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Caldera OpenLinux 2.2 review at Salon
Robert Rwebangira writes "There is a nice review of Caldera OpenLinux 2.2 over at Salon - read the original review.
Bottom line: The easiest Linux to install so far, but there are signs of increasing fragmentation in the Linux distributions. "
Every time I hear about the fragmentation of Linux, I start wondering just how hard it would be to partially fix that. I mean, we have the LSB right? But what are we gaining from it? I think the big things than need standardization NOW are file locations and package formats. With Linux seeming to gain popularity, it'd be nice if when you're told to edit "/foo/bar" it's actually there, instead of finding it at "/bar/foo/bar" or something. I realize this is being worked on but what is being DONE?
Packaging is another problem. For those who don't understand or don't want to use source, we have packages, right? But there are tgz, slp, deb and rpm, which is 3 too many. There needs to be a package format drafted (and it's the LINUX package format, NOT the distribution package format) that addresses the shortcomings of current packagers as well as integrating their good features.
Of course, with file locations being the same and all, we'll have no problems with packages from one distribution working with another. Commercial distributors need to think about the good of Linux rather than the good of themselves at this point, even if it does mean boxed programs say "Runs on Linux Standard 1.0" instead of "Runs on Distribution X". We'll all benefit.
I found Caldera 2.2 to be missing quite a few things. While it's nice that it's geared towards non-techie/non-linux users, it leaves a lot to be desired for someone who is.
/mbr from a boot floppy to get to my miniscule doze partition to install boot magic.
:)
For example, there's no rxvt, no compress, no uncompress, no pine, no jed/joe/jove/pico.
I guess you're supposed to use vi/emacs/kedit, but frankly vi's no fun and emacs can be slow, and kedit is no good if you're not running X.
The lack of rxvt in inexcusable, IMHO, because no matter how great kvt is, it just doesn't work with the vga font and there's no way to turn of utmp/wtmp logging, so it's no good for bitchx, and if you have 10 of the darn things open, you have 10 logins.
Likewise the lack of compress/uncompress. I know it's not used that much anymore, but it's still handy to have in a base install.
The installation is fairly nice. Since it's geared at desktop users I'm not going to scream to loudly about the fact that there's no non-X based install option. I experienced on hitch with the install, it automagically installs lilo to the MBB instead of the MBR since it comes with Boot Magic. I already had lilo installed, so I had to go back and fdisk
The startup screen is nifty, minimizing what you see on boot, change anything around, recompile your kernel, and you're bound to get a bunch of big red "FAIL"'s next to events though. The Caldera Open Admin System can be confusing, and the apps are not well integrated. They really need a gnome/kde control panel type interface that unites the apps.
I have to mention the price point. It's $29.99 at CompUSA, with a $10.00 mail in rebate. The RedHat box sitting next to it on the shelf is $79.99. Which is a newbie, who doesn't know if he'll stick with linux, more likely to pick up? Probably Caldera. Will Caldera help the newbie stick with Linux? Probably not.
At any rate, I've gone back to my home-burned Linux Mandrake 5.3 (RedHat 5.2 with kde and some updates), with an obscene number of hacks and changes.
Personally, I can't wait for a glibc based slackware.
I have tried to install OpenLinux 2.2 on my box and I simply quit trying after 3 hours. I have been running Red Hat 5.0/5.1/5.2 and the RH installer always worked without an itch. Here are the problems I encountered: 1) If you try to install on an hard disk that already has ext2 partitions; you are screwed. You will have to use Partition Magic and reallocate all the space to one big primary partition. 2) The Lizard installer detected my vanilla ATAPI Toshiba CD-ROM but when it was time to install the software, I got some message that it didn't find any media to install from. 3) I tried the text-based installer. No Disk Druid to setup the partitions and when I got to configure the mouse, the installer could simply not deal with my Logitech Mouseman. Conclusion, it seems that the folks at Caldera have tested their installer from the perspective of new users that want to install Linux on a drive that shares space with Windows. It seems to work for that configuration. For people that already have some distro of Linux running, I would suggest to stay away from this product. It simply not suitable. Yethi.
The sense I got from my conversations with him was that he was overall positive about Linux, the progress it's making, and its prospects for the future. That perhaps doesn't come out very clearly in this review, but he was quite fair and reasonable and willing to learn in email.
Linux does have some serious shortcomings with respect for the point-and-drool Windows user, and some way to present a foolproof interface to those users will be necessary if we care to capture that market -- and I realize that not all of us do. There are legitimate concerns about fragmentation and incompatibility; the fact that they will probably be resolved in the near-term future doesn't constitute any kind of guarantee. These are things that I worry about, and I'm pretty confident about Linux.
The thing that most struck me about Andrew Leonard was that he seemed reasonable, friendly, and open-minded. I'd say he's probably a good journalist for us to approach -- politely, mind you -- to discuss our opinions about Linux and Open Source. Just bear in mind that the absence of a glowing review is not necessarily a slam, and that criticisms don't necessarily constitute FUD.
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