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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.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
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
did you see the screenshots?
That's a lawsuit just waiting to happen... All the sub-apps like the Task Manager and all the Properties windows are a perfect copy! Very impressive.
The review doesn't mention one of the most important criteria: what are the copying conditions for Xandros?
-- Ed Avis ed@membled.com
I agree with you on that. Linux needs a lot of work on hardware support and graphic interface frontends before it can be used comparably to Windows or Mac OS as a desktop. Right now, the initial install and setup are easy enough in a distro like RH9.. as long as all hardware supported and can be autoconfigured. If not, it almost certainly means having to configure things through a command line. It's gotten a lot better, but it still has a long way to go, especially if the user wants to do anything more than basic Web/mail/word processing. I mean, RH9 doesn't even include MP3 codecs for XMMS. Network autoconfiguration has gotten a lot better (DHCP works a lot better in RH9 than it did for me in 7.3) but anything beyond Ethernet-to-broadband-router (even dial-up) still takes a lot of work with configuration files and such IMHO. And out of the box, even Red Hat 9 isn't able to set up Samba by itself, so there goes filesharing to Windows machines on the network. Basically my point is that it's gotten a lot better, but there is still a REALLY long way to go before it can be considered for widespread desktop use.
Sorry, my karma just ran over your dogma.
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.
Linux is not ready for the desktop. They are not even close. Not now. Not ever.
Thanks for your comments. You could be even more helpful if you'd tell us what is wrong with the linux desktop (it must be pretty big if you think it'll never be fixed).
The complaint I hear from most people boils down to "it isn't windows". This is a fair point; we all enjoy what we're used to. This is why I'm pleased to see Lindows, lowering one entry barrier people have to using linux. Secondly I'm glad to see some OEMS selling Open Source apps with windows installations (one example I know of personally is some cheaper computers being shipped with OpenOffice).
Anyway, back on point... if Xandros is really "simple, easy and fast" as the review says, then Xandros has the upper hand over most other linux distributions. People will only become used to Linux when it is so transparent that they aren't even aware that there is a different OS, and these qualities in Xandros really help achieve that.
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.
Hmmm is this really any improvement? The biggest complaint many people have with Microsoft and Windows, is that its proprietary nature stiffles any innovation. I'd much rather see someone make a desktop that expands beyond XP then tries its hardest to emulate it. Id be more excited about a DEXP, Doesn't Emulate XP then an XPDE.
What's another word for Thesaurus?
-Steve Wright
Linux on the desktop will happen when its ready to happen. All this pushing does nothing to aide linux.
All that will happen is less experienced users will hear all the fuss and see phrases like "A free windows alternative" and attempt to give it a go.
Assuming they find their way through the installer, they will find that their modems, web cams etc dont work and various other niggly issues that still cause alot of problems.
The brave end-user that tried it out will head back to windows, never to enter linux territory again and whats more, will likely tell all his friends not to bother. The hype will be countered with anti-hype and things stay as they are.
When linux is viable on the desktop (for Joe Public) it will happen, trying to push it before this point will just be detrimental.
I cant understand the push anyway. Does the linux community need to validate its existance by taking on the evil empire?
Have you even tried Xandros 2? I have, on my laptop. All the stuff you're going on about worked fine. It took me all of 2 minutes to configure my Winmodem dialup account. First time ever a distro configured a winmodem for me. Flat out, everything worked well. Crossover Office configured Forte Agent in no time. Newsbin Pro even worked. (It never did for me before) I configured a Windows printer in less time that it takes me in SuSE 9. This product is GOOD! Samba worked out of the box. I could share files both ways on a windows network.
I've never really felt Windows was ready for the desktop (look at all the security vulnerabilities), so who cares if Linux isn't either.
I've been using Xandros Desltop 2.0 for a few weeks, coming to it after several years with a number of other distributions.
It is, indeed, a slick piece of work. Installed as advertised. Detected and offered the correct drivers for all of my periperals, including my printer. Saved me the trouble of chasing down and installing some Mozilla plugins. Crossover works as advertised. The tweaks to KDE are well done and present a professional image.
The standard install does not deposit the usual retinue of servers and development tools on your drive (most are available on the 2nd CD or via download). That makes sense for the market Xandros is targetting. (Makes sense for me, too. On my home desktop box, I don't need 'em.)
If Xandros targeted the geek market, included the usual geek software, rewrote their manual, and changed their advertising to downplay the Windows thing, this distribution would be seen by geeks as the best desktop Linux released to date. Most geeks won't look at it that way, but they'll be wrong.
-- Slashdot: When Public Access TV Says "No"
FYI, Bioware has ported Neverwinter Nights to Linux (or was it the other way around?). All you need is a CD key, the game resources (from the CD, or you can actually download a 1.1 gig tar.gz file containing everything from the CDs), and a small client installation file. It runs great!
Neverwinter Nights for Linux
I have read the review, and all the other ones that are floating around on the net, and yes, beside Knoppix (www.knoppix.net) Xandros is stepping in the right direction to complete the bridge for Home Linux users. Not to say Xandros doesn't have flaws (Slow Loading, No 2.6 Kernel, And it didnt get all my hardware). Then again Windows Xp didn't get all my hardware either. Either case, they have pretty much made a seamless gap for people looking try linux, and have the ability of dual booting. One of the features I enjoyed was their File Browers. It has been re-written to make it appear as tho you are in Windows, and don't have the evil Linux (*nx) file system Structure. Flaws with it: * Any game you play with a game pad - Need to download, and install modules. * Sometime when accessing your CDRom, it will say it doesn't exist, and has an error about mounting /var/.../../.. ?
* Slow booting, and Shutdown
* I have to manually force it to use ACPI 4 Not
ACPI 3, 2,1 or APM 4,3,2,1 .. Why all the
choices?
* Xandros Networks has a button called "Update
All" don't seem to work, or at least the 4 time
I tried it.
* And last but not least, Not a aXandros Only
problem, some windows games will not work under
WineX.
Final Comment: -> Very stable, Using RiserFS works flawlessly, and you get one of everything.. (Browers, text editor, chat program)
I almost agree with you.
If you want to lure them away from Windows, you have to offer them something better.
That something better changes depending on who you are talking to. To the majority of the users of desktop operating systems, better means: like Windows so it's familiar, but sell it for less. And make sure it just works. IMHO, OS X is there.
If you want to drag them away from Windows, then you are talking about people who have no choice in OS (i.e. employees). Make it familiar so retraining costs are minimized, make it work well, have a corporation behind it for support, and make it cheap.
I don't think anybody is just copying crap blindly. A familiar interface is not necessarily a bad thing.
-ec
Started with Xandros/1.0 a while back. Nice simple package, installs all by itself, but a little dusty around the edges. But hey, it brought a number of old PCs back to life as simple browser/email/Office boxes, no hassle.
Chucked Xandros/2.0 deluxe onto a box (from which I'm typing this). My main machine, now. The switch from a W2K notebook was remarkably easy. I did use CrossoverOffice to install MSIE because we need this to test some applications. But most everything else has gone the native Linux way.
Xandros' good points: Debian, the file manager, seamless integration with Windows networks, good selection of packages, clean and dry user interface (compared to the 'how much more can we add' horrors of Lindows 4.5). Everything a 'normal' user needs within easy reach, and very little poking under the hood to make it all work. The file manager is especially lovely, though I suspect a large part of that comes from Konqueror. Double-click on _anything_ and something useful happens. Archives magically uncompress, ISO images magically get burnt to CD, Windows executables run immediately (assuming CrossoverOffice is there), RPMs get launched in the Xandros installer. It "just works", and that's the greatest compliment I can give any software.
Xandros' weak point is the lack of some useful packages in the standard sources. To burn DVDs for instance I needed to install K3b and a number of auxilliary tools myself, some from source, some from RPMs and other packages. But then exploring and installing one's own packages from source is part of the fun of getting the system you want.
Linux is an operating system with depth (as are most Unix systems). Xandros wraps this up so nicely that you almost get that Windows experience. But when you open the wrapping, there is solid metal underneath, and it feels good.
I forgot how limiting Windows was, how many comprimises there are in the platform, and to tell the truth after a decade of using mainly Windows, I was a little scared to jump to a Linux distro. Xandros made this move easy, so easy that I did not once think 'Oh, forget it'.
Ceci n'est pas une signature
Why does everyone knock on Gentoo claiming it's hard to use. I'm a linux newbie and have been for about 5 years. I tried Caldera, couldn't get the hang of it. Tried Red Hat didn't like it either. Tried Gentoo, I love it. It's the first distro that didn't leave me confused after the install. Sure Red Hat and Caldera installed easier, but Gentoo was better documented, and since I had to do many things manually I learned what would need done in the future if I needed to change something. For instance under Red Hat I didn't know what I needed to do to add another hard drive to my system, or to change network cards.
With Gentoo during the install I learned how to create filesystems, configure and compile the kernel, and lots of other stuff. It takes more work, but I wouldn't call it difficult. Grandma couldn't do it, but my dad or my 13 year old cousin probably could.
Non gratis rodentus anus
did you see the screenshots?
;-]
Heh - yeah. I got a kick out of the one labeled "KDE tray applications work". I pulled it up and found a picture of kscd displaying an error.
Way to proof-read your website guys!
"A revolution without dancing is... a revolution not worth having"
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?
If you had said Linux is not ready for the average Joe Consumer purchasing their first computer at Best Buy, you might have a leg to stand on. But it most certainly *is* ready for the desktop. You can't make the claim that just because it doesn't run every single Windows application out there, that it isn't ready, because Mac OSX doesn't either, and no one with more than two brain cells would claim OSX isn't ready for the desktop.
I could be wrong though. I don't use Linux. I use FreeBSD. But considering that the GUI/desktop portion is exactly identical to Linux, I don't think I am. I use FreeBSD/XFree86/KDE on my desktop at work and at home, including a laptop. I still have a Windows partition, but that's ONLY for the use of ONE highly specialized program. Everything else is native FreeBSD. Web browsing, email, word processing, spreadsheets, digital cameras, photo processing, music, etc, etc. There's no common task you can do on your desktop that I can't do on mine, and just as easily.
What's holding Linux and BSD back is not the desktop. That battle has been won. What's missing is easy to perform system administration. But for many systems, that's not too far off. It was actually easier to install and configure FreeBSD on my laptop than it was to do the same with WinXP.
Don't blame me, I didn't vote for either of them!
You know, I don't like Windows as much as the next fellow, but let's take a look at your comment.
"If you want to drag people away from the abomination that is windows, you have to offer something better instead of just copying the crap blindly"
Ah yes, an abomination. Such an abomination that KDE for Linux and BSD uses a start button, MacOS has used a start button or a launch bar since 7.x, and neXt used it too.
Clearly, Xandros should have consulted you instead of "just copying the crap blindly" like four disparate OSs have done since the 1990s. Really.
"If you want to drag people away from the abomination that is windows, you have to offer something better instead of just copying the crap blindly"
From what I can see, they are. They're not copying the various shitty-ass Linux UIs which prevent you from copying and pasting from 1 program to another, they're not saying "j00 n33d to 8e l33t" to use Linux, and they're not assuming people want to use a completely unfamiliar UI.
But, to be fair, I'm certain you're an experienced UI expert. Please share your design insights with the rest of us so that the world can finally see a non-derivative UI.
Peace,
Chuck
Let me start off by saying you really WON'T need your Windows apps after switching to Linux. That's old news. Now you can get Linux native apps that do that same things as their Windows counterparts and do it just as well. (Just as easy to install too) I run Linux on my laptop and XP on my desktop and there's nothing I can't do with my laptop and Linux native apps that I can do on my desktop. To get to that point took more work on my part, but far less then it would have a year ago. Plus... if you do find something that only works on Windows (say some MS Office feature) you can run most of the major Windows Apps painlessly on Linux with Codeweaver's Crossover Office and/or Plugin. I've not had a need to use it on my system BUT I have used it before and it's about as simple to use as you can get. The apps don't run as fast, and there are a few very minor bugs here and there for some apps, but it's still very usuable. Standard WINE is a MAJOR pain in the butt to use... unless someone written a very well detailed how-to already.
As far as games go... Linux is definitely not there yet. Particularly with DirectX games. WineX works pretty well for a lot older games (1-2 years old being considered "new") but still nowhere near well as Windows apps do. You will have to do some work to get them running too. Good thing is that most of the major games have Linux native versions. With the state of 3D and video card driver support, openGL, etc... they still don't run as well as on Windows systems but they are playable. So if you play a lot of games I'd say hold off with Linux OR dual boot because Linux isn't there (yet).
All and all Linux makes a very good desktop for something that's computer savvy. There's still a lot of work to go before it's as easy to use as Windows but at the rate things change in the Linux world I wouldn't be suprised it it was pretty close in the next 2-3 years. I think it will take commercial development to do it.. since consistency is not something the community does well.. but with IBM and others going to Linux on the Desktop that will happen.
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".
The install went like a breeze. I really liked it compared to the Mandrake install because it asked for all the usual information (ip address/dhcp, root pass, users and passwords etc etc) up front rather than after the install process.
My impression of the desktop was rapidly lowered when it booted up into KDE after the install. I'm a major KDE fan, so why the default browser was Mozilla rather than Konqueror?
And it was the full Mozilla, rather than the nippy, lightweight Firebird
But I digress here - i think Xandros made a strategic error here. Konqueror is tightly integrated into KDE - that's the whole point of KDE - make it easy , make it integrated. Ok, this sounds like Micro$oft, but the strategy is clearly aimed at Grandma/Joe Six pack end user.
Why lump them with Moz , when even Moz themselves say that the Moz browser is too bloaty?
I couldn't find Kmail either - i had to use the Moz emailer (urggh), and loading times on my test 700 mhz , 128mb box were appalling - about 5 seconds to load the Moz browser.
My honest advice to Xandros is - dump Moz, keep OpenOffice, and make Konqueror/Kmail the default browser & email system.
And yes folks - i know how to change this on Xandros to my own preferences, but that's not the point - we're talking about Joe Six Pack end user here. The distro initial decisions ARE important. Incredibly important.
But on that negative note, i must leave with a very positive note - the install process is best i've ever seen in distro so far. It's awesome - and highly professional and well presented. It's a new benchmark that other distro's should follow. (well, i haven't tried out Mepis yet - or texstar's PCLinuxOS...)
You could be even more helpful if you'd tell us what is wrong with the linux desktop
OK, I'll bite.
1) where is the linux desktop? What is it called? Where do I get it?
2) When will cut/copy/and paste work?
3) How do I install new software?
4) How do I install new hardware?
Its hard to think of others, because I've used Linux for 9 years now, and am used to it, but there are plenty of things it needs before going prime time on the desktop. And ripping off Window's GUI is about the last priority. Why not rip off Apple? Back in 95 that is what Windows did.
I have never used Xandros, I'm sure it's fine. But the habit of the reviewer of saying things like "even a total newbie to Linux will have an easy time navigating" really bugged me. How does he know? Did he (a) have a total newbie (or, even better, several of them) try it? Or (b) did he just play with it and think to himself "hmm... this is _really_ easy for me, so it must be at least fairly easy for a newbie".
Since he didn't go to any lengths to claim it was (a), I'll assume (b). In which case saying something like "a total newbie will find this easy" is quite meaningless. Why? Because - as anyone who has experience with usability testing will attest - it's really hard to predict what a "total newbie" will and won't find confusing. _Especially_ when you're an advanced user (say, a reviewer on "extremetech.com".
That's all.
grib.
maybe
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!
Having two desktop environments is confusing to people who aren't used to all the choices that open source software offers. And those are exactly the people in the Xandros target market. My father started using computers after he turned 50. He's used Xandros since 1.0, and had Corel Linux before that.
Now that he's been using Linux for a few years, he installs GNOME libraries on his own so that he can use GNOME applications. But when he first started out, having one desktop environment, and having one kind of each application was enough.
My mother on the other hand, still uses Windows. She's had Windows 98 installed since 1998, and now has a start menu that is two times as long as the screen. She gets perplexed by all the options. If i were to install Linux for her, it would probably be Xandros or something else that is simple (as opposed to having lots of options).
Xandros customers also have access to Xandros message boards. On them users and a few Xandros employees help each other with support issues. If someone heard that Gaim is better than Kopete and wanted to try it out, i'm willing to bet they could get the help they needed.
But if it's a person's first time on a new desktop, they'll likely get confused by the difference between KDE and GNOME applications, and wonder which of the three or four instant messaging programs they should use.
Jeremy McNaughton
I dont want Linux to look/behave/feel like Windows
Linux is also about choice. What you like, someone else won't like - and vice versa. That's why you can choose not to install XPDE, whereas others might choose to.
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).
The article lists 3 negative points:
1) No VPN "wizard"
This is absurdly nitpicky. It might be a neat extra feature, but I don't think any OS has a VPN wizard in the base install.
2) America's Army isn't bundled.
Excuse me? Are you insane? Why in the name of heaven would Xandros bundle a 3D game with their OS that is being targeted at corporate desktops? Windows doesn't bundle any games besides a few amusements of their own, and I can't think of another distribution that would package any major 3rd-party game, let alone one that is as politically loaded as America's Army. Linux is very international, you know... What ever happened to acquiring software and installing it? Who says it has to be bundled with the OS?
3) No Gnome
While I would be the first to argue for Gnome over KDE in the first place, including Gnome with Xandros would really be the wrong decision. Gtk libraries are an inexcusable omission if that's the case, but Gnome is an entirely separate desktop environment. Xandros is taking a stand for one DE and I respect that, given that they are targeting their distribution to a very specific market. Windows doesn't include Litestep, OSX doesn't include a full OS9 environment, so I fail to see the precedent among commercially-targeted OSes. Both Gnome and KDE are designed from the ground-up to work in a vacuum, and any interoperability is, at the moment, kludgey at best.
-3Suns
~~~~
The Revolution will be Slashdotted
Once upon a time (late last year, actually), I read an article about an electric car. It's a very expensive and impractical one in many ways, mind you, but they got one part really, really right: the range on a single charge was approximately 300 miles.
Now, you can read that two ways. Since I'm familiar with electric car technology, I know that you're lucky to get 45 miles out of a single charge in most electric cars, and the best ones can stretch to about 90. I also know that my little Nissan Sentra has a range of approximately 360 miles. So I looked at that 300 mile range number, and thought, "Holy Crap! They just leaped from 1/4 the range of my Sentra to 5/6 the range -- that's phenomenal!"
The person who wrote the article, however, presumably wasn't familiar with the technology. Or perhaps he drives a car that gets 40+mpg and carries 16 gallons. I'm not sure why, but they looked at that 300 mile range and called the range "extremely limited".
This is how I see these "is Linux ready for the desktop?" discussions.
If you've been playing with Linux and Windows for a few years, and then you try something like Xandros, you're likely to say "Holy Crap! They have made a huge leap forward in hardware compatibility, integration, ease of installation and use, functionality and compatibility, akin to the functionality of Windows 98!"
If you've been playing with Windows exclusively, and you don't see or understand the progress that has been made in the last few years, you're likely to say "Well, I clicked something and got an error message I didn't understand, and it didn't set up exactly like my Windows box did, so I don't think it's ready for the desktop."
I can play 3D shooter games. I can run 95% of the programs I want for work and play. I can listen to streaming radio stations, download account information from my bank, and SSH into my email server at home to bypass the company firewall. It's not parity with Windows XP, but it's getting mighty close.
And it's a heck of a lot more ready for the desktop than Windows 95 was -- and we all used that once upon a time.
Well, the URL is incredibly convoluted, but it doesn't appear to be session specific or anything, so here you go :)
:)
(I searched at walmart.com on "Lindows" and then "all results in Electronics.")
It's not the latest or greatest, but it's got a faster processor than any machine I own, a hard drive we (I) would have (figuratively speaking) killed for a few years ago, enough RAM to run a nice GUI, etc. And obviously, it runs Linux, if that matters to you, courtesy of Michael Robertson
timothy
jrnl: http://tinyurl.com/c2l8yr / foes: http://tinyurl.com/ckjno5