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Lycoris Desktop/LX update 2 Released
David writes "Redmond Linux Corp has just released Lycoris Desktop/LX Update 2 (build 46 final). Relatively user-friendly, loads of goodies and nice features. Should give Lindows a run for its money. Who says Linux is dead on the desktop? ;-)"
Q: Who says Linux is dead on the desktop? ;-)"
A: Everyone who isn't a Linux chauvinist, OR who doesn't believe that before Linux can be dead on the desktop, it has to first be "alive" on the desktop first. I don't think that Linux even registers as being on the desktop in the orthodox sense.
N.B. I believe this even though I am writing this from Linux.
So how come everything they do is worthy of being copied
I don't think the interface to the Windows OS was ever something people complained about (minus that damned Paper Clip..). The more ghastly problems are not in the UI, but the underside that the user doesn't see (VM subsystem, TCP stack, etc), and the coding methodology used to develop it. So not 'everything' is worth being copied...however a GUI that people are familiar with might not need too much improvement, and may make people more willing to try something new, and more comfortable in general.
--Kylus
Idiot-proof something, and Life will build a better Idiot.
the everyday win/mac users don't really know what options are available. the big things keeping linux off the desktop are:
drivers: people are using new hardware all the time and have a perceived image that linux doesn't have drivers for their hardware (wireless network, usb mouse, video, sound, etc).
installation: the install programs NEED to be able to identify hardware on a users system and configure drivers w/o user intervention. being asked what type of network card i have on my box isn't something i should know much about, let alone what integrated sound chip i have, or what kind of mouse i have. to sum it up, linux will find more spaces on the desktop when the installers and drivers are as upto date as possible.
The overwhelming numbers of BSD users do. As I always say, Linux for serving, OpenBSD for firewalling and Mac OS X for when you got to get things done.
Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.
I don't know, but to me it seems that while the current state of the linux desktop leaves a LOT to be desired, it is continuing to make improvements. If groups like Redomnd Linux keep making improvements, the linux desktop will keep getting better and more compelling. I admit I only use the linux desktop to toy around right now, but I can definitely see it being viable in the future. Why does everyone have to say that linux on the desktop is dead? Obviously if you don't like it, you don't have to use it. I'll bet that there are pleanty of people that do use it and welcome any improvements. (Okay, I'm starting to rant)
I'd say that the most intelligent people trying to get away from Windows aren't doing it to get away from the kludge-y look-and-feel. I don't run Windows because I don't agree with their business tactics and their "get it out the door before we're sure it works" development model, not because I abhor the start menu. If emulating the look and feel of Windows over a free and open operating system draws more home users, then more power too them. Linux users have always had a love/hate relationship with it becoming a prominent desktop OS, and that's sad. If the community wants Linux to be a desktop force, then we're going to have to unify on how that is possible. To be possible, yes, we're going to have to swallow a little pride and make it more user friendly.
--- What
I installed Redmond Linux for some neighbors who have never owned a computer before, and they're doing just fine with it. It does everything they need it to do. It's a very usable distribution for new users, though for experianced users, I've recommended (and installed) Mandrake. There are plenty of appropriate choices in the Linux world, and one size doesn't have to fit all.
I don't know about you, but Mum wants to write letters and she wants to see one word processor, not vim, emacs, AbiWord, OpenOffice Write, Kate, [...]
Remember that Lycoris is a desktop distribution. As far as things go it seems that is the best there is right now. The fact you KNOW that there are multiple word processors (or that Letters To Nana != Microsoft Word) instantly says to me you know enough to install whatever your preference is.
I can't wait till either Gnome/GTK or KDE/Qt are at a stage where either apps from one look completely in place under the other, or one of them is so good that it provides exactly one good everything, and I don't need to use the other one. I think it's important to have both, but I only want to use one at a time.
That's funny, one of the things that bothers me about most of the popular distros is they insist on installing too many word processors, web browsers, etc. What the hell am I going to do with 4 word processors, 3 spread sheets, 6 web browsers, 12 email programs, etc. Just give me one of each and if I don't like it, I can install my own choice, thank you very much.
// TODO: fix sig
I remember one of the big things they claimed the first time around was that the network config would easily let you share your internet connection through the Lycoris box. But it turned out not to be the case, you had to go manually edit some files. (fortunately they had a pointer to a decent howto, but not the same as click-and-share).
So, does it work "correctly" now?
And my Karma Whoring for the day:
it's probably pronounced "Licorice". Some people like Licorice, other's don't.
"Sometimes a woman is a kind of religion, she can save your soul & set you free from all your sins" - Bad Examples
As I have said before, my wife and I have moved to using SuSE 8.0 exclusively in the house, we have NO windows products. My wife is visually impaired so this is not a move we would make lightly. We use KDE 3.01, Mozilla and KMail amongst others. For us it is great. My wife particularly likes the zooming function with Mozilla.
Linux may not be fully alive on the desktop, to get there it requires people to stop talking about it, drop Windows and get on with it. As far as games go, I have a copy of dungeonkeeper that I would love to get running, I will just have to be patient!
As far as "Windows clone" distros go, we are not interested. This would be a move back to the propriatory software that we are deliberately moving away from.
I can't see this stuff appealing to corporates either. Will linux run my windows apps? The answer should remain "No", far better than "Maybe". In terms of support "Maybe" is a real non-starter.
Huh? Linux does X.
My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.
If this were really true then nobody would ever upgrade MS Windows either. Note the GUI changes between Windows 3.1 & 95, and again between NT & XP.
Windows is kept on the desktop by inertia. Under inertia I also include a host of custom applications that most companies have built up over time.
The thing is that most of the companies I've seen are gradually reducing their dependance on Windows. The new apps tend to be more and more browser based and will work anywhere. It's not gonna happen overnight, but there will be a shift away from Windows over time.
It is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail. - Abraham Maslow
I tried out Lycoris a while ago when I was exploring other distros. I was really pleased with the overall experience. Generally user friendly, clean interface, network browser worked well for me, and the forums on the company web site were very friendly and helpful. All in all, I think Lycoris is probably the best Linux desktop available for an average [windows] computer user (not the average linux user that is).
My only gripe was that so much software I'm used to finding on a unix-like OS was simply missing. Unless you knew better, you ended up after the initial install with out a compiler or make or anything to roll your own software. This of course became a hastle when wanted to install new software later.
My point is, Lycoris is NOT for the linux power user out there (or maybe even average linux user), but then, it isn't targeted to be. For it's target audience, I think Lycoris makes an excellent choice of a Linux desktop (although, one might wonder how much of such an audience exists).
Who said Freedom was Fair?
Jebus... If you're going to quote The Simpsons, at least do it right:
Who controls the British crown?
Who keeps the metric system down?
We do! We do.
Who leaves the Atlantis off the maps?
Who keeps the Martians under wraps?
We do! We do.
Who holds back the electric car?
Who makes Steve Guttenberg a star?
We do! We do.
Who robs cave fish of their sight?
Who rigs every Oscar night?
We do! We do.
at a customer's worksite. Yesterday I took a win2k workstation, blew off the OS and installed SuSE 8.0. Then I downloaded the Citrix client for Linux and installed that and configured it for the user. Today we'll take the box to the client and put it to work.
The biggest problem we've encountered with Linux on the desktop isn't using Linux (I've used it on my desktop for years) but interfacing it with the applications that have been sold to businesses that only work with MS operating systems. This particular customer uses its main application over a Citrix server and we convinced them to give Linux a try. After all, there isn't much difference between using Citrix on a Win2k box than on a Linux box... but the websurfing will be done with Linux (Galeon)... and email with Evolution.
No one ever had to evacuate a city because the solar panels broke!
Well, first off, this product is targetted at the relatives of people who like Linux. Is the average person going to wontonly switch to a totally foreign operating system based on ideals he or she may not care about? Probably not. But I've seen several posts today along the lines of, "this would be great for my mom..." That being the case, the only people who are really going to buy or download this product are the people who will be doing the actually installation, i.e. geeks.
So, a geek decides to free his mother from the oppressive hand of The Man. Given the choice of a $30 OS with 60 days support and a free OS with no support, which is he going to chose? If something breaks he knows he's going to be the one driving to his mother's place to fix it, so support be damned. How likely is he to buy the product? Even if he's fairly honest he's probably got it in his head that he is a contributing member of some altruistic community and this company owes him a free distribution.
So he downloads the ISO and burns it to disc, as will every other geek. Lycoris can no longer afford to pay its developers (who, in my opinion, have done a damn good job of integration), and they go under.
Or they can comply to the GPL only in the ways that they need to, and they can make you pay for the ease of having the product on a handy CD (as opposed to the hefty task of downloading the snapshots). They don't have to hand you the code; they just have to make it available. And technically it is.
This is the same tactic SuSE uses, and I'm 100% behind it. It allows companies to hire talent and addt some profit motive into the Linux industry, which results in better products and cooler jobs. There's a lot of free software developers scratching their own itches, but to get anyone to do anything revolutionary (as in complete, integrated, bug-free, and usable) you have to pay them (witness OS X).
Linux on the desktop is not dead by any means.
Clearly Microsoft wants to put out the phrase hoping that the weak of mind will believe it.
But, it is just getting started.
Lindows and Mandrake have just now shown up on the Wal-mart web site. Sure, DELL was beaten up by Gates and forced to beg off the market for now, but they will return. It may not be until the idiots at Microsoft are forced to comply with the appropriate laws, but it will happen.
How can you help?
Help distribute OpenOffice and even help promote StarOffice. Contact your local "beige box boys" and suggest they preload at least OpenOffice with every PC that goes out the door. They can even charge a few dollars extra to have it installed. Windows or linux, it does not matter. It is the benefit to the custom that will help alternative products and linux included.
If Wal-Mart can sell PCs preloaded with Mandrake and Lindows, then so can the rest of them. And, once competition knows what is expected of them, they will comply. What is gone are the days when an extra $700 of Microsoft software is bundled with each PC that sells. That is no longer necessary. And, the vendors who figure that out will get the business.
Have you compared Xandros or even the old Corel Linux with the windows explorer? Maybe you should.
Corel Linux (several years old by now) is just as easy to use as windows ever was. And, currently Xandros is taking it a bit farther. Even farther than Mandrake with its "switch screen" features. It allows the user to log on another screen without logging off the first one. And then, of course, switching back and forth between users.
Does it matter that Xandros puts out that kind of feature?
Yes, it does.
Linux will provide the platform for a whole series of very useful features. A single entity such as Microsoft simply can not and will not do so. Neither will just Mandrake. But, putting RedHat, Mandrake, Corel, eLx, Xandros, Lindows and others all into a highly competitive marketplace will greatly expand that marketplace and provide real benefits for all kinds of consumers.
Linux on the desktop is not dead. Microsoft might be.
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