Xandros Desktop OS 3 Deluxe Edition Reviewed

JimLynch writes "The new Xandros is out and we've got a review up on ExtremeTech. With the exception of some burps with our wireless card, we had a great time with this distro. Highly recommended if you're in the market for a replacement for Windows."

Comments

Comparison with Windows

[Dorsai65]

I find it telling that a Linux distro compares installation and configuration against the ease of Windows. Don't get me wrong (I run Suse 9), but I think this is an example of how far Linux has to go.

What most *nix folks don't seem to appreciate is that the vast majority of computer users are just that: users. They don't care what's happening inside the machine or anything else; they just want to DO stuff. Making apps easy to (un)install, without having to worry about dependencies and all that, and making the system easy to configure, is probably THE thing that Windows does that keeps Linux from being a contender.

Looks to me like Xandros is meeting that need. I'll be checking it out and if its as easy as the article says (yes, I did actually read it), I'll be trying to get folks I know started with it.

Re:Comparison with Windows

[donscarletti]

What many people who make similar comments to this don't realise that many computer users are hackers and use computers for their hobby and/or their job. If linux ever fails to accomidate them, not only will it loose its core user base, but its volenteer development will grind to a halt and it will pretty much cease to exist.

Linux's universal adoption would be cool, however for it to do so, it must first and formost win geeks over though performance, flexibility and general coolness if it is ever going to stand a chance of becoming intuitive enough for the new user.

Re:Comparison with Windows

[danamania]

What many people who make similar comments to this don't realise that many computer users are hackers and use computers for their hobby and/or their job. If linux ever fails to accomidate them, not only will it loose its core user base, but its volenteer development will grind to a halt and it will pretty much cease to exist.

I think Linux will stay able to accomodate the geeks among us. That's where the leading edge of development is, really.

It helps to think of Linux not in terms of "Linux" in the same way that MS has "Windows" and Apple has "Mac OS X". There isn't really one Linux. If the people who want an easy to use, simple distro that any Average Joe off the street could operate because Average Joes need an operating system too, that's not going to detract from the latest Debian, Gentoo or Slachware releases.

Apple get criticism sometimes for 'dumbing down' Unix to make OS X for example; perhaps that's a valid observation as effort put into the GUI of OSX could have been put into geekier parts of the OS if Apple redirected their labor pool. It's not so with "Linux" as what the Xandros team do is pretty much independent of Gentoo, say.

So yeah - all that my rant has said basically is... don't fear for the geeky versions of linux. geeks will still keep making those, and others will make a linux for n00bs, that's the beauty of free/open source here :).

Desktop is not usable until fonts are sharp

[Anonymous Coward]

Even if the install is easy, users will be put off by the ugly looking fonts in Linux. TrueType fonts just don't render well with the current engines. I don't know why we can't get hinting without turning on antialiasing which just blurs things. As more users get LCDs this will be more apparent.

Re:Desktop is not usable until fonts are sharp

[bloggins02]

Wait a minute... I have to DO something to get clear fonts? I don't have to do that with Windows.

That's the problem.

I wonder ...

[xdesk]

I can not stop wondering why none of the (many) recent Linux reviews are mentioning essential notebook features - like power management or the suspend/hibernate/resume ability ...

Personally, I run Linux because...

[ErichTheWebGuy]

... I *DO NOT* want a Windows replacement, I want something better. The Linux community needs to quit trying to make another Windows and focus on its core strengths as an alternative! I actually started out back in the days of RedHat 6 and have never looked back. I currently run SuSE 9.1 and can still not see why anyone would choose to run Windows if they know what else is out there.

I have converted several of my friends and family (with the exception of some designers that wanna use Dreamweaver for whatever reason). Those that I have converted have all said things like "wow, I just accepted that the Internet sucks like that [when using ie]" and "wow, my computer really is fast"

Re:Personally, I run Linux because...

[JimLynch]

Excellent point, that's one of the beauties of Linux. There are some distros that are quite easy to use and some that require more experience and/or provide the user with more control.

To each his/her own. That's one fo the things I love about Linux.

Valid question

[donscarletti]

The parent may be flamebait, but it is also a valid question. The only reason that I am aware that people ever were willing to pay for Xandros is because it is easy to use. Now Ubuntu is out and is not only a free download but is also a free CD while being just as easy to use as Xandros ever was, are people really going to seriously consider Xandros if they know about both?

Re:Meh

[JimLynch]

It's great that you like free distros but that doesn't mean that somebody else might not find Xandros or other distros worth paying for. To each his own, there's certainly no need to belittle companies that charge for their distributions. Nobody is being forced to buy them.

Re:Whats the point of Xandros

[JimLynch]

It's very similar to the wizard in Windows. Long overdue and should be a part of every linux distribution. VPN connections (without extra effort on the part of the user or the IT department) are basic networking functionality and should be a part of everybody's desktop.

STOP COPYING WINDOWS!

[Anonymous Coward]

Seriously, if you are going through all the trouble to write a desktop environment (shell) then stop emulating windows. This looks so much like windows in fact that Microsoft may do something about it. Stop it.

The key to getting linux accepted is not to replace the windows environment but to build something better. Windows people who switch to mac have no problems getting up and running and they have very little (visually) in common.

There are so many other desktop environments out there that work so much better than windows (BeOS, OSX, NeXT, Ti99A) stop it, stop it, STOP IT! When is the last time you heard someone say "the only reason I have not switched from linux is that I am used to my windows desktop".. Please.. STOP

Re:STOP COPYING WINDOWS!

[Anonymous Coward]

1. You might not be aware of this, but writing in caps is considered yelling and extremely impolite. And like in real life yelling doesn't make your point any more valid.

2. It's simply not true that people who are only familiar with windows don't have a hard time switching to OSX, they do. If you don't believe me, take one windows user, sit him in front of OSX and watch him struggle to do his daily tasks in this unfamiliar environment.

3. What exactly is your problem? If you don't like the way Xandros works, don't use it but use an other distro and use an other DE/WM. Nobody is stopping you from using ion3 if you think that fits your needs.

4. Xandros is targetting users that want to have a drop in replacement for the OS they are used to and with more than 90% market share this is very likely windows. Now what exactly is your problem with Xandros making their product as accessible and easy to use and get used to as possible for the people they are targetting?

Licence violation?

[northcat]

Just looking at the screenshots tell us that Xandros contains modified version of GPLed or other open source apps. Doesn't that mean that they should release the source code of their modification? I can't seem to find a link to download source code. (I know they have free version but does it offer the source code?) In fact, not just Xandros, most of these commercial distros don't release their modified source code. And Lindows (Linspire) didn't even have a free version until yesterday (metaphorically yesterday. don't bite me.).

Xandros is a great distro

[HangingChad]

Xandros is the only OS this box has seen. Some minor problems here and there but overall it's the least frustrating transition distro I've tried.

It's not free but comes bundled with CrossOver, which is not a free app. And it works. It's amazing to run IE and Photoshop on this box.

If you're an uber geek Xandros isn't for you. I use it because it's easy and when I get home from the MSFT environment at work I don't want to fight with technology. I just want something that works without being a security freak show and that's Xandros.