy between Microsoft and the manufacturers of those modems. If your modem doesnt work, you will probably have to buy a new modem which specifically says it is a "hardware modem". As someone in [your local computer/electronics store] for help.

**Aside from all that, a tonne of things are different in the actual underlying operating system, but if you aren't a developer, you proably won't be intersted in those details. (Feel free to continue this thread if you are, I will be happy to answer more questions.)

With all this, I was trying to provide full disclosure of pitfalls to migrating, not to discourage you. I definately think the switch to Linux is worthwhile in the long term.

If as you implied you have only ever used Microsoft products, the best path you could take is to switch to OpenOffice and Mozilla running on Windows, then if you are comfortable with them, try to dual-boot with a newbie distribution like the ones mentioned above.

• Try out different open source packages for various applications. Run through them and find bugs. Check the project's website and report those bugs.
• If you're proficient at programming, contribute code to an open source project.
• Encourage people to run other OSes. For the non-techies, try Lycoris or Elx.
• Find out which congresspersons are sympathetic to this issue and write to them. Find out which one's aren't and write to them, too. Find out which one's are on the fence and write to them as well.
• Contribute money, time, or both to some organization like the EFF, CDT, GNU/FSF, or by purchasing or donating to your favorite open source application and/or linux distro.
• If you are in a tech position at a company or government agency, point out the benefits of going to an open source platform for your organization.
• Put plugs on your personal websites.
• Actively boycott companies who violate these principals. (Note: This does NOT mean companies who sell software. This means companies who try to monopolize the market [Microsoft] or support the DMCA [Adobe].)
• Don't let the bastards wear you down.

Any other ideas?

Will Linux take over the desktop? No. Not until my grandma can use it.

I'm getting really sick of that argument...the hurdle that stands in the way of Linux gaining ground on the desktop is not a question of usability: it is a matter of a)the installed user base's inertia, b)Microsoft near-monopoly on the Office Suite and c)the lack of mass-media marketing from Linux "Desktop" distributions (which they obviously can't afford). As it stands today, in 2002, Linux is very usable, as much if not more than Windows from grandma's point of view. Even the new versions of the "classic" distros (like Mandrake and RedHat) are a breeze to setup and use.

Face it: grandma won't be able to use Windows out of the box any more than Linux - stop repeating this inane argument, it is based on a false assumption.

I'm not convinced that Hancom Linux is the best choice here. Personally I'd take a small KDE distribution of some kind, and use StarOffice or OpenOffice. Heck, you could even try KOffice, if you really wanted to. It doesn't support Microsoft documents, but ignoring that, it's fairly usable and quick(ish). Though, kspread does crash often while doing a search.

I briefly tried the beta version of Hancom Office (look on the Arstechnica forums for the link), but I uninstalled it after about 2 minutes as it was shockingly slow and horrible to use. Still it was a beta version, and hopefully in the near future, they'll improve the performance a great deal.

Personally I lean towards Mandrake, as it has vast support for applications through the Mandrake Cooker, and it's simple and swift to install.

Although I'm just about to try the latest versions of Redmond Linux and Elx Linux.

I currently have Mandrake 8.1 running StarOffice 6 beta, using Truetype fonts, and it looks fantastic!

simple linux:
redmond linux
everyone's linux

both are aimed square at current windows users, and both show promise in that regard, methinks.
it's being worked on.