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Another Xandros 2.0 Deluxe Review
JimLynch writes in about his review: "If we had to define Xandros 2.0 with one word, we'd pick 'usable.' This time around, the folks at Xandros have refined their product significantly and come up with something that makes Linux quite comfortable and easy to use, even if you're a total newbie to the OS. Obviously the Gentoo crowd won't be interested in this distro, but Windows users who haven't used Linux before or have had bad experiences with other distros will particularly enjoy this release. The time to begin the desktop migration to Linux might very well have arrived with Xandros 2.0." An earlier review was also favorable.
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OK, I've been thinking about making "the big leap" to a Linux distro for a while, and this Windows application compatibility looks really intriguing. Can someone give me an idea of how well it works, and any configuration / compatibility snafus it might have?
The only things, at this point, that would really prevent me from wanting to use Linux as my primary OS would be the ability to run Windows apps well (let's face it, I have a lot of apps on my system that work well already, and I don't want to have to lose access to them or have to reboot into Windows to use them), and the ability to play games / DirectX-based programs (I've heard WineX has this ability, any comments on how good it is / how easy it is to use / configure?).
I've recently been experimenting with KDE under Cygwin, which works surprisingly well except for a few glitches like not displaying JPEGs correctly (I've heard they fixed this in the latest version). Any comparisons?
It's better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it.
- E. Debs
Athletic Scholarships to universities make as much sense as academic scholarships to sports teams.
The following line blows my criteria for a Mom-ready Linux distro:
Price:
Xandros Standard $39.95, Xandros Deluxe $89
Yes, I'm cheap. But I got Knoppix from these guys for like three bucks, and that's just 'cause I was too lazy to configure the CD burner to do it myself.
When I screw something up on the Linux box, my wife shakes her head and says "You get what you pay for." On the other hand, she's not too excited about shelling out $100+ for Windows, and I'm not too excited about shelling out $40+ for Linux. Besides, if I weren't screwing up my installation all the time, how would I learn?
Of course, I could always do what one of my relatives did. He downloaded a pirated copy of WinXP Professional, and doesn't feel the least bit guilty. He was amused when he tried to apply a patch and got a message like "Dude! It's pirated! Go look for another download!". As a programmer (who enjoys getting *paid* to code), I just smile, while trying not to breathe through my nose... at least he doesn't ask me for tech support.
Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
I don't know about how Xandros 2.0 works out in this, as I haven't used it, but I feel we're still a few months away from really good compatibility with windows apps. Most of them work now, but some upcoming changes in shell32.dll implementations will make a huge difference for a lot of apps.
Each and every point is correct. Oh, I see, he must have broken the "don't evar criticize Slashdot" rule. He's not thinking like the Group is thinking.
I understand.
Perhaps MS might be keeping quiet about all this, delaying and hoping for the day that it gets included in numerous GNU/Linux distributions. Then MS can sue multiple GNU/Linux distributions in SCO-style (over some what they term as "IP" theft - not that I agree with those two terms).
Trust me, MS will be WELL aware of the existance of XPDE. Why are they not acting?
Actually it's trivial to remove the Launch button. One of the fun things about KDE is that you can configure it to look like almost any system. The important thing is the principle of least surprise. If you're used to clicking the lower-left corner to start an application, that's where there should be a button. If you're used to a menu along the top, there should be one there.
It's not about copying or being unoriginal. Originality is not such a great thing - imagine if every car you drove had an "original" layout for the dashboard and gearstick.
Ceci n'est pas une signature
Seeing shots like this really make me embarassed to use Linux.
I use Linux because of what it has to offer me.
I dont use Windows because it has nothing to offer me (verified by a phone call with M$ last week:).
I dont want Linux to look/behave/feel like Windows.
Why on earth would someone pay the same amount of money for something that looks and feels just like windows (shutter) but has 0% of the software and hardware support? Wanna impress me, try ripping off OSX first, or for crying out loud rip off a Mac slogan and "Think Different".
I've been facing a similar dilemma, though I have some experience with desktop Linux (and a lot with servers).
Unfortunately, I'm not ready to live without Photoshop, Illustrator, AfterEffects, SoundForge and Flash MX. And I suppose I would probably absolutely have to run Excel etc every once in a while.
So I've been thinking about just running two computers all the time and having a KVM switch swap my input devices between them.
That way I could use Linux as my main software development and netstuff platform, and when I felt a need I could just flip the switch and be in my media authoring environment.
This might seem like overkill, but I have a hunch it's going to work out well. Until I get the cash together to build a Big Fat Compy and run VMware...
This Like That - fun with words!
I'm sorry, but my experience with linux would say otherwise.
I recently did a FTP install of SuSE 9.0, and here is my experience. The first thing that I had difficulty with was the pre installation setup. SuSE didn't detect my network card (a rather plain Linksys). After booting back into windows, I discovered that the module titled "tulip" was the correct module to use (if "tulip" is an intuitive title for a network module, I'd like to hear the explanation.
After selecting the correct network card, I was prompted for the FTP site that I would be installing from. Rather than the logical ftp.foo.com, I needed to know the numeric IP address. Of course this meant, booting into windows (again) and pinging the site to get the IP address.
The next step after the preinstall fiasco was to pick the bits I wanted to install, which YaST handled extremely well. After a while, the SaX2 utility was run to set up Xfree86. It did not detect my monitor correctly (no biggie, it was in the list) and promptly put me at the biggest thorn in my side, mouse configuratiom. I use a Microsoft Intellimouse Optical explorer, a 5 button (plus wheel) mouse that has both back and forwards buttons on the side. I was not, nor am I able today to get my mouse fully functioning in Linux. I followed instructions at 3 different sites that involved editing XF86Config, xinitrc, and imwheelrc (Still think linux is desktop ready?) After following the rather vague instructions, I was left with a system that would not boot into KDE, and I ended up having to edit the files from a command prompt.
Driver installation was a pain in linux because installing the Nvidia drivers requires a root shell with X not running. In SuSE (and fedora, maybe others) there isn't an option to boot without X, because the failsafe (command line) still has X running. Eventually, I googled and found that "init 3" was the command used to stop X. Silly me, I never would have guessed.
The next thing I did was to attempt to install the Evolution mail client. I performed the install instructions, and found that executing Evolution did nothing. I fired up YaST and it found evolution and completed the install steps I must have missed. On a side note, clicking links in the Summary pane does nothing (it is supposed to open the link in my web browser.)
The final thing I attempted with Linux was to get firebird up and running. Of course, my side mouse buttons didn't work (and still don't), but I had given up on that and wanted to move on to something that would be rewarding. Firebird in it's default form uses some dog-ugly fonts. I had installed my lovely truetype fonts in Linux (KDE looks great) and wanted Firebird to play along. After googling again I was given instructions that again required the editing of obscure text files, this time "unix.js"... After following the instructions, the font menu almost worked correctly. Firebird can find my truetype fonts, but clicking the OK button does nothing, zilch, nada. Infuriating to say the least. In the windows version of firebird, my side buttons work correctly, AND my fonts also work.
Other things that still don't work correctly are any program that requires root access (YaST, SaX2, Superuser Filebrowser, etc.) all have a checkbox to "Keep password"; none of them do.
Linux fans often loudly proclaim that linux is ready for the desktop, and for two subsets of users, they may be correct. People that have a guru to help them, and the gurus themselves. I am in neither of those categories and I find linux sorely lacking (the font and mouse button things drive me crazy).