Conectiva Linux 9 Review

JigSaw writes "Here's an english review of a popular Linux distro in the Latin American countries: Conectiva Linux 9. Jason Prince investigates its installation, the desktop usage, the package manager (synaptic) and some of the problems he met on the way."

Comments

Not that easy to intruduce a new OS

[gnuman99]

For example, in Vietnam something like 90-95% of all people use non-legal version of Windows. MS revenues there are somewhere in the 100M range (mostly from gov't). BUT, almost no one heard of Linux!!

No matter how good Linux is and how bad Windows is, people first have to know what Linux is. Once Desktop adoption in any country is over 10% or so, then it is a very slippery slope for MS. That is one reason why they are fighting so hard to keep >99% or so of the i386 desktop.

Re:Not that easy to intruduce a new OS

[spiritraveller]

So true... this is probably why they don't try harder to combat piracy in Southeast Asia.

Whenever they do, governments and corporations start examining Linux more closely.

As long as people copy Windows and Office, they think they are getting something good for free, and they will want to use the same software at work.

The best thing that could happen to Linux would be Microsoft cracking down hard on piracy and provoking governments and companies to switch to FOSS software to avoid legal hassles. But those same companies would still have to overcome the inertia of their employees who have grown up using pirated copies of Microsoft applications... of course, the same applies to the West.

Re:Not that easy to intruduce a new OS

[i_should_be_working]

agreed,

the only reason i started paying attention to linux was cause i was like 'hey, free (as in beer) software'. it wasn't until later that i started thinking about (and supporting) the open source idea.

in my lab we have lots of windows software that is free (to us students) cause we either have a site licence or it's pirated. and i still have a hard time explaining to my lab partners why i bother with linux when i can get windows for free.

i recently got one lab partner to try openoffice, and my main selling point was that she wouldn't have to worry about microsoft killing her OS because she had a pirated version of MS Office.

Re:Not that easy to intruduce a new OS

[Anonymous Coward]

I would, in a heartbeat. Reaily, I would.

I'd even feel really good about it since it would be the first time ever that I would be able to make MS happy (reducing piracy) and at the same time doing something for the growth of Linux.

Now tell me, why should I feel bad about it? The only people that would feel bad about it would be dedicated software pirates who feel it's a god-given right to use pirated software.

I'm still baffled at your assertion that I wouldn't be able to sleep at night. It just doesn't make sense. Are you one of those stupid pirate types?

Re:Not that easy to intruduce a new OS

[nametaken]

I don't have a single pirated software package on ANY of my machines. What I'd feel bad about is causing someone in a poorer nation, or even in the US, some kind of grief over something like software piracy. I don't think software piracy is great, or even good... but I don't like people getting ridiculous fines or jail time over it either.

Patched

[dj245]

Something that greatly impressed me about mi was the ability to slipstream the updates right into the main installation, instead of having to install the base distribution, followed by the updates. You just boot straight off the Update 1 CD instead of the original installation CD1 ? the process is exactly the same, but the resulting system is pre-patched.

Absolutely brilliant. This can only be a good thing, the latest numbers I saw indicated that a large amount of spam came from rooted linux boxen. Make it easy for those noobs to be patched, and they will be. Make it hard, and they won't bother. I wonder how much spam it would save us all if all the major distros did something like this.

Re:Yet another KDE based distribution...

[crass751]

I think Fedora is fine for the home desktop. I've got my relatively computer illiterate girlfriend using Fedora on an ancient Celeron. It's been up almost three months, and she uses it for everything, word processing, web browsing, email, etc.

I use Fedora with Gnome on my laptop for a variety of tasks. Once I tweaked it a little bit, it does everything I need it for. I'm actively looking forward to Fedora 2 to be released (not as a test release, test 1 didn't play nicely on my laptop) this summer.

Re:Yet another KDE based distribution...

[Majix]

Sun's "Java Desktop System" is a GNOME only Linux distro. Then there's some fringe ones, like Gnoppix and Progeny IIRC.

I don't think any distro of importance is GNOME or KDE only at this point, which is good. Hopefully after a few more years of Freedesktop.org cooperation the whole point will be moot and most will be using the best KDE (K3B, Kdevelop etc.) and GNOME (Evolution, Gimp etc.), software on a hardware compositioned X all jimmied together in some kind of nutty bouillabaisse with Mono thrown in for the hell of it.

I'm guessing Novell/SuSE will be one of the first, since they're now such a strange combination of KDE (SuSE) and GNOME (Ximian) people and neither faction is likely to back down.

Re:Easier Spanish voice recognition?

[Lord Kano]

That would seem to be a good way to sell it--don't they have less silly vocal homonyms than English? Right! Not left? No, right!

Yeah, but how's a computer supposed to recognize all of that gibberish?

Seriously though you raise a good point, the hodge-podge of words from every language on the planet that is modern english is difficult to parse.

Something like Spanish or especially French would be good candidates for non-english speech recognition.

Lastly I think you mean homophones. Minute (60 seconds)and Minute (tiny)are homonyms but when spoken they sound much different.

LK

Re:I wonder?

[Lumpy]

One of the things that stops Joe Sixpak from using Linux is its inability to run decent games.

wrong.. what stop's joe sixpack is that his computer comes with windows pre-installed with a suite of apps that he will use and that is where joe sixpack leaves his computer.

99% of joe sixpack still has the default icons and annoying "helper" apps from the computer maker still installed.

joe sixpack is interested in a computer that he open's the box and uses it. he is not interested in buying software for it (see the dismal sales of software anf games at places like best buy, mediaplay, circuit city... EB games is 90% console games with a tiny rack for PC games in the back.

Everyone spreads this myth.... it might be because YOU and other gamers dont use linux, but joe sixpack likes solitare and minesweeper and his pc to act and run like it did the day he opened the computer box... he only add's software to fill an important need.. the only hole I see is Tax Software... so If someone can get taxact to run each year on linux under wine and make a click and drool installer (like the loki installer!) that will do the job for joe sixpack... that can be filled also...