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Xandros 1.0
Mr. Smoove writes "Despite the quick-off-the-mark review from Newsforge this morning, the Xandros 1.0 desktop is finally here! No free download so you'll have to shell out US$99 for it but you do get an enhanced (?) version of KDE 2.2 and built-in Cross-Over Plugin and Office! Finally a decent challenger to Lycoris and also what Lindows should have been..." There's also an interview with a Xandros executive.
Since you aren't entitled to the sources unless you obtain the binaries legit, then what is the problem? The GPL doesnt say anything about giving the sources out free to everyone. It says if you give out a binary to someone, that person is also entitled to the soruces free of charge. (ie, email them and they will be required to send it to you)
/. a hundred times.
If someone buys the $99 dollar copy, then posts the binaries and sources on his website for free download, that would be fine, but so far, nobody has done that, so you must pay $99 dollars if you want it. GPL isn't free beer.
Go read the GPL, this question has been answered on
Two infinite things: your stupidity and mine. But I'm not sure about the latter. If my sig offends you, I'm sorry.
Big, big mistake. In fact, if they don't provide some kind of live-cd, ala SuSE, they'll completely flop. It's that simple. No one will pay for an OS that they haven't used at a friends house or can freely try it out on their own, especially when the packages are so out-of-date (all these "Windows-killers" seem to use that same outdated version of KDE). Check out the Xandros page at distrowatch and see for yourself.
LindowsOS saved itself by coming pre-installed on WalMart PC's--Xandros will have to try and pull some similar maneuvre. As I see it, there's no way in hell other *NIX users will pay for something they already have, and Windows users are skeptical of change as is ("You mean to tell me they're making this for free?" usually sets them off).
If Xandros were the best desktop distro ever, it wouldn't matter if they couldn't get people to try it, and then buy it. I hope they do in the future, because I'm actually interested in this.
Slashdot: Where people pretend to be twice as smart as they really are by behaving like children.
Yes, it is legal to make a GPLed project only available for pay.
The fact a product is GPLed means basically two things:
If you give someone a copy of the product, they are allowed to give it away to anyone they like, and you cannot stop them.
That's ALL. There. It's said. Now you don't have to complain about the $99 thing, right? Becuase you all get it now. So shut up. There's a nice FAQ here if you're still confused.
I'm too late by now, aren't i?
Its not that unproven.
Seriously, Xandros is just the new version of Corel's Linux. Corel also has part ownership in Xandros.
Its definately not the OS you stick on your webserver... its not meant to be. Its a desktop distro that is supposedly very good at what it does. I sure wouldn't pay that kind of money for it, but for those who are interested in Linux but don't know where to begin, it might be a good thing.
I know a few people who really honestly loved Corel's distro and can't seem to get their minds around any of the others, so for them its probably a no-brainer.
you seem to mistake no litigation with no teeth.
the FSF tries to save money by trying to work with the infringing company to fix the gpl violations. if it comes down to it, the FSF tells the infringing company that it must stop using the software of face litigation. no company has tried to fight the GPL, so in ecense it does have teeth since it keeps infringers from using the product out of fear of litigation. about it holding up in court or not, I do not see why it would not....copyright give authors control over the agreement with other parties who want to use there creation....if I say you have to give this to one other person in order to use it, then you have to give it to one other person or you don't get to use it.....
very simple stuff.
I am the Alpha and the Omega-3
We're not following the traditional Linux distribution approach where you've got six calculators, four text editors, three of this and two of that -- you get one of everything with us.
Thank god. This is something I wish more distros would do. Most seem to think that if I get eight different crappy ways to set up PPP, I'll be happy.
Try this:
Let me tell you: Internet Explorer 5.5 runs beautifully in Xandros. I've used Crossover to install Explorer on Mandrake and SuSE, with only partial success. But everything about Explorer is right this time: the fonts, the javascript, the layouts, the speed -- everything.
Unless you think the reviewer is lying, this may indicate that this particular distribution did it right with the MS compatibility. This is a big deal, if you like to use the MS stuff.
from the GPL:
3. You may copy and distribute the Program (or a work based on it, under Section 2) in object code or executable form under the terms of Sections 1 and 2 above provided that you also do one of the following:
* a) Accompany it with the complete corresponding machine-readable source code, which must be distributed under the terms of Sections 1 and 2 above on a medium customarily used for software interchange; or,
* b) Accompany it with a written offer, valid for at least three years, to give any third party, for a charge no more than your cost of physically performing source distribution, a complete machine-readable copy of the corresponding source code, to be distributed under the terms of Sections 1 and 2 above on a medium customarily used for software interchange; or,
* c) Accompany it with the information you received as to the offer to distribute corresponding source code. (This alternative is allowed only for noncommercial distribution and only if you received the program in object code or executable form with such an offer, in accord with Subsection b above.)
E-mail is fine and dandy. You can even charge costs, and you only have to do it for three years.
Reading over the posts, it seems many are miffed about Xandros not having a downloadable version for people to try. Apparently, the prevailing view is why buy it if you can't try it. Folks, this is so hypocritical. You see, I feel the same way about MacOS X. The only reason I would be interested in it is for the GUI, but if I can't even try that, I'm not shelling out the money so I can lock myself into their hardware. At least with Linux I can configure KDE 3 to approximate the look of OS X, and I've found I like it. But what I like best of all is that my desktop can look like Aqua, but I don't have to pay for the privilege to restrict myself to Aqua.
As for using KDE 2.2, do you think maybe the emphasis is on stability, not having the newest stuff? Doesn't Debian do the same thing too? And if you don't like the version Debian stable uses, you can upgrade. Guess what, you can upgrade Xandros too.
I await -1 troll (called posters hypocrites, mentioned Apple in non reverential tone), but I just can't get over the whining!
If thou see a fair woman pay court to her, for thus thou wilt obtain love
"The shipping version of Xandros has two CDs. One is the main desktop that we think is good enough and stable enough, and easy enough for people to use. The second CD is basically KDE 3, so the bleeding edge users can try it out to see what the fuss is all about. We are trying to satisfy both worlds, as opposed to just satisfying the bleeding edge.
take the GPL quiz, They must send you a copy, only email or only over the internet. Suitable is taken to mean by the same delivery method as you recieved the binaries, e.g. Post.
also from the FAQ's
" You're supposed to provide the source code by mail-order on a physical medium, if someone orders it. You are welcome to offer people a way to copy the corresponding source code by FTP, in addition to the mail-order option, but FTP access to the source is not sufficient to satisfy section 3 of the GPL.
When a user orders the source, you have to make sure to get the source to that user. If a particular user can conveniently get the source from you by anonymous FTP, fine--that does the job. But not every user can do such a download. The rest of the users are just as entitled to get the source code from you, which means you must be prepared to send it to them by post.
If the FTP access is convenient enough, perhaps no one will choose to mail-order a copy. If so, you will never have to ship one. But you cannot assume that.
Of course, it's easiest to just send the source with the binary in the first place. "
" "Valid for any third party" means that anyone who has the offer is entitled to take you up on it.
If you commercially distribute binaries not accompanied with source code, the GPL says you must provide a written offer to distribute the source code later. When users non-commercially redistribute the binaries they received from you, they must pass along a copy of this written offer. This means that people who did not get the binaries directly from you can still receive copies of the source code, along with the written offer.
The reason we require the offer to be valid for any third party is so that people who receive the binaries indirectly in that way can order the source code from you. "
thank God the internet isn't a human right.
It looks like I'm gonna have to stand up once again and go against the grain. I love everything I've seen on Xandros. I think the client is a great, great thing, and basing it on stable, bug-free code (KDE 2.2 instead of 3) is a very smart idea.
/. readers buying the distro: They want corporate accounts. And by the looks of it, they're going to get them.
These guys are off on the right foot. They don't want
Why? Simple. The file manager is brilliant in terms of what it does, how it looks, and how it can be incorporated with existing machines, and especially, domains. You ever wonder what Linux has been missing? Well, this is it.
Does anyone else here, especially those bitching the loudest, actually administer users? I don't know about you, but any tiny change will cause an uproar. A rollout of Mandrake, Redhat, or SuSE would cause numerous heart attacks where I work, with users complaining about everything from clutter in the menus (why are there 4 different configuration menus in Redhat? No one's really sure...) to lack of a decent resolution changer, something Xandros already has. Training is a big issue in large companies, and the more you can port from Windows to Xandros, the easier (and more compelling) a choice it will be.
OpenOffice should save companies lots of cash. It's compatible with Office 97->XP docs, and the savings on the lack of licensing on that product alone will be worth raising an eyebrow for the upper execs. Those who still need it for Outlook, Powerpoint and/or Access can keep their copies at little to no cost of what businesses are paying now, or simply buy the products seprately instead of the whole office suite. The only thing needed now is a true, open source Exchange-connecting email client (I know Evolution can use the calendars, but it costs $70 and I love Linux because 95% of it is free) and then they'll really be in high cotton.
I know everyone's balking about the cost, the GPL source tinkering, and the rest, but from a sys admin's POV, this OS has done more in one release than Redhat did in five.
things like the two crossover packages, which by the way, cost together near 99$. Xandros is a pretty good deal like that, especially if you are a new linux user (who they are targetting).
What is this distro really? And how does it compare to Corel Linux 1.2/Second Edition? What have they removed/replaced and what have they added? I have established the following so far:
- CrossOver Office and Plugin are installed but the versions supplied are NOT supported by Codeweavers
- Non-destructive (will you backup?) NTFS partition resizing is in as part of the install, and that I must say is a great innovation!
- OpenOffice is present
- It's basically Debian Woody at heart
- It seems the Corel File Manager and Samba integration suite are still alive and kicking
- The Corel X control panel seems to have gained multi-monitor support!
- They've gained a switch user function like WinXP
- Extended hardware autodetection including drivers for WinModems!
- They've put back in a text installer!!!!! No more you can't install if your video card brings down the installation system.
- Xfree86 4.2! Not the debian 4.1. I wonder if this is a homebrew or the test debian packages from X-Strike-Force (presume homebrew).
Right what has anyone else figured out, or even better does anyone out there have Corel Linux 1.2/SE AND Xandros 1.0 to compare and contrast? Some specific interesting (to me anyway) questions would be?- Can it play DVD's
- Does it do anything to prevent you using official debian apt sources (libc or
...)
- If this is really "A system that is complete and functional as soon as you finish installing" does it still gracefully handle the power of dpkg/apt through XandrosUpdate?
- What java suite do they use and how is it packaged and what licence is it under?
- How compatible are their chat tools and will they remain so? Are they actively developing or contributing to their devopment or just hoping for the best?
I presume there are a million and one other questions I have forgotten as I wrote this but I'll sum it all up by saying:I think Corel Linux was a great start to an OS project. I went far beyond anything any other Linux distro had done to reach out to the non-enthusiasts out there and offer them an alternative to Windows for their x86 computer. It wasn't perfect, it was a work in progress, and I hope that Xandros are actually able to take the ball and run with it as it had promise. The only things I question are the shift away from the home market, the lack of a Free CD and the inclusion of CrossOver Office which diminishes the impact of OpenOffice (Corel supplied a WP8 with their distro and let you choose the office tools you wanted on top of that, i.e. gnumeric or WPO2000 or StarOffice).
Never underestimate the dark side of the Source