WinLinux 2000

asdren writes "WinLinux 2000 has entered the final beta stage. This sounds like an interesting option for current Windows users who are interested in taking the Linux plunge but don't have the time/patience/guts to partition drives and configure drivers. " has anyone tried this yet? I'd be curious as to how the installation/running of the system is.

Comments

A little perspective

[LetterJ]

As I write this, I'm sure that a pile of shocked, righteous posts are piling up. Most will assault the very concept of running Linux in conjunction with Windows, others will wax nostalgic about their entry into the world of UNIX while preaching that because it was difficult for me it should be difficult for others, some will be lamenting the fact that it isn't "real" Linux, while still others will pound on the performance issues of using the UMSDOS file system.

The fundamental problem with those attacks is that they all assume that those who will use WinLinux have the same goals, purposes, ideals and reasons for using Linux in the first place.

The first type assumes that by the time a person has decided to use or try Linux, they are already a zealot. That is simply not the case. There are a great many Linux users who secretly hid their Windows usage from other geeks while they climbed the learning curve. The simple fact is that many people's entry into home computing follows the MS path. Once those people have a PC (with Win installed), they may discover Linux and want to try it. One of their primary reasons for wanting to try it? It can be provided free. But, to those people, is a possible disaster ruining an already functioning machine (most people consider their Windows boxes to function) free? Is buying a dedicated box for Linux when they aren't sure they'll like it free? No. Along comes a flavor of Linux which allows you to try it without doing much to your system. Why wouldn't that be good?

Enter attack 2. UNIX/Linux was hard for me, it should be hard for you. I always wonder why I have to hear this one. Particularly from folks who hated it when their parents used this logic on them. Remember, "Walked to school in the snow" or "I worked 3 jobs to finish college"? Science is based on building on the work of others. Sure, you still need to learn how it fits together, but you don't have to recreate all of scientific history. There SHOULD be a way to learn Linux without having to kill one's entire outside life. It may be simplified, it may be limited, but when a beginner hits those walls, sees the potential in someone else's system, then they will move on.

Attack 3. "It isn't real Linux". Because it doesn't reside on its own set of partitions? Because it relies on Windows for driver information? Or because it isn't the same as YOUR Linux? It has a Linux kernel. I think of a parallel in photography. Most people, including most Slashdot readers take the few pictures they do with a point and shoot camera. Hardcore amateur photographers and professionals would say that you aren't going to get good pictures with that type of camera, and some would go so far as to say that unless you are using a high-end medium format or 35mm camera with ultra-fast lenses, you aren't using a real camera. But it has a lens and holds film doesn't it? That makes it a camera. Your point and shoot fits your basic photography needs, and WinLinux fits the basic learning/experimentation Linux needs of many users.

Attack 4. It won't be as high performance as "pure" Linux on SCSI hardware. I guess I always thought one of the benefits of Linux was that it would run on cheap hardware that you already had around. Why doesn't this idea extend to cheap filesystems you already have around?

Sorry to have rambled on and for any lack of clarity in my statements. Flame away.
LetterJ
Writing Geek/Pixel Pusher
jwynia@earthlink.net
http://home.earthlink.net/~jwynia

Used it.... discovered it yesterday.

[Seth Cohn]

I downloaded it yesterday, and it works well for what it does.

Unpacks into a UMSDOS directory, c:\linux

Autodetects all of your hardware based on your _windows_ settings. Really nice. I'd like to see more of this in the other distros. Save it to a floppy, and that would solve a lot of questions newbies have (like irq,i/o etc)

If it's wrong (such as missing my video card), you can override the setting. It did really well, finding my printer (hp laserjet), joystick but not sound card (no sound setting?), mouse, modem, timezone.

It asks for a user and password, and even gives you the option to make root the same password.

Gives you a menu option (aka icon) to reboot system into Linux.

I've tried a few of these UMSDOS ones. Armed Linux didn't work with this system, but WinLinux2000 did work. I ended up with a nice (if slow due to UMSDOS) Linux system. Won't replace any of my real linux boxen, but for newbies wanting to try Linux, this is a new option.

Another option is DemoLinux, an entirely CD based Linux. I've had good luck with that one too.
http://www.demolinux.org