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Another Xandros 2.0 Deluxe Review

Posted by michael on from the linux-for-your-mom dept.

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.

6 of 225 comments (clear)

  1. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  2. Changeover time? by TheSpoom · · Score: 4, Interesting

    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
  3. Re:XPDE? by gowen · · Score: 3, Interesting
    That's a lawsuit just waiting to happen
    Only over the name; otherwise Microsoft would be hoist by their own petard
    --
    Athletic Scholarships to universities make as much sense as academic scholarships to sports teams.
  4. My primary criteria is not met... by RobertB-DC · · Score: 4, Interesting

    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.
  5. Wine does a good job for most things by Azureflare · · Score: 3, Interesting
    But you'd be wise to check compatibility ratings for games on the transgaming forums and the winehq.com application database. They are invaluable for determining if your favorite games will run on linux. I have been able to get all of my favorite games running (warcraft III, Neverwinter Nights, Oni, starcraft) and I was just using normal wine, hacking the configs. There are a lot of resources for getting stuff to work under linux with wine (frankscorner.org is really great), but if you want stuff done easily, you can go with winex, and/or crossover office. At this point, wine by itself is still a real PITA to set up Microsoft products, and other windows applications (though I have successfully gotten all apps I need running on linux... Oh the joy when I got Dreamweaver MX to work without crashing!)

    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.

  6. Re:XPDE? by hackstraw · · Score: 4, Interesting

    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".